In Switzerland, trust in a person's ability to pay is often confirmed not with words but with a single sheet of paper — the extract from the debt enforcement register (Betreibungsregisterauszug). Landlords ask for it before a tenancy agreement is signed; banks, leasing companies and even the authorities deciding on naturalisation may request it too. For Ukrainians settling into a new country, this document is one of the first administrative details capable of either opening the door to housing or unexpectedly closing it. It is worth understanding what it actually certifies, how to obtain it, and why a single extract often shows only part of the truth.

What the extract actually shows — and what it does not prove

The extract records the debt enforcement proceedings (Betreibung) opened against a particular person over the past five years. The mechanics matter. In Switzerland, enforcement is initiated by a creditor, who files a request with the debt enforcement office (Betreibungsamt); the debtor is then served a payment order (Zahlungsbefehl). An entry appears in the register at that very stage — regardless of whether the debt actually exists.

This leads to a subtle point that often unsettles newcomers: an entry is not in itself proof of fault or insolvency. The debtor has the right to file an objection (Rechtsvorschlag), and unjustified proceedings — opened in error or even maliciously — do occur. Yet for a landlord or a bank, a "clean" extract remains the most convenient signal of financial reliability, so in practice it carries considerable weight. Five years after the proceedings conclude, the right of third parties to inspect the entry comes to an end.

When this document is requested in Switzerland

The extract is most often required when renting a home. In a competitive market, where dozens of applicants compete for a single flat, a clean document improves the chances of the owner's approval. For the same reason it may be requested by banks before granting a loan and by companies before concluding a car leasing agreement. A separate and, for many, important situation is naturalisation: the extract is part of the document package for acquiring Swiss citizenship. Employers occasionally ask for it too, though this is the exception rather than the rule.

Why a single extract rarely shows the whole picture

Here begins the least obvious but most important part. Registers in Switzerland are kept not centrally but by debt enforcement districts (Betreibungskreis). The extract you order reflects only the proceedings recorded in the district where you order it. If a person has changed their place of residence over the past five years — a familiar situation among Ukrainians who have moved between cantons more than once — only the sum of extracts from every district where they lived will give the full picture.

This territorial fragmentation has a flip side. Today, by concealing previous addresses, one could in theory obtain an "empty" extract that does not match the real history. It is precisely this vulnerability that the Swiss system openly acknowledges and is preparing to address — more on that below.

Who can order an extract, how, and what it costs

You can order the document about yourself or about another person. For your own extract, a copy of an identity document is sufficient. To obtain an extract about another person with their knowledge, you need authorisation signed by them and a copy of their ID. The law (Article 8a of the Federal Act on Debt Enforcement and Bankruptcy, SchKG) also allows a request without notifying the person — but only where there is a legitimate interest, such as the intention to rent a home to them or lend them money; proof of that interest, for instance a preliminary tenancy agreement, is then enclosed with the request.

The request is submitted to the debt enforcement office at your place of residence — online via the relevant form, by post, or in person at the counter. A standard extract usually costs around 17 francs plus postage; with electronic or postal delivery the figure is often 18 francs. Ordering through intermediaries, such as a post office branch or private online services, costs more. Exact fees are worth checking directly with your canton's office, as the details vary.

If the proceedings are unjustified: a right strengthened in 2026

A mechanism for protection against unjustified entries deserves separate attention. If the debtor has filed an objection and the creditor then does not pursue the matter, it is possible to apply for the non-disclosure (Nichtbekanntgabe) of the proceedings to third parties. The conditions: at least three months must have passed since the payment order was served, and within twenty days of the office's enquiry the creditor must fail to show that proceedings to set aside the objection have been initiated.

From 1 January 2026 this right was considerably broadened. Previously, owing to Federal Supreme Court practice, the application could in effect be filed only within one year. Now the law expressly permits it throughout the entire five-year period during which the third-party right of inspection applies. The service carries a fee — a flat charge of 40 francs — but it makes it possible to remove from the view of landlords and banks an enforcement that the creditor never went on to confirm.

Where the Swiss system is heading

The fragmentation of the registers is not a trifle but a structural feature the country has decided to tackle. Switzerland has hundreds of local debt enforcement offices, and such extracts are ordered very frequently. Against this background, work is under way on a project for a nationwide register service (BRA CH), intended to combine the data into a single system and make it impossible to conceal one's enforcement history by changing residence. This is primarily about establishing the legal and technical groundwork: a parliamentary committee has supported developing a Switzerland-wide information service, but this does not yet mean a full service will go live on a fixed timetable. In the future, such an extract may become available digitally, including with the use of the forthcoming electronic identity (E-ID).

For newcomers, this means that the familiar logic of "order an extract where I live now" may in time give way to a single Switzerland-wide request. And so a well-tended financial reputation will, over time, become visible more fully and transparently than it is today.

A document best kept clean from the outset

The extract from the debt enforcement register is not a bureaucratic formality but a kind of currency of trust in Swiss everyday life. Understanding exactly what it records, where the limits of a single extract lie, and what rights a debtor has helps not only to avoid unpleasant surprises while hunting for housing but also to act with confidence in a new legal environment. The most reliable strategy is simple: respond to payment orders in good time, leave no enforcement — not even a mistaken one — unanswered, and check your own extract periodically, so that when it is asked for, the document speaks in your favour.

Sources:

Canton of Basel-Stadt — Ordering an extract from the debt enforcement register (fees) — https://www.bs.ch/en/topics/personliches-und-wohnen/wohnen/ordering-extract-debt-enforcement-register

STACH — Right to inspect according to Art. 8a DEBA (2026 amendments) — https://stach.ch/en/right-to-inspect-according-to-art-8a-deba/

homegate.ch — Debt collection excerpts in Switzerland — https://www.homegate.ch/c/en/advisor/renting/find-an-apartment/debt-collection-excerpt