The short answer
Yes, it is lawful.
No, it is not trivial.
Company domiciliation is lawful in Switzerland: art. 117 CRO admits an address with the mention « c/o » once the agent issues a written declaration granting the legal domicile. Prohibited: the post-office box and the purely nominal address. We operate one plan, The Circle, at CHF 1’300 a month. The application is free.
Domiciliation is not a postal subscription. It is a contract by which a third party assumes liability so that your company stays reachable by a judge, a debt-collection office and a tax authority.
Our address is the seat of Hymotek SA, a registered seat of the director's own companies: Route du Pavillon 2, 1182 Gilly (VD). Before a register, a bank or an audit, that difference is everything.
The other pages of this site are in French. Write to us in English — we answer in English.
Legal framework
Five texts
settle
everything else.
No serious provider sells a Swiss address without setting them out.
The guide to sham seatsThe registered seat must match a real domicile in the municipality of the statutory seat: street, number, postcode, locality. The mention « c/o » is allowed if the agent signs a written declaration. The post-office box is excluded: the address must allow service of official documents — a payment order, an assessment, a summons.
The document the register office asks for, and that cheap offers supply badly. It names the agent, designates the address and binds him to receive documents. Without it the entry is refused — or reopened later in a verification campaign.
At least one person resident in Switzerland must be able to represent the company. Residence, never nationality: a foreign owner may hold 100 % of the capital, but needs a representative living here. See the resident director mandate, from CHF 1’500 / month.
With no valid address or no compliant corporate body, the company is in organisational default. The court may order dissolution, liquidated under bankruptcy rules: the normal end of a seat the register can no longer reach. See organisational default.
An agent who manages the assets of a domiciliary company on a fiduciary basis becomes a financial intermediary: identification of the beneficial owner, affiliation to a self-regulatory organisation. Books are kept ten years, art. 958f CO.
Cantonal offices periodically run address compliance campaigns. The triggers never change: official mail returned, an abnormal density of seats at one address, no declaration on file, an agent struck off.
The company receives a formal notice and a deadline. Failing regularisation, the office refers the matter to the court under art. 731b CO. The bank closes the relationship well before that, as soon as mail comes back undeliverable.
That is why the number taken in matters: twelve, not thirteen. An address shared by hundreds of seats is a negative signal to bank compliance. See what a mistake costs.
Taxation 2026
Twelve cantons,
nine points apart.
Effective taxation of profit, direct federal tax included, cantonal capitals.
| Canton | Profit — effective rate 2026 | Capital tax |
|---|---|---|
| Lucerne | 11.66 % | By municipality |
| Zug | 11.71 % | 0.04 % |
| Nidwalden | 11.97 % | By municipality |
| Schwyz | 13.30 % | By municipality |
| Fribourg | 14.12 % | By municipality |
| Basel-Stadt | 14.53 % | By municipality |
| Geneva | 14.70 % | 0.40 % |
| Vaud — Lausanne, Nyon | 14.72 % | 0.30 % |
| Neuchâtel | 14.89 % | By municipality |
| Valais | 17.12 % | By municipality |
| Zurich | 19.47 % | By municipality |
| Bern | 20.54 % | By municipality |
The right canton is where your effective management sits. On CHF 200’000 of profit, the gap between Zug and the Lake Geneva region is around CHF 6’000 a year. Compare: the canton tool · the full guide.
The offer
One plan only.
The Circle.
CHF 1’300 a month. No entry level, no middle tier.
Apply for a placeRegistered office enterable in the Vaud register with the mention « c/o Hymotek SA », a signed domiciliation declaration (art. 117 CRO), confirmation for the bank, mail sorted and scanned within four working hours, a Swiss e-mail address, ten-year archiving.
What is not included: no office, no meeting room, no desk. Pavillon is not a business centre.
The screening is no formality. We decline the shell with no activity, management abroad behind a shop-window seat, the owner who cannot be documented, the licensed activity without the licence.
| Service | Observed Swiss market | Pavillon |
|---|---|---|
| Simple domiciliation, shared address | 55 – 105 CHF / month | Not offered |
| Address with mail received and scanned | 105 – 210 CHF / month | CHF 1’300 / month |
| Resident director mandate | 2’400 – 4’800 CHF / year, rarely published | from CHF 18’000 / year |
| Companies per address | Dozens to several hundred | Twelve. Not thirteen. |
| Entry fee | Common | None — free application |
The gap covers the number of companies, an address in genuine operation and the commitment of the person who signs: Raphaël Quiblier, resident in Switzerland, more than 150 million francs of transactions.
Legal form
Sàrl or SA: capital
and discretion.
Sàrl
CHF 20’000
fully paid up
Members are named in the register. The usual form for a consulting or operating structure. Setting up a Sàrl.
SA
CHF 100’000
of which CHF 50’000 paid up
Shareholders are not entered in the register. The form chosen when ownership must stay discreet, or take in investors.
What does not change
2 to 4 weeks
incorporation
Profit taxed identically, and the same requirement of a representative resident in Switzerland. VAT from CHF 100’000 of turnover, 8.1 %.
Questions
Six questions
on the Swiss seat.
Is company domiciliation lawful in Switzerland?
Yes. Art. 117 CRO allows an address with the mention « c/o » where the company has no premises of its own, provided the agent issues a written declaration granting the legal domicile. The address must lie in the municipality of the statutory seat and allow official documents to be served.
Can a post-office box be entered as the seat?
No. Art. 117 CRO requires a real domicile: street, number, postcode, locality. A post-office box does not allow official documents to be served. An invalid address exposes the company to art. 731b CO: dissolution by the court, liquidated under bankruptcy rules.
Do you have to be a Swiss resident to set up a Swiss company?
No to own, yes to represent. Art. 718 para. 4 CO (SA) and art. 814 para. 3 CO (Sàrl) require someone resident in Switzerland able to represent the company: a residence requirement, met by a resident director mandate.
Which canton should you choose?
The one where your effective management sits. On tax alone the spread is about three points: 11.66 % in Lucerne and 11.71 % in Zug against 14.70 % in Geneva and 14.72 % in Vaud, federal tax included. For a holding company, capital tax matters more.
What does domiciliation cost, and what do you pay to enter?
The market runs between 55 and 210 CHF a month depending on mail handling. Pavillon has one plan, The Circle, at CHF 1’300 a month, no side charges. The application is free and without obligation: an interview, then a decision within five working days.
Is the domiciliation agent subject to anti-money-laundering law?
He is, as soon as he manages the assets of a domiciliary company on a fiduciary basis: he becomes a financial intermediary under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, must identify the beneficial owner and be affiliated to a self-regulatory organisation. A provider who never raises this has not measured what he signs.
See also: The Circle · resident director · changing domiciliation agent · fees · the method · bank account.
Application
A Swiss seat
that stands up before
a register and a bank.
Free application without obligation, an interview, a decision within five working days. Refusals given in writing, with reasons.