Danilo · Updated 2026-09-12 · Sources: SchKG Art. 8a (fedlex.admin.ch); ch.ch – Betreibungsregisterauszug bestellen; Post.ch – Betreibungsregisterauszug online; Federal Office of Justice, Directive No. 5 on Art. 8a para. 3 lit. d SchKG
The debt enforcement extract – what it is and how to get one
Almost every rental application in Switzerland asks for it: the "Betreibungsauszug", officially the extract from the debt enforcement register. If you've never ordered one before, three questions usually come up at once – where, how much, and what happens if it shows an entry that shouldn't be there. Every fee and procedure below is sourced.
What the extract shows
The extract lists the enforcement proceedings (Betreibungen – debt collection actions for a money claim) opened against a person in recent years, whether the debt was paid, is disputed, or is still pending. It is kept by the Betreibungsamt (debt enforcement office), the office the law assigns to run this register.
A third party's right to inspect a closed proceeding lapses five years after that proceeding ended (Art. 8a para. 4 SchKG). So an old, closed case normally no longer appears on the extract a landlord gets to see.
Why landlords ask for it
For landlords, the extract is a standard part of a rental application file, alongside a salary statement, an ID copy and references – it is meant to show that someone pays their bills and has no open debt collection proceedings against them. That is common practice on the Swiss rental market, not a legal requirement: a lease can, in principle, be concluded without one if landlord and tenant agree to that. How strictly a landlord or a managing agency insists on it varies case by case.
Where and how to order it
The responsible office is the Betreibungsamt of the applicant's municipality of residence – where the person is registered, not where the new apartment is. Someone who moved recently may be asked for two extracts from two different offices if a landlord wants an unbroken record for the last few years.
Two routes are common:
- Directly at the Betreibungsamt of the home municipality: in person at the counter,
in writing, or – depending on the municipality – through its own online form. An ID is always required, since the extract concerns only the person named on it, or requires an explicit power of attorney.
- Online through Swiss Post's brokered service (post.ch): upload your personal
details and a copy of your ID, sign electronically, pay – Swiss Post states that in most cases the extract arrives within 24 hours as a signed PDF by email.
What it costs
The fee is set at cantonal level and therefore not uniform across Switzerland – anyone needing an exact figure for their own municipality has to check the local fee schedule or ask the Betreibungsamt directly; no figure is given here (see below). Swiss Post quotes CHF 26.90 for its online service, including delivery as a signed PDF – that is the faster, fee-loaded route. Ordered directly at the office, without Swiss Post's added service, only the plain administrative fee applies, which is usually lower and varies by canton.
How recent it needs to be
There is no legal rule on this – "how old may the extract be" is a question each landlord or agency decides for itself. In practice, an extract issued within the last few weeks is often expected, but no binding, nationwide deadline exists. The safest approach is to ask the managing agency or broker directly which issue date they will still accept.
What to do about an unjustified entry
There are two situations.
A proceeding you have already contested (Rechtsvorschlag). Since 2019, a debtor can request that a disputed proceeding not be disclosed to third parties at all (Art. 8a para. 3 lit. d SchKG): this requires that the debtor filed a Rechtsvorschlag (a formal objection to the payment order) and that, once three months have passed since the payment order was served, the creditor fails to prove within 20 days that they took steps to have the objection lifted (a lawsuit, or a Rechtsöffnung procedure). The federal government has set a flat fee of CHF 40 for this request, covering every further procedural step (Federal Office of Justice, Directive No. 5 on Art. 8a para. 3 lit. d SchKG). The entry is not deleted from the register – it is marked as not to be disclosed, so third parties no longer see it on the extract.
An entry that is simply wrong (wrong person, wrong amount, a case that was long ago closed but still shows up): the first step is always to contact the responsible Betreibungsamt directly – register-keeping errors can often be sorted out there. If a disagreement remains, the SchKG provides for a complaint (Beschwerde) to the cantonal supervisory authority for debt enforcement and bankruptcy (Art. 17 SchKG), within ten days of being notified of the decision. The exact forms and responsible bodies differ from canton to canton – the most reliable answer comes from the cantonal supervisory authority itself.
A one-off cost, not part of the monthly rent
In Zügle, the Betreibungsauszug never appears in the monthly delta. It belongs – along with the deposit and any moving costs – to the one-off application and moving costs that the app shows separately from the ongoing cost-and-tax comparison. A figure that occurs only once does not belong in a comparison stated "per month" or "per year"; it would distort the ongoing delta, especially in the first months after a move.
What these numbers don't show
- The cantonal administrative fee itself is not given a number here – it varies and
would need to be looked up per municipality.
- How strictly one specific landlord checks the issue date is not a legal question but
a matter of negotiation.
- Nothing here replaces individual legal advice – for a disputed entry, depending on the
amount and situation, it can be worth consulting a legal advice service or the Betreibungsamt itself.
Try it with your own numbers
The Betreibungsauszug is a one-off expense – for the ongoing comparison between two places to live, rent, tax and commute cost are what count. Run it with your own figures to see how big that difference is: