UID number (Switzerland)

The UID (Unternehmens-Identifikationsnummer — Numéro d'identification des entreprises) is the unique 12-digit identifier assigned by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (OFS) to every registered Swiss business entity (format: CHE-xxx.xxx.xxx). It replaced and unified previous sector-specific identifiers (commercial register, VAT, social insurance). In financial due diligence, the UID enables verification of a Swiss entity's legal identity, cross-referencing with commercial register data (ZEFIX), VAT registration status and public legal announcements (SOGC). It is the Swiss equivalent of the French SIREN/SIRET identifier. The UID is public and freely searchable in the federal UID register and on Zefix, making it the standard entry point for verifying any Swiss entity before a transaction. For VAT-registered companies it also forms the basis of the Swiss VAT number, completed by the VAT suffix. It appears on invoices, contracts and register extracts reviewed in due diligence.

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Example: during due diligence on a Swiss target, the analyst uses UID CHE-123.456.789 to verify commercial register filings, confirm active VAT registration and access SOGC legal publications — identifying a previously undisclosed pledge registered 8 months before the due diligence that was not mentioned in the seller's disclosure letter. This finding, accessible only through UID-linked register searches, protects the buyer from an unencumbered transfer assumption.

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Hectelion uses UID numbers as a standard entry point for legal verification and entity mapping in every Swiss acquisition due diligence.