Switzerland Data Removal Guide (2026)
Swiss residents may request access, correction, deletion, restriction, or limits on disclosure of personal data where the revised Federal Act on Data Protection (revDSG / nLPD) and its conditions apply. Commercial, official, legal-person, and source records may have separate retention, disclosure, or correction rules.
Research status: sources last checked 2026-09-07.
This page is educational orientation, not legal advice. The legal fields below are a research snapshot; eligibility, exemptions, deadlines, penalty rules and broker routes can change. Verify the current statute and regulator guidance before relying on a right or filing a complaint.
At a glance
- Governing law
- revDSG
- Response deadline
- Access information is generally provided free of charge within 30 days; any extension should be announced within that period, while correction, deletion, and other requests remain subject to conditions and exceptions
- Regulator
- Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC / EDรB / PFPDT)
- Private right of action
- Potential civil or personality-rights action under Article 32 revDSG and the Swiss Civil Code, subject to the claim, controller, court, and applicable facts
Federal Act on Data Protection (revised FADP / revDSG / nLPD)
Switzerland's revised Federal Act on Data Protection entered into force on 1 September 2023. At federal level it protects information about identified or identifiable natural persons; information about legal persons is no longer covered by the FADP, and cantonal or sector rules may also matter. The FDPIC supervises federal bodies and private controllers and can order measures such as adapting, suspending, terminating, or deleting processing under Article 51, but it does not impose administrative fines under the FADP. Specified intentional violations can instead trigger criminal fines against responsible natural persons, with prosecution and adjudication handled by the cantons.
What rights do Switzerland residents have?
- โRight of access to retained personal data (Article 25 revDSG), subject to statutory conditions and exceptions
- โRight to data portability in a machine-readable format where Article 28 conditions are met
- โRight to rectification of incorrect personal information (Article 32 revDSG), subject to applicable conditions
- โRight to request deletion or destruction where Article 32 paragraph 2 conditions are met
- โRight to request restriction of processing or prohibit disclosure to third parties where Article 32 conditions are met
- โRight to lodge a report with the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC)
Who holds your data in Switzerland?
A Swiss request may involve commercial or official business registers, telephone directories, credit-reporting or debt-collection agencies, and international data providers. First identify the controller, exact listing, whether the information concerns a natural person, and whether the source record, legal-person record, retention duty, public interest, or another applicable rule limits the requested outcome.
Public-record sources brokers scrape
- Commercial and cantonal business registers or official publications; review source-specific correction and disclosure rules
- Telephone and address directories; review the provider route and Swiss unfair-competition telemarketing rules
- Credit-reporting and debt-collection agencies; distinguish accuracy, retention, correction, and deletion questions
- International data providers processing Swiss residents' information; check the controller, source, and applicable territorial rules
How to remove your data in Switzerland
- 1Identify the controller, exact listing, natural-person data, source record, and processing purpose before assuming that the FADP provides a deletion route.
- 2Send a written access, correction, deletion, or destruction request to the controller. The FDPIC says an access request generally does not require reasons and is free within the ordinary 30-day period, although proportionate identity proof may be needed.
- 3For private processing, request correction, deletion, restriction, or a prohibition on disclosure where the Article 30 and Article 32 conditions apply; legal duties, overriding interests, and other exceptions may limit the result.
- 4For telephone advertising, ask the provider to omit the number or add a star in the directory. SECO says covered third-party advertising calls to starred or unlisted numbers are prohibited, subject to consent and existing-customer exceptions, and the protection is not absolute.
- 5If the controller does not resolve the issue, use the current FDPIC complaint route after preserving the request and response. The FDPIC can investigate and order data-protection measures, but it cannot guarantee deletion, award compensation, or act as a criminal prosecution authority.
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What if a company ignores your request?
Consider the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC / EDรB / PFPDT) information or complaint route above if the controller does not respond or the response is unsatisfactory. This guide records the following penalty orientation: Criminal fines up to CHF 250,000 for specified intentional violations, generally directed at responsible natural persons; FDPIC measures and cantonal criminal proceedings are separate. The private-action note is: Potential civil or personality-rights action under Article 32 revDSG and the Swiss Civil Code, subject to the claim, controller, court, and applicable facts. Neither field is an individual award or a promise of enforcement.
Open the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC / EDรB / PFPDT) information or complaint route โFAQ: Switzerland data removal
What is the "Sternchenvermerk" in Switzerland?+
Under Article 3(1)(u) of the Swiss Federal Act Against Unfair Competition (UWG), a star (*) in the telephone directoryโor no directory entryโgenerally prohibits covered third-party advertising calls. Calls from an existing customer relationship can be treated differently, and SECO notes that the measure is not complete protection against every call.
What penalties exist for data privacy violations under Swiss law?+
The revised FADP provides criminal fines up to CHF 250,000 for specified intentional violations, generally against responsible natural persons rather than as a GDPR-style administrative fine against every company. The exact offence, responsible person, cantonal procedure, and any FDPIC administrative measure depend on the current statute and facts.