1 State - People - Authorities - 13 Right of Citizenship - Establishment - Residence - 132 Establishment and Residence - Chapter One General Provisions (GHRPR)

**The present law aims to:**

a) simplify the collection of data for statistical purposes by harmonizing personal registers and the exchange of personal data between registers, as provided by legislation;

b) establish the necessary rules for maintaining the register of residents, that is, the register of all persons residing or staying in a municipality of the canton, in accordance with federal legislation, and to provide public administrations with the information they need about these persons.

1. The law applies to Swiss nationals and foreigners.

2. The special provisions concerning the residence and establishment of foreign nationals remain reserved.

1. A person has their domicile in the municipality where they reside in a manner recognizable to third parties, with the intention of living there permanently and having the center of their personal interests.

2. A person can have only one domicile, and therefore, only one municipality of establishment.

3. A person is deemed to have their domicile and thus to be established in the municipality where they have filed the required document (Art. 44, para. 2, let. a) and para. 3).

A person is considered to be staying in a municipality if they reside there for a specific purpose without the intention of living there permanently, but for a duration of at least three consecutive months or distributed over the same year, particularly with the aim of attending schools or being placed in an educational institution, hospice, hospital, or detention facility.

Acts required for the execution of this law shall give rise to the collection of fees, as per the tariff determined by the Council of State.

**1. The Council of State exercises high supervision over the harmonization of registers.**

2. It establishes the implementing provisions.

3. It appoints

a) the department or departments responsible for the harmonization of registers (referred to in this chapter as: the department);

b) the service in charge of coordinating and implementing harmonization measures and conducting related quality controls (referred to in this chapter as: the service).

4. It defines

a) the registers that are maintained in electronic form;

b) the services that, within the framework of this law, are offered to users of the secure single counter.

1 The department responsible for the harmonization of registers ensures the proper execution thereof.

2. It may issue directives.

The service responsible for registry harmonization has the following duties

a) it acts as the liaison with the Federal Statistical Office (FSO);

b) it coordinates the procedure, ensures compliance with deadlines for registry harmonization execution, and conducts quality controls in agreement with the FSO;

c) it informs the FSO prior to any substantial modification or elimination of a registry;

d) it is responsible for coordinating the various entities involved in registry harmonization, providing them with necessary information and training;

e) it ensures the application of federal legislation regarding the harmonization of resident registries and other official person registries concerning the data exchange platform and their secure delivery to the Confederation;

f) it establishes the cantonal census based on the data in its possession;

g) it exercises all powers not assigned to another authority.

**The Communes**

a) maintain, in electronic form, the register of residents and the register of voters;

b) ensure that individuals living in collective households are registered in the register of residents and, if necessary, in the register of voters;

c) are solely responsible for data protection regarding their services in managing the registers provided for in item a);

d) keep the Building and Housing Register (BHR) up to date and compile construction statistics in electronic form;

e) provide and must adhere to the street and address nomenclature listed in the cantonal reference;

f) must use the secure exchange platform, installed at the level of the Neuchâtel cantonal network, to ensure all data exchanges required by legislation;

g) appoint a competent person to ensure coordination with the service for the harmonization of registers at the communal level.

[6] Decisions made by the service may be appealed to the department, and decisions of the latter to the Cantonal Court, in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Law (APL) of March 18, 2025 [7].

The Cantonal Council designates the cantonal services and institutions that are authorized to systematically use the AVS insured number to perform their legal duties.

In accordance with applicable provisions, the service

a) collectively announces, for all cantonal services maintaining the records required by the LHR, the systematic use of the AVS insured number to the Compensation Office;

b) ensures that these services request the initial global allocation and communication of the AVS insured number, in accordance with the designated procedure;

c) is authorized to systematically use the AVS insured number for conducting its statistical duties;

d) is only permitted to share the AVS insured number with other cantonal services to the extent necessary for the fulfillment of their tasks.

1 In the context of the harmonization of registries, a building number (federal building identifier, EGID) and a dwelling number (federal dwelling identifier, EWID) are assigned, by the competent authority, to each person registered in the residents' registry.

2. These numbers are drawn from the Federal Register of Buildings and Dwellings (RegBL).

3. Once assigned to buildings and dwellings, the numbers cannot be altered.

Property owners and tenants must provide the persons responsible for determining the housing number with all necessary information and, if needed, allow access to their buildings or housing units.

1. With regard to the introduction and updating of housing numbering, landlords or their agents responsible for management (hereinafter referred to as: the landlords) are required to provide a list, by building, of the housing units and their tenants.

2. If, based on this information, a housing unit cannot be identified, it is incumbent upon the tenant to provide all necessary details about their housing unit, particularly its size and location.

1. When housing numbers are defined and introduced, they must be included in new lease agreements.

2. Landlords inform their tenants about the presence and utility of their housing number so that they are able to communicate it to the resident control during mandatory announcements.

1. Property owners are required to report to the municipal resident control service the arrival or departure of tenants, indicating the numbers of the buildings and the relevant housing units, even in the case of a move within the same building or group of buildings, as well as in the case of the merging or division of housing units.

2. Article 48, paragraph 1 remains reserved.

1. State services that possess data sources enabling the determination and assignment of a housing number are required to provide them to the service free of charge.

2. The same applies to the Cantonal Insurance and Prevention Institution (ECAP) and to energy and drinking water suppliers.

3. If necessary, the Council of State may extend this obligation to other holders of data sources.

1. Data must be transmitted in a form that allows for computerized processing.

2. The service determines the format, the reference day, and the terms of data transmission.

For the determination and introduction of the housing number, municipalities may appoint a service provider to carry out the necessary work of data collection and verification, as well as, if they so decide, the installation of the housing numbers.

1. The service provider may, upon request, obtain the following personal data free of charge from the population control

e) gender.

2. Where applicable, they may also obtain data on arrivals in the municipality or departures from the municipality, as well as relocations within the same municipality.

3. The data provided to the service provider may only be used within the scope of their mandate.

1. Data exchanges between the population control authority and the service provider, necessary for the fulfillment of their tasks, are free of charge.

2. The exchange is conducted electronically and in encrypted form.

1. If, during the determination and assignment of the housing number, it is found that there are individuals who are not registered in the residents' register, although they should be, these individuals are summoned by the official in charge of resident control to rectify this omission within fourteen days.

2. They may face criminal prosecution if they refuse to comply within the aforementioned deadline.

The municipal residents' control service must ensure that the housing number is properly communicated in the event of a change of tenant or owner and remains unchanged.

1. The competent authority for building permits ensures the assignment of necessary building and housing numbers in the event of construction or transformation of buildings.

2. Municipalities have the option to introduce physical numbering.

The costs for the assignment of housing numbers and, where applicable, the placement of a physical number, shall be borne by the municipalities.

1. The data contained in the municipal registers are systematically made available to the cantonal administration for administrative management purposes and for statistical purposes.

2. The Council of State shall establish, by regulation, the procedure for consultation, the transmission, and the reciprocal use of data between the State and the municipalities.

The person responsible for the control of residents shall officially communicate, in encrypted form by electronic means, the arrivals and departures between cantons or communes, respectively, to the municipalities of origin and destination.

1. The disclosure of data pertaining to a specific individual to third parties is governed by the cantonal legislation on data protection.

2. Information is provided based on the registers, without warranty, and any potential inaccuracy does not result in any liability on the part of the State or the municipalities.

1. Data communications free of charge and for statistical purposes between the cantonal service and the municipal statistical services, on one hand, and the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), on the other, shall occur in accordance with the relevant federal and cantonal legal provisions.

2. The data contained in the personal data database (PDD) may be used for statistical purposes by the competent cantonal authority.

3. In accordance with federal and cantonal data protection legislation, this data may also be transmitted to other federal services, other cantons or municipalities, as well as to public or private organizations, to enable them to conduct scientific or general interest projects, such as university research.

Except with the express and exceptional authorization of the Council of State for justified cases, the communication of data for commercial or advertising purposes is prohibited.

For the remainder, data protection legislation is applicable.

1. The Council of State exercises supreme oversight over the control of residents.

2. It enacts the implementing provisions.

3. It designates

a) The department responsible for matters concerning the control of residents (referred to in this chapter as the department);

b) The service in charge of executing the provisions concerning the control of residents (referred to in this chapter as the service).

4. It ratifies the appointment, at the municipal level, of the person in charge of the control of residents and their deputy.

1. The department responsible for resident control ensures the proper execution of such control.

2. It may issue directives.

The department in charge of monitoring residents has the following responsibilities

a) it oversees the individuals assigned to the monitoring of residents and ensures their training;

b) it exercises all competencies not assigned to another authority.

1. Each municipality has a resident registration control service (hereinafter referred to as: the municipal service) responsible for maintaining the residents' register (hereinafter: the register).

2. It appoints the officer in charge of resident control, who is administratively attached to it, subject to ratification by the State Council.

3. It employs the necessary personnel, who are placed under the responsibility of the officer in charge of resident control, and bears the operating costs.

4. Two or more municipalities may decide, through an agreement approved by the General Council and sanctioned by the State Council, that their municipal service and register are managed by the same officer in charge of resident control.

**1. The Resident Registration Officer has the following duties in particular:**

a) he receives notifications of arrivals and departures, as well as notices of changes in the status of the concerned individuals;

b) he maintains the register in which, for each individual residing or staying in the municipality, the data relating to identifiers and characteristics required by federal law or prescribed by the Council of State are recorded;

c) he ensures that all concerned individuals fulfill the obligations imposed on them by legislation and carries out the necessary inspections and investigations; if necessary, he may request police assistance;

d) he provides for the communications required by legislation;

e) he issues and delivers certificates of residence or stay and declarations of domicile;

f) he retains original documents and declarations of domicile and, in the event of departure, returns or, if necessary, destroys them;

g) he ensures that documents related to the resident register are preserved and archived in accordance with legislation;

h) he decides, after hearing the concerned party, on disputes arising from the application of this law, particularly those concerning domicile or stay;

i) he collaborates, in accordance with the directives of the competent department, in compiling statistics relating, in particular, to residents, households, dwellings, and residential buildings, especially within the framework of population censuses;

j) he also performs all tasks assigned to him by the legislation on the register.

**2. The Resident Registration Officer may require cantonal and municipal administrations, as well as third parties (Art. 48), to provide him free of charge with the information or details they possess about a specific individual and which are necessary for maintaining the register (Art. 43 and 53).**

[8] Decisions made by the person in charge of population control and the competent cantonal service are subject to an appeal to the competent department, and decisions from the latter may be appealed to the Cantonal Court, in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), dated March 18, 2025.

1. Any natural person who establishes their domicile (Art. 3) in a municipality or resides there (Art. 4) for more than three months must declare their arrival to the municipal service.

2. If they reside in multiple municipalities, the declaration must be made in each of them.

The declaration must take place within fourteen days following the change of residence or, in the case of non-consecutive periods of stay, as soon as it is foreseeable that the stay will exceed three months (Art. 4).

1. The declaration is made at the municipal service.

2. Subject to the services offered to users of the secure single counter and Article 42, adults are required to appear in person to declare their arrival, unless they have been exempted for valid reasons by the person in charge of resident control.

[9] 1 As long as they share a household with him, the declaration made by the spouse or registered partner is valid for the other spouse or partner, and that of the holder of parental authority or custody rights is valid for minor children, or for any other persons as long as they share a household with him.

2. The obligation to declare applies to

a) the legal representative, for minors living outside their parents' household and for persons under general guardianship or, if they are residing in an institution, to the management of that institution;

b) the management, for persons staying more than three months in an educational institution, a hospice, a hospital, or a detention facility;

c) the competent authority, for the stay of asylum seekers.

A declaration of arrival must be completed for each person, whether an adult or a minor, and must contain data related to identifiers and characteristics as required by federal legislation or prescribed by the Council of State.

1. Each person required to register must provide truthful and, if necessary, documented information; they must indicate their housing number.

2. When declaring their arrival in a municipality, every Swiss citizen is required to submit

a) in the case of residency, an act of origin for themselves and for each person they declare;

b) in the case of a stay, an official document confirming the deposit of this document in another municipality (declaration of residency).

3. The foreign national must produce an up-to-date civil status document and a recognized identity document according to federal law; if they already hold a temporary, residence, settlement, or other authorization, they must present it as well.

4. If necessary, the presentation of a family certificate, a family record, or a registration certificate in the partnership register may be required, especially when the declaration is made by a representative, in accordance with Article 42, paragraph 1.

5. The municipal service retains the documents deposited there which it must preserve.

Based on the data provided by the person to be registered and, if their previous residence was in Switzerland, after verifying that these data match the information transmitted electronically by the municipality of origin, the person in charge of resident registration records the new arrival, indicating whether they are establishing their residence in the municipality or merely staying temporarily.

1. The person who establishes their residence in a municipality receives a certificate of domicile, valid on the day it is issued; a single certificate, mentioning the individuals who share a household, can be issued for families or registered partners.

2. The person who declares a stay in a municipality receives a certificate of stay which is issued for the duration of one year; it can be renewed.

1. The person who, while maintaining their domicile in the municipality where the required document is filed (Art. 44), temporarily or periodically resides in another municipality, may obtain a declaration of domicile.

2. This declaration certifies that the person is domiciled in the municipality of establishment and mentions the municipality of residence.

1. Upon oral, written, fax, or email request from the municipal service, employers for their employees, landlords and property managers for tenants who live in their buildings, are moving in or out, as well as energy and potable water suppliers for the services they provide, are obliged to immediately and at no cost, communicate all necessary information related to individuals required to register (Art. 41 and 52), if the latter do not fulfill their obligations.

2. The same obligation applies to public establishments with a license to accommodate guests; the control of these guests, in accordance with the relevant legislation, remains reserved.

3. The Postal Service has the same obligation concerning postal addresses.

1. Individuals, whether domiciled or residing, must report to the municipal service, in accordance with Article 41 applied by analogy, within fourteen days from the event, any change in their personal data contained in the register (Articles 43 and 53), such as changes in identity, civil status, address, residence within the same building, etc.

2. A new certificate of origin must be provided in the event of a change in identity or civil status.

3. Persons who reach the age of majority are informed by the municipal service that they are subject to the same formalities as new arrivals, even if they continue to reside in their parents' household.

1. A person who leaves the municipality where they are domiciled or whose duration of stay no longer exceeds three months per year must notify the municipal service of their departure within fourteen days following the change of domicile, in accordance with Article 41 applied by analogy, and indicate their destination.

2. If the new domicile is located in Switzerland, the person responsible for the residents' registry will inform the destination municipality and provide them with the information they possess.

When a person announces their departure to the municipal service, the original document is returned to its holder or, if this is not possible, destroyed.

When a decision regarding domicile has become final and enforceable, the person in charge of resident control may, on behalf of and at the expense of the concerned individual, proceed to

a) Registration if they are in possession of the necessary information through a notice of departure from the former domicile municipality;

b) Deregistration and, if they know the new domicile municipality, send the documents they held to the latter.

To manage information related to inhabitants, municipalities maintain the register up to date.

In addition to the minimum content required by federal law, the Council of State may stipulate that the register includes, in addition to the information contained in the notice of arrival and the notice of departure, technical elements necessary for its management and for the transmission of data to the cantonal administration services.

1. Any person residing or staying in the municipality is required, upon request of the officer in charge of population control, to provide them with information free of charge that allows for the completion or correction of the information concerning them that may appear in the register.

2. The updating of the register may also be based on data from other administrative registers or other official surveys.

[11] 1 A database of natural persons is established to provide access to the data used by the cantonal administration, the municipalities, and other entities designated by the Council of State, performing tasks of public interest (hereinafter: the entities).

2. It is composed of data contained in the municipal registers of residents as well as data of persons not domiciled in the canton but who maintain an administrative connection with it.

[12] The department responsible for population control qualifies as the data controller within the meaning of the legislation on data protection and transparency.

[13] 1. The service designated by the Council of State is responsible for operating the database.

2. It is competent to modify and update the data in the database.

3. It must also ensure that the data is protected against misuse by taking appropriate organizational and technical measures.

4. It ensures the integrity, availability, and confidentiality of the data.

5. The Council of State defines the duration and conditions of data retention.

[14] The services of the cantonal administration, municipalities, and entities that have access to the Central Database (BDP) may become aware of the Social Security Number (AVS) and systematically use it for the fulfillment of their legal duties, provided that a legal basis authorizes them to do so.

**[15] Article 1** The State Council determines the extent to which cantonal administration services, municipalities, and entities have electronic access to certain data of natural persons.

2. Such access can only be provided under the following cumulative conditions

a) The cantonal administration service, the municipality, the entity, or the person regularly needs to know a piece of data in the context of performing its tasks;

b) The person and the staff of the service, the municipality, or the entity are subject to professional or functional secrecy;

c) Access to the data in question is proportionate to the objective pursued and is based on sufficient public or private interest.

[16] 1 The Council of State may grant public transportation companies, as defined by the Federal Law on Security Bodies of Public Transportation Enterprises (LOST), of June 18, 2010 [17], electronic access to the BDP even if they are not entities within the meaning of Article 55a and do not meet the requirements of Article 55e, paragraph 2, letter b of this Act.

2. Employees of the public transportation companies thus authorized may only consult the BDP for the purposes of identifying individuals suspected of having committed an offense related to the use of public transportation.

3. The Council of State regulates the conditions of use.

1. Offenses against this law and its implementing provisions are punishable by a fine of up to 10,000 francs.

2. Attempt and complicity are punishable.

3. The application of specific penal provisions of federal and cantonal legislation remains reserved.

1. When an offense is committed in the management of a legal entity, a commercial company, or a sole proprietorship, the penal provisions apply to the natural person who acted or should have acted on its behalf.

2. The legal entity, company, or business owner is jointly liable for the fine and costs, unless they prove that they have taken all necessary measures to ensure management in compliance with the current legal and regulatory requirements.

3. The criminal judgment determines the extent of this liability.

1. Any decision made by a cantonal criminal authority under this law or its implementing provisions must be communicated to the competent cantonal service, as well as to the person in charge of resident control of the concerned municipality.

2. If the competent cantonal service or the person in charge of resident control of the concerned municipality requests it, the file must be submitted to them.

The person who has fulfilled the obligations imposed by the Law on Resident Control of February 3, 1998, is deemed to have satisfied the obligations of this present law until an event occurs which, under the terms of the latter, requires them to make a new declaration.

**Article 1: Repeal of the Law on the Control of Residents (LCR)**

The Law on the Control of Residents (LCR), dated February 3, 1998, is hereby repealed.

1. This law is subject to an optional referendum.

2. The Council of State shall provide for its promulgation and execution if necessary.

3. It shall set the date of its entry into force.

Law promulgated by the Council of State on December 9, 2009.