Civil Status Regulation (CSR) (RSC)

[3] 1 The civil status districts are composed as follows

a) the Bellinzona Civil Status District Service, with its seat in the Municipality of Bellinzona, comprises the territory of the districts of Bellinzona, Blenio, Leventina, and Riviera;

b) the Locarno Civil Status District Service, with its seat in the Municipality of Locarno, comprises the territory of the districts of Locarno and Vallemaggia;

c) the Lugano Civil Status District Service, with its seat in the Municipality of Lugano, comprises the territory of the district of Lugano;

d) the Mendrisio Civil Status District Service, with its seat in the Municipality of Mendrisio, comprises the territory of the district of Mendrisio.

2 The Central Civil Status Service (hereinafter Central Service) is designated as the Special Civil Status Office within the meaning of Art. 2 para. 2 of the Civil Status Ordinance of 28 April 2004 (CSO) with jurisdiction over the entire cantonal territory and has its seat in Bellinzona.

3 For organizational and proximity reasons, procedures may be carried out by appointment in specially designated decentralized premises.

4 Civil status officers of a specific district shall, if necessary, provide cover in another district.

[3] Art. amended by R 6.12.2023; in force from 1.1.2024 – BU 2023, 414; previous amendment: BU 2022, 176.

[4] Each district office shall provide, free of charge, one or more suitable premises for the solemnization of marriages and the ceremonial conversion of registered partnerships, as well as the infrastructure necessary for conducting civil status operations, archiving civil status registers, documents, and data carriers, in particular with adequate protection against theft, fire, and water.

Solemnization of marriages and ceremonial conversion of registered partnerships in municipalities [5]

[4] Art. amended by O 1.6.2022; in force since 1.7.2022 - OJ 2022, 176.

[5] Marginal note amended by O 1.6.2022; in force since 1.7.2022 - OJ 2022, 176.

1 The Civil Status Office, having acknowledged the notice provided by the relevant District Civil Status Service (hereinafter referred to as the District Service), may permit the solemnization of marriages and the ceremonial conversion of registered partnerships in municipalities within the district that provide suitable premises free of charge. [6]

2 Municipalities intending to provide suitable premises for the solemnization of marriages and the ceremonial conversion of registered partnerships within their territory shall notify, through the relevant District Civil Status Service, the number, specific characteristics, and documentation of the rooms available free of charge. In addition to free rooms, special premises may be proposed, subject to the payment of costs incurred by their use. [7]

3 The costs for the rental of special premises for the solemnization of marriages and for ceremonial conversion, as well as related disbursements, shall be borne by the fiancés or partners directly by the municipalities concerned, if applicable, together with the fees for the marriage solemnization performed by the Mayor or Deputy Mayor. [8]

4 The fiancés and partners must be informed of the costs they will incur at the time of reserving the special premises.

5 The District Service shall regulate the details. In case of disputes, the Civil Status Office shall make a final decision.

[6] Para. amended by R 1.6.2022; in force since 1.7.2022 - BU 2022, 176.

[7] Para. amended by R 1.6.2022; in force since 1.7.2022 - BU 2022, 176.

[8] Para. amended by R 1.6.2022; in force since 1.7.2022 - BU 2022, 176.

Supervision in matters of civil status is exercised by the Civil Status Office.

The Civil Status Office, in addition to the powers conferred by federal regulations on the supervisory authority, directs, administers, regulates substitutions, and coordinates the management of district and central services; in particular, it

a) examines and decides on the transcription of acts and administrative and judicial decisions issued by foreign authorities that require transcription or recognition in the civil status registers managed by the Ticinese civil status authorities;

b) authorizes the celebration of marriages involving foreigners not domiciled or who do not meet the substantive conditions established by Swiss law (Art. 43 para. 2 and 44 para. 2 of the Federal Act on Private International Law of 18 December 1987 - PILA; Art. 73 and 74 OCS);

c) examines and orders administrative rectifications, additions, and deletions within its competence in special registers, family registers, and the civil status register;

d) performs first-level support functions for the functionalities of the computerized civil status register;

e) examines, with the cooperation of the Central Service, foreign documentation presented for the registration of a person in the civil status register in the context of naturalization procedures, for the transcription of foreign events and judicial and administrative decisions, for preparatory marriage procedures or for the registration of natural events, name declarations, respectively in cases of recognition with foreign components or when foreign law is or could be applied to the name (Art. 37 PILA). The Office issues specific directives regarding individual cases; [9]

f) organizes periodic and extraordinary inspections of subordinate civil status services and ensures that registers, supporting documents, and electronic data carriers are kept in a secure place;

g) handles the training of persons working in the field of civil status and sets the deadlines within which the federal professional certificate of professional competence must be obtained.

[9] Lit. amended by R 1.6.2022; in force since 1.7.2022 - BU 2022, 176.

1 The Central Service carries out the tasks established in Art. 2 para. 2 OSC.

2 Furthermore, it

a) is responsible for the systematic transfer of data from family registers to the civil status register and collaborates in the transfer of data within the competence of the district services if necessary;

b) is responsible for the preservation and updating of duplicates of family registers and special registers;

c) provides, if necessary, for the reproduction of data from transcriptions in civil status registers on microfilm or electronic support and their preservation.

The district services perform the tasks established by federal provisions that are not attributed to the Central Service or assumed by the supervisory authority.

[10] 1 Mayors and Deputy Mayors (extraordinary officers) are authorised solely to solemnise marriages in their respective municipality of appointment (Art. 31d LAC); their designation as extraordinary officers in other municipalities in case of substitutes is reserved. They are not bound by the requirement to obtain the federal professional certificate for civil status officers, but are nonetheless obliged to attend the training and refresher courses offered by the supervisory authority (Art. 96 OSC).

2 The solemnisation of marriages includes both the celebration of marriage and the ceremonial conversion of registered partnerships (Art. 75o OSC).

3 The execution of the preparatory procedure and the receipt of the declaration of conversion of a registered partnership into marriage falls solely within the competence of civil status officers (Arts. 62 and 75n OSC).

4 The designation of Mayors and Deputy Mayors as extraordinary officers, including in other municipalities of appointment in case of substitutes, is reserved, subject to authorisation from the Supervisory Authority.

5 Extraordinary officers are not bound by the requirement to obtain the professional certificate for civil status officers, but are nonetheless obliged to attend the training and refresher courses offered by the Supervisory Authority (Art. 96 OSC).

[10] Art. amended by R 1.6.2022; in force since 1.7.2022 - BU 2022, 176.

1 Decisions concerning name changes fall within the competence of the Civil Status Office.

2 The application, with an authenticated signature, must be submitted by the interested party, their legal representative, or an authorized proxy.

3 It must be accompanied by the following documents

a) supporting evidence for the grounds on which the request is based;

b) family record book or folder containing civil status documents, if in the applicant's possession;

c) consent of the parents or legal representative for minors or interdicted persons lacking discernment;

d) original certificate of domicile of the applicant, issued less than six months ago;

e) copy of a valid identification document.

4 Any other request for evidence is reserved, in particular civil status documents that become necessary in the context of processing the application and to the extent that useful personal data cannot be directly obtained through the procedure for accessing the civil status register.

5 The Civil Status Office may request information from other municipal and cantonal authorities or from third parties relevant for verifying the requirements stipulated by the norms governing name changes. [11]

[11] Para. introduced by R 6.12.2023; in force since 1.1.2024 - BU 2023, 414.

1 Decisions on adoption matters fall under the jurisdiction of the Civil Status Office.

2 The application, with an authenticated signature, must be submitted by the interested party, their legal representative, or their attorney.

3 It must be accompanied by the following documents

a) Certificate regarding the registered family status of the adoptive parents entered in the civil status register, family act or substitute acts for parents not entered in the civil status register, as applicable. The original documents must have been issued less than six months prior by the competent civil status authority;

b) Certificate of domicile for the adoptive parents and the person to be adopted; birth certificate of the foreign person to be adopted not yet entered in the civil status register;

c) Certificate regarding the registered family status of the person to be adopted entered in the civil status register, family act or substitute documents, as applicable, if not entered in the civil status register. The documents must have been issued less than six months prior by the competent civil status authority;

d) Criminal record extract of the adoptive parents;

e) Consent of the father and mother of the person to be adopted (extract from the minutes of the Tutelary Delegation).

4 Any other request for evidence is reserved.

The official language of civil status offices is Italian.

The costs for the exercise of civil status in the district and central services are borne by the Canton.

1 The register of families, the particular registers of births, deaths, and marriages in paper form shall be kept, until data management is implemented through the civil status register, in duplicate.

2 The original shall be kept and preserved by the District Service; the duplicate shall be deposited and preserved by the Central Service.

3 The register of recognitions and that of legitimations shall be kept and preserved in a single copy by the District Service.

1 Justificative documents for family registers and special registers kept in paper form are preserved by the relevant district.

2 Justificative documents related to the recording of persons in the civil status register are preserved by the civil status district of the place of origin of the interested person or of the foreigner connected with a Swiss citizen, and are classified according to the municipality of origin, or in increasing order according to the "star" number.

3 In addition to an archive intended to house justificative documents for persons entered in the civil status register as indicated in the preceding paragraph, the District Services and the Central Service maintain a further archival subdivision for foreigners entered as persons not connected to citizens of origin. Within this archive, the increasing subdivision according to "star" numbers is also maintained.

4 Justificative documents related to processed transactions are preserved by the Service that handled them, separately from the justificative documents related to the entry of persons, and are archived according to the year of transaction processing, subsequently by type of transaction, and then in increasing order of the same.

5 Justificative documents are preserved indefinitely; preservation by microfilm or electronic data support is reserved, according to the provisions of federal law.

1 Extracts from the civil status register are issued by the District or Central Civil Status Office, according to the competencies established by federal provisions.

2 Extracts from paper registers are issued by the civil status official of the District Office where the original registers are deposited or, exceptionally, by the Central Office where the duplicates of the registers are deposited if their correspondence with the original registers is guaranteed.

1 The authorities, bodies, and persons obliged to report births according to the Civil Status Ordinance (CSO) shall make the announcement directly to the Civil Status Office of the district where the birth occurred or the child was found, using a form signed in original.

2 The announcement must also include the birth registration number from the midwives' register.

1 Whoever finds an abandoned child must inform the Mayor of the Municipality of finding.

2 The Mayor assigns a surname and a name to the child and complies with what is prescribed by articles 34 and following of the Civil Status Ordinance (CSO).

3 He notifies the finding not only to the registrar, but also

a) to the guardianship authority of the place of finding;

b) to the Civil Status Office for the initiation of the procedure for ascertaining origin/affiliation.

The notification of every stillborn child must be accompanied by the medical certificate stating that the child was dead at the time of birth.

1 The authorities, entities, and persons obliged to notify deaths according to the Ordinance on Civil Status (OSC) shall make the announcement by attaching the original medical certificate of death to the Civil Status Office of the district where the death occurred or the body was found. A copy of the death certificate and the notification shall also be delivered or transmitted to the Municipal Chancellery of the Municipality of death.

2 The Municipal Council of the Municipality of death is competent to authorize burial, cremation, and the issuance of the transit pass for the body according to Art. 36 OSC; the authorization for the issuance of such certificates may be delegated by the Municipal Council to a municipal administration service.

[12] The Cantonal Police shall notify the death or the discovery of a corpse of a known or unknown person to the civil status officer of the district where the death occurred or the corpse was found.

[12] Art. amended by R 6.12.2023; in force since 1.1.2024 - BU 2023, 414.

1 The cantonal police, aware of circumstances where the death of a missing person must be considered certain, even though no one has seen the body, are obliged to notify the Civil Registry Office.

2 The latter is entitled to initiate proceedings before the judicial authority.

Notifications from the Cantonal Police are transmitted using the designated form.

The blank spaces remaining at the end of the inscription in the extracts of all paper registers are completed with the sign -/-.

Communications from judicial and administrative authorities and public officials, pursuant to Articles 40 et seq. of the Civil Status Ordinance, are made to the Central Service, which then notifies the interested offices.

Binding communications provided for by the OIC and those that involve the running of a period for the addressee shall be notified by registered letter.

1 Decisions on name changes issued in the Canton of Ticino are notified by the Civil Status Office to the Cantonal Police and the Cantonal Coordination Service for Criminal Records; if applicable, they are also notified to the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Road Traffic Office, the Debt Enforcement Office, and the Population Section, Migration Office. [13]

2 Decisions on adoption issued in the Canton of Ticino are notified to the competent child and adult protection authority, the guardian, the social worker, and, if applicable, to the Population Section, Migration Office. [14]

2bis Declarations of gender change with name change, if there are justifying elements, are notified to the Debt Enforcement Office, the Cantonal Police, and the Population Section, Migration Office. Declarations of gender change without name change, if there are justifying elements, are notified to the authorities competent for issuing identity documents. [15]

3 Decisions on name changes and adoptions referred to in the preceding paragraphs are also notified in cases provided for by Art. 2 para. 2 of the OSC.

3bis The Civil Status Office communicates to the competent cantonal naturalisation authority the registration of divorce decisions that occurred within eight years of facilitated naturalisation. [16]

4 Communications are made by means of a complete copy or an extract of the decision, as required.

Places and times for the celebration of marriages and for the ceremonial conversion of registered domestic partnerships [17]

[13] Para. amended by R 6.12.2023; in force from 1.1.2024 - BU 2023, 414.

[14] Para. amended by R 6.12.2023; in force from 1.1.2024 - BU 2023, 414.

[15] Para. introduced by R 6.12.2023; in force from 1.1.2024 - BU 2023, 414.

[16] Para. introduced by R 6.12.2023; in force from 1.1.2024 - BU 2023, 414.

[17] Marginal note amended by R 1.6.2022; in force from 1.7.2022 - BU 2022, 176.

1 The solemnization of marriages and the ceremonial conversion of registered domestic partnerships take place in specially designated premises in accordance with Articles 2 and 3; outdoor ceremonies, or ceremonies in stationary or moving vehicles, are not permitted. [18]

2 The solemnization of marriages and the ceremonial conversion of registered domestic partnerships must take place during the opening hours of the District Service or the Municipality, and no later than 7:00 PM; they may not take place on Sundays and recognized cantonal holidays. [19]

3 The urgent procedure referred to in Article 100 paragraph 2 of the Swiss Civil Code, Article 68 paragraph 2, and Article 75a paragraph 3 of the Ordinance on the Civil Status Register (OSC) is reserved.

[18] Para. amended by R 1.6.2022; in force since 1.7.2022 - BU 2022, 176.

[19] Para. amended by R 1.6.2022; in force since 1.7.2022 - BU 2022, 176.

To the extent that it is not governed by federal provisions, the rules of this chapter are applicable.

1 The District Civil Registry Office issues the certificate of origin based on the civil status register.

2 The certificate of origin is transmitted to the holder of the document, to their legal representative or, upon their indication, agreement, or information, to the authority or person designated by them; for minors, the consent of the legal representative is required.

3 The control of issued certificates of origin is carried out based on the civil status register or, for certificates issued based on family registers and as far as possible, based on the indexes of certificates of origin previously kept by municipal civil status offices.

1 The certificate of origin is deposited with the municipality of Swiss domicile; it may also be handed to the interested party for the purpose of their registration with the Swiss Representation abroad.

**2 In the event of a change of domicile in Switzerland, the certificate of origin is transmitted to the municipality of the new domicile or handed to the interested party for the formalities of transferring domicile.**

**3 The postal transmission of the certificate of origin abroad is not permitted.**

1 In the event of a change in civil status, name, or citizenship, the original certificate must be replaced.

2 The original certificate that has lost its validity due to a change in the civil status, name, or citizenship of the holder shall be destroyed by the depositing authority.

3 Anyone who has lost their original certificate must notify the civil status officer who issued it of the loss.

4 If the civil status officer ascertains that an original certificate with the applicant's current personal status has already been issued, before a new document is issued, the holder must be required to declare, with an admonition to tell the truth, that neither they themselves nor any other persons or authorities are in possession of the previous document.

5 Upon receipt of the relevant attestation, the competent authority shall issue a new original certificate.

1 The holder of the original document who requests the issuance, replacement, or update of the original document is liable for the payment of the fee established by the Ordinance on Fees in Civil Status Matters of 27 October 1999 (OESC). [20]

2 When the original document is requested by the inhabitants' control office, the collection of the issuance fee, which is payable by the document holder, takes place at the requesting service.

[20] Para. amended by R 1.6.2022; in force since 1.7.2022 - BU 2022, 176.

The original documents issued previously remain valid until any modification of the personal status of the interested party. In case of replacement, the provisions of this chapter apply.

1 The Civil Status Office, the District Services, the Central Service, and the municipal celebration authorities collect the fees prescribed by the OESC (Ordinance on Civil Status).

2 For matters falling within cantonal competence, the following fees are established

– civil status documents folder: from CHF 10.– to CHF 20.–.

3 Expenses for the translation, authentication, and verification of documents, the procurement of missing acts and certifications, and attestations required by the Civil Status Office, the Central Service, or the District Services shall be borne by the persons interested in the registration or the procedure, together with the related disbursements. The application of Art. 13 para. 3 OESC is reserved.

4 Cantonal competences relating to the complete or partial waiver, or the application of surcharges to the fees for the celebration of marriages and the ceremonial conversion of registered partnerships as per Art. 3 para. 2 and Art. 6 para. 2 OESC, are delegated to the Municipal Councils in the cases referred to in Art. 3 para. 3. [21]

[21] Para. amended by R 1.6.2022; in force since 1.7.2022 - BU 2022, 176.

The Civil Status Office applies the following fees

a) authorization for a change of name (Art. 30 SCC) up to a maximum of CHF 700.–;

b) pronouncement of adoption (Art. 264 et seq. SCC) up to a maximum of CHF 1200.–.

The sanctions under Article 91 of the Civil Status Ordinance are pronounced by the Civil Status Office.

The Civil Status Office determines the obligation to obtain the federal professional certificate of civil status officer for persons active in the civil status sector on June 1, 2004, based on the years of service and the degree of employment held with the previous municipal civil status authority or with the supervisory authority.

The Civil Status Regulations of February 21, 2006, are hereby repealed.

This Regulation, having obtained the approval of the Federal Council, shall be published in the Official Bulletin of Laws and Executive Acts and shall enter into force immediately. [22]

Published in the OB 2011, 293.

[22] Entry into force: May 17, 2011 – OB 2011, 293.