Revision of the Ordinance on Fees in the Field of Statistics

The list of statistical services subject to fees has been updated to take account of developments in recent years, including declining sales of printed publications and growing demand for data linkage options, particularly for research purposes. As part of the revision of the Ordinance on Fees in the Field of Statistics, the Federal Council also decided to simplify the rules for establishing fees and has reviewed the applicable tariffs to ensure that the producers of statistics can continue to deliver high-quality services. More broadly, the provisions governing fees for statistical services provided by various federal units have been consolidated into a single ordinance, ensuring greater harmonisation in line with the new Federal Statistics Ordinance. Each service will now be assigned a tariff for more transparency and predictability with regard to paying services. The text has also been streamlined through references to existing federal regulations, notably those of the General Fees Ordinance and the Ordinance on Fees for Federal Publications.

For the sake of clarity and consistency, the provisions relating to fees charged for the provision of data from the registers maintained by the FSO ‒ the Business and Enterprise Register (BER), the Federal Register of Buildings and Dwellings (RBD) and the UID Register ‒ have also been incorporated into the Ordinance.

Free use of statistical results for commercial purposes

As part of this revision, both the obligation to obtain authorisation and fees for the commercial use of statistical results have been abolished. From now on, statistical results published by the Swiss federal authorities may be used and reproduced freely, including for commercial purposes, without charge. This will allow individuals and organisations to reproduce and publish tables provided by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), for example, without any prior formalities. The change is a major step forward in the advancement of open government data.

The revised ordinance will enter into force on 15 July 2026.