Legal basis

An overview of the laws, ordinances and directives that govern the activities of the Federal Archives.

The tasks and responsibilities of the Swiss Federal Archives are set out in the Federal Act on Archiving (ArchA) of 1998. The Act also sets out the archiving obligations of federal bodies and other public or private law bodies that fulfil executive tasks delegated to them by the Confederation.

ArchA establishes a right of access to archive records without restriction and free of charge. It also sets out closure periods stipulating when documents become accessible without a request to consult records. You can submit such a request to the Federal Archives if you wish to consult documents that are subject to a closure period.

The work of the Federal Archives is also influenced by numerous other laws, ordinances and directives. Here is an overview:

Archiving legislation

• Federal Act on Archiving of 26 June 1998 (ArchA, SR 152.1)
• Dispatch on the Federal Act on Archiving of 26 February 1997 (ger)
• Ordinance to the Federal Act on Archiving of 8 September 1999 (SR 152.11, ArchO)
• SFA Fees Ordinance of 1 December 1999 (SR 172.041.15) (ger)

• Notes on the Ordinance to the Federal Act on Archiving (german)

  PDF229.10 kB7 May 2026

Directives of the Federal Archives

• Directives on the requirement to offer and submit documents to the SFA (german)

  PDF134.77 kB7 May 2026

• Regulations on the Use of the Swiss Federal Archives (german)

  PDF72.43 kB7 May 2026

Other relevant laws

• Government and Administration Organisation Act of 21 March 1997 (SR 172.010, GAOA)
• Government and Administration Ordinance of 25 November 1998 (SR 172.010.1, GAOO)
• Ordinance of 3 April 2019 on Electronic Records and Process Management in the Federal Administation (GEVER Ordinance) (ger)
• Federal Act of 17 December 2004 on Freedom of Information in the Administration (Freedom of Information Act, FoIA)
• Ordinance of 24 May 2006 on Freedom of Information in the Administration (Freedom of Information Ordinance, FoIO)
• Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP) (ger)
• Ordinance to the Federal Act on Data Protection (FODP) (ger)
• Ordinance of 4 July 2007 on the Protection of Federal Information (Information Protection Ordinance, IPO, SR 510.411)

Application of the law

An overview of the case law on archive law can be found on the websites of the Federal Supreme Court and the Federal Administrative Court.

Federal Supreme Court

Federal Court: Jurisprudence (ger)

Federal Administrative Court

Federal Administrative Court: Jurisprudence