Practical advice on debt-enforcement proceedings

Updated on 9 August 2026

Beyond the four legal routes, here are concrete answers to the most frequent situations: what a landlord, an employer or a naturalisation authority sees, what a collection agency can actually demand, what is seizable from your salary — and how to keep your extract clean, legally.

Non-disclosure: do you qualify, and how to check

Not every entry qualifies for non-disclosure: you need an objection, three months elapsed and an inactive creditor. Paying alone is not enough.

Debt enforcement over health-insurance premiums: understand and act

Your insurer must file (Art. 64a KVG), and paying does not erase the entry. What works: asking for a withdrawal, and why switching insurers stays blocked.

Filing an objection to a payment order

Received a payment order? You have 10 days to file an objection, free of charge (Art. 74 SchKG). How to do it, its effects, and what the creditor must then prove.

The certificate of loss, explained simply

A Swiss certificate of loss lapses only after 20 years and carries no interest (Art. 149a SchKG). What the creditor can do, how long it shows, how to clear it.

Paid in full — and still on your extract

You paid, and the entry is still on your extract. Why that is normal, what the creditor would have to do, and which routes remain open to you.

Debt enforcement and a flat search: what the landlord sees

What a landlord sees on your debt-register extract, what they can require, and how to present a clean rental file — legally.

Debt enforcement and employment: can an employer see it?

Can an employer consult your debt-enforcement proceedings? What Art. 8a SchKG allows, what happens in practice, and how to approach the subject.

How to obtain a debt-enforcement extract

Where to request your extract of the debt register, how much it costs (17 CHF, Art. 12a GebV SchKG), and how to obtain it clean depending on your situation.

Debt enforcement and Swiss citizenship: what actually blocks an application

Does a Betreibung prevent Swiss naturalisation? What Art. 12 BüG and Art. 4 BüV require, the role of the register extract, and how cantonal practice varies.

Credit refused: debt enforcement register, ZEK, IKO and CRIF

A refused credit application does not always come from the debt enforcement register. Understand the register, ZEK, IKO and CRIF — and how to have your data corrected.

Wage garnishment and the minimum subsistence level: what is really seizable

Wage garnishment under Art. 93 SchKG: how the minimum subsistence level is calculated, base amounts, the one-year maximum, 13th salary and employer notification.

Debt collection agencies: what they can — and cannot — demand

Intrum, EOS, Creditreform: what a debt collection agency can lawfully demand in Switzerland. Default interest of 5% (Art. 104 OR), reminder fees and your right to object.

Serafe debt enforcement: understanding it and responding

Serafe enforces the unpaid Swiss radio and TV licence fee. Why an objection alone is weak, when you can claim an exemption, and how to clean up your register extract.

Unpaid taxes: avoiding enforcement, or getting out of it

Unpaid taxes in Switzerland: how the administration moves to enforcement, how to negotiate an instalment plan, and when to apply for remission of tax.

Missed the objection deadline: the remedies that remain

The 10 days to object have passed? Restoration of the deadline (Art. 33 para. 4 SchKG), defective service, action under Art. 85a SchKG: the remedies that remain.

Getting out of over-indebtedness: what actually works

Over-indebtedness in Switzerland: debt counselling, amicable debt settlement (Art. 333 SchKG), personal bankruptcy — and why it does not wipe out your debts.

Setting aside your objection: what is actually at stake

The creditor is asking the court to set aside your objection: the difference between provisional (Art. 82 SchKG) and definitive (Art. 80 SchKG), defences and deadlines.

Unpaid rent: the mechanics and the deadlines that matter

Unpaid rent in Switzerland: the 30-day formal notice period (Art. 257d CO), termination, eviction proceedings, and the lasting mark on your register extract.

Debt enforcement and your residence permit: what is really at stake

Can debts block renewal of a B permit or the grant of a C permit? Integration criteria (Art. 58a AIG), formal warning and downgrading explained.

An entry you do not recognise: what to do

Enforcement for a debt that is not yours? Anyone can initiate one without evidence. Objection, criminal complaint, Art. 85a SchKG, and cleaning up your extract.

What removing an entry actually costs

Extract CHF 17, non-disclosure CHF 40, creditor withdrawal free: the official fees are low. What gets expensive is taking the wrong route.

The creditor will not withdraw: what is left to you

No law obliges a creditor to withdraw a paid entry. What remains: non-disclosure, the five-year deadline, the court route — and how to negotiate.