Since 1 October 2026, the revised Swiss Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA; LBA in French, GwG in German) also applies to advisers. Under the revised text, an adviser is anyone who, on a professional basis, takes part on behalf of third parties in a financial transaction linked to certain operations (sale or purchase of real estate, creation or administration of a non-operational legal entity, creation of an entity abroad), or who provides an address to an entity for more than six months. Anyone carrying out such an activity on 1 October 2026 must apply for affiliation to a self-regulatory organisation (SRO), or notify the activity to their SRO if they are already a financial intermediary, before 1 December 2026.
Tool: decision trees. To qualify a mandate, Ark Fiduciaire publishes a free tool: two decision trees "adviser within the meaning of the AMLA", one for law firms and one for fiduciaries. A third tab covers the transparency register: which companies must file, and by when.
AMLA advisers 2026: what changes on 1 October
Parliament adopted the amendment to the AMLA on 26 September 2025. The Federal Council set its entry into force, together with the revised Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance (AMLO), for 1 October 2026. The act, which covered financial intermediaries and dealers, adds a third category, advisers (art. 2 para. 1 let. c AMLA).
Who is an adviser under the AMLA?
Art. 2 para. 3bis AMLA covers natural persons and legal entities that, on a professional basis, take part on behalf of third parties in financial transactions, including the organisation of funds, in connection with:
- the sale or purchase of real estate;
- the creation of a non-operational legal entity with its seat in Switzerland, or of any entity with its seat abroad;
- the management or administration of a non-operational entity;
- contributions to and distributions by a non-operational entity;
- the sale or purchase of an entity through a non-operational entity.
Art. 2 para. 3ter adds the provision, for more than six months, of an address or premises as the domicile or registered office of a legal entity. Here, whether the entity is operational does not matter.
The non-operational entity is defined in art. 2a para. 6 AMLA: a structure that was not founded or managed in order to run or support the operating activities of a business or group, in particular a domiciliary company.
Causality: when advice becomes participation
Under art. 12d AMLO, participation includes any advice that contributes causally to the operation. It is not necessary to handle the funds, and the form (call, email, memo) is irrelevant. Our tool distinguishes three situations:
- general information on the law, without reviewing the client's situation: outside the AMLA;
- a recommendation tailored to the client, who then acts on it: grey area, to be treated as an AMLA mandate out of caution;
- implementation arrangements, structuring of contributions, drafting of deeds: AMLA.
Exceptions: litigation, the CHF 5 million threshold, corporate offices
The act sets aside several situations. The work of lawyers and notaries in judicial, criminal, administrative or arbitration proceedings, including advice to prepare or avoid proceedings, is not covered (art. 2 para. 4 AMLA). Art. 2 para. 4ter excludes in particular:
- transfers of real estate or entities worth less than CHF 5 million, provided the price is paid and received exclusively through banks or other financial intermediaries subject to the act;
- the purchase of residential property for own use or as a replacement property in Switzerland;
- transactions under family law, matrimonial law, inheritance law or gifts;
- acting as a corporate body for an operational entity, a charitable foundation or an operational association with its seat in Switzerland.
The AMLO adds services between companies of the same group. The exception relied on must be documented in the file.
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On a professional basis: the thresholds of art. 12f AMLO
Advice is professional when it is an independent economic activity aimed at a lasting income. It is professional in every case once a single one of these thresholds is exceeded:
| Criterion | Threshold |
|---|---|
| gross revenue from the advisory activity | more than CHF 50,000 per calendar year |
| clients or operations | more than 20 clients, or more than 20 operations, per calendar year |
| third-party assets | more than CHF 5 million at any given time |
| volume of transactions | more than CHF 2 million per calendar year |
AMLA and law firms, AMLA and fiduciaries: two readings
Law firm. The analysis is made mandate by mandate, when the file is opened and again whenever its subject changes. The type of service decides nothing; only the underlying operation counts. An employment contract, a commercial lease, a general tax opinion or the incorporation of a Swiss operating company remain out of scope. As long as the lawyer only advises, there is no duty to report to MROS: under art. 9 para. 2 AMLA, that duty requires that the lawyer carries out a financial transaction in the name or on behalf of the client and that the information is not covered by professional secrecy.
Fiduciary. Domiciliation for more than six months is covered whatever the entity. For company incorporation, the regime applies to a non-operational entity in Switzerland and to any entity abroad; preparing the articles, introducing the client to the notary or organising the payment of the capital are causal contributions. Administering a non-operational entity without being a corporate body is covered. Acting as a corporate body of a domiciliary company, on the other hand, falls under the existing financial intermediary regime, not the adviser regime.
Duties and affiliation timeline
From 1 October 2026, the adviser verifies the client's identity, identifies the beneficial owner, establishes the object and purpose of the operation and keeps records (art. 8b and 8c AMLA). The adviser takes the necessary organisational measures, including staff training (art. 8d AMLA). On reasonable suspicion, the adviser reports immediately to MROS, without informing the client (art. 9 para. 1ter and 10a para. 5 AMLA); lawyers and notaries only under the conditions of art. 9 para. 2.
Under the transitional provision of the AMLO, anyone active on 1 October 2026 must apply for affiliation to an SRO before 1 December 2026; until the decision, the activity may continue only within existing business relationships. A financial intermediary who also acts as an adviser notifies this, within the same deadline, to the authority or organisation that supervises it. After that, anyone whose activity becomes professional has two months to file the application (art. 12g AMLO).
What remains uncertain
There is no practice or case law on these notions to date. The line between a recommendation and a causal contribution, the status of mixed holding companies and bookkeeping alone for a non-operational entity are not settled. The rule of caution used in our tool, in dubio pro LBA (when in doubt, apply the act), is to treat a doubtful mandate as an AMLA mandate and to note the reasoning in the file. This article is general information, not legal advice.
FAQ
Who is an adviser under the revised AMLA?
Anyone who, on a professional basis, takes part on behalf of third parties in a financial transaction linked to one of the operations in art. 2 para. 3bis AMLA, or who domiciles an entity for more than six months (para. 3ter).
Is a fiduciary that domiciles companies an AMLA adviser?
Yes, if the address or premises are provided for more than six months and the activity is carried out on a professional basis. The criterion also applies to an operating company.
Is the incorporation of an operating Sàrl (GmbH) or SA (AG) in Switzerland covered?
According to the text, no: only the creation of a non-operational entity in Switzerland, or of any entity abroad, is on the list. If there is doubt about the operational character, it is safer to treat the mandate as covered.
Does a lawyer acting as adviser have to report suspicions to MROS?
Not as long as the lawyer only advises. Art. 9 para. 2 AMLA limits the duty to cases where the lawyer carries out a financial transaction for the client and professional secrecy does not cover the information.
What should be done before 1 December 2026?
List the mandates concerned, file the application for affiliation with an SRO, or notify the adviser activity to your SRO if you are already affiliated as a financial intermediary, after checking that it accepts advisers.
Qualify a mandate with the decision trees
Use our free tool: AMLA decision trees for law firms and fiduciaries. For due diligence duties in general, see our guide AML in fiduciary services: obligations, KYC and risks and our article on AML for domiciliation and company formation.