How do you get a clinic operating licence in Zurich or Geneva?

In Zurich, a practice run by a company such as an AG or GmbH applies to the Gesundheitsdirektion for a Betriebsbewilligung, usually decided in 6 to 8 weeks for about CHF 1,000 and valid for 10 years. In Geneva, every health institution other than an individual or group practice applies to the department of health for an autorisation d'exploiter, at a fee of CHF 1,650 that includes the inspection.

Which licence your clinic needs

Switzerland licenses at two levels, the professional and the institution. Every doctor who practises on their own professional responsibility needs a licence from the canton where they work, under article 34 of the federal Medical Professions Act.¹ On top of that, Zurich requires a Betriebsbewilligung when medical services are provided in the name and for the account of a company rather than a doctor with their own licence, so a practice organised as an AG or GmbH needs one even when its owner already holds a Zurich practice licence.²³ Geneva requires an autorisation d'exploiter for the creation, extension, transformation and operation of every health institution, and says individual and group practices are outside that chapter of the law.⁴

What each canton asks for

Zurich grants the licence when the institution is equipped for the services it offers, has the staff needed for proper care, names a management with overall responsibility, and names a member of that management who is responsible for health rules and holds a Zurich practice licence covering the institution's services.³ Its Merkblatt asks for a written Betriebskonzept, a Hygienekonzept, a concept for the patient record, an organigram, floor plans, proof of operator liability insurance of at least CHF 5 million and criminal record extracts no older than 3 months.⁵ An institution already licensed in another canton has a right to a simplified procedure at no cost under the Internal Market Act.²

Geneva asks for a request signed by the future operator and the professional named as responsible, with the commercial register extract, plans approved by the building authority and the documents specific to the institution, one request per site unless the regulation says otherwise.⁶ A private medical establishment must be led medically by a doctor with a postgraduate title who is registered and able to bill basic health insurance, and Geneva issues one licence for all its sites.⁶ The fee is CHF 1,650, inspection included, and a change to the licence costs CHF 200.⁷

1. Decide which licence applies. A doctor's own practice needs only the practice licence. A company in Zurich, or a health institution in Geneva, needs the institution licence too.
2. Name the responsible people. In Zurich, the overall management and a licensed medical lead inside it. In Geneva, the médecin responsable who signs the request.
3. Write the operating concept. Services, organisation, emergencies, medicines, the patient record and quality, as Zurich's Merkblatt lists them.
4. Prepare the premises. Floor plans with labelled rooms and ambulance access. In Geneva, plans go to the authority before works start.
5. Collect the attachments. Register and debt extracts, insurance, criminal record extracts no older than 3 months, and staff notifications.
6. File the complete application. Online in Zurich through the canton's eBeGe service, or by post. Do not open before the licence is granted.
7. Diary the obligations. Prior notice of new sites, services and leads, and in Zurich the renewal before 10 years run out.

1. Canton ______ Licence ______
2. Operator, legal form ______
3. Responsible medical lead ______ Practice licence number ______
4. Sites and site leads ______
5. Operating concept drafted on ______ Hygiene concept on ______
6. Application filed on ______ Opening date ______
7. Renewal due on ______

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Billing basic insurance is a separate step

A Zurich institution that wants to bill mandatory health insurance applies separately for admission as a provider. The doctors working in its name need three years in their field at a recognised Swiss training centre, German at level C1, a federal postgraduate title and a cantonal practice licence, and the institution must join a certified electronic patient record community and meet the quality requirements of article 58g KVV.⁵ Those requirements are a quality management system, an internal reporting and learning system, and the equipment to take part in national quality measurements.⁸

Questions

Can we open before the Betriebsbewilligung is granted?

No, Zurich does not allow an institution to start operating before the licence is granted, and it generally refuses retroactive licences.

Does my Zurich practice licence cover my GmbH?

No, a company that provides medical services in its own name needs its own Betriebsbewilligung, even when its owner holds a practice licence.

How long does a Geneva autorisation d'exploiter last?

In principle for an indefinite period, unless there are good reasons to set a term, and it can be limited or withdrawn if its conditions stop being met.

We already run an institution in another canton. Is Zurich faster?

Zurich gives a simplified procedure at no cost under the Internal Market Act, with a shorter list of attachments.

Sources

1. 1Fedlex, Swiss Confederation, 2025Medizinalberufegesetz (MedBG), SR 811.11, consolidated 1 July 2025Read source
2. 2Kanton Zürich, Gesundheitsdirektion, 2026BetriebsbewilligungRead source
3. 3Kanton Zürich, Zürcher Gesetzessammlung, 2026Gesundheitsgesetz (GesG) vom 2. April 2007, LS 810.1, in force from 1 January 2026Read source
4. 4République et canton de Genève, SILGENEVE, 2026Loi sur la santé (LS), K 1 03, du 7 avril 2006Read source
5. 5Kanton Zürich, Gesundheitsdirektion, 2024Merkblatt Betriebsbewilligung für ambulante ärztliche Institutionen, September 2024Read source
6. 6République et canton de Genève, SILGENEVE, 2025Règlement sur les institutions de santé (RISanté), K 2 05.06, du 9 septembre 2020Read source
7. 7République et canton de Genève, SILGENEVE, 2025Règlement fixant les émoluments perçus par le département chargé de la santé (REmSanté), K 1 03.04Read source
8. 8Fedlex, Swiss Confederation, 2026Verordnung über die Krankenversicherung (KVV), SR 832.102, consolidated 1 August 2026Read source

Written by the wai team from Cantonal health authorities of Zurich and Geneva guidance, checked on 16 October 2026. This is guidance, not legal advice. Neither the Zurich Gesundheitsdirektion nor Geneva's department of health endorses wai or any software.