Published on 21 October 2025
Practical information
Before contacting us
fedpol receives many enquiries on various topics. Here you can find the answers to the most frequently asked questions. To ensure you receive a reply as quickly as possible or are directed to the office responsible, please read through the following FAQs before contacting us.
fedpol: role and tasks
The first point of contact for the public is usually the cantonal police.
fedpol is responsible for coordinating tasks between and with the cantonal police. It is also the platform for international cooperation. As Switzerland’s federal police body, fedpol is part of the Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP). In Switzerland, the cantonal police are responsible for ensuring public safety and are not subordinate to fedpol.
fedpol’s main tasks include combating terrorism and serious crime (e.g. organised crime, human trafficking, corruption), ensuring national and international cooperation and protecting federal officials and buildings as well as persons entitled to protection under international law.
You can find further information on our mission here: fedpol's mission
In an emergency, dial 117 or contact the nearest police station.
How can we help you? (FAQs in alphabetical order)
You wish to make a complaint about fedpolPlease note: fedpol only accepts complaints that are directed against the Federal Office of Police. In Switzerland, the cantons are responsible for police matters. If you have a complaint, a question or general criticism, please contact the body responsible.
- If you have a complaint about fedpol, you can contact us here. We cannot reply to complaints about other police services, organisations or authorities.
You have a question or comment about fedpol’s website
- Please report any errors, shortcomings or links that do not work. We will review the information and make the necessary adjustments or corrections.
- You can contact us here
You wish to order an extract from the Swiss criminal records- You can order an extract from the criminal records here.
Please note: Extracts from the criminal records are issued by the Federal Office of Justice (FOJ). Please send any enquiries directly to them.
You have received a fraudulent email from the police
You have received a phishing emailSomeone is demanding money for a service that was not provided
- Do not reply to the email and do not click on any unknown links. Never pay money to a person you do not know.
- Report the email to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
- You can obtain further information on romance scams, fraud in online marketplaces, money mules and phishing from Swiss Crime Prevention.
You have a question about entering or staying in Switzerland or about visas- Please contact the State Secretariat for Migration
You wish to bring an object into Switzerland or have a question about crossing the border
- Please contact the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security.
You wish to know what explosives are permitted in Switzerland or what you may import with or without a permit- Please consult our website Explosives / Pyrotechnic articles
- The website contains an application form for importing pyrotechnics.
- If you have further questions, please contact the Central Office for Explosives
Precursors: you wish to report a suspicion
The public and the sectors concerned may report any suspicious incidents (sales, theft, loss or disappearance of precursors) to fedpol: Reporting suspicious incidents.- You can find further information here on the illegal manufacture of explosives using dangerous precursors
Anyone has the right to inspect official documents and to request information about the content of such documents. Access to official documents is subject to a pre-defined procedure that is regulated in the Freedom of Information Act.Further information, recommendations and proceedings: Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner
You wish to get access to official documents from fedpol?
Please send your request here: contact
The Global Entry Program facilitates entry to the United States for frequent travellers. To participate in the programme, you must undergo a security check by fedpol.You wish to participate in the Global Entry Program
- Apply here
Fees for participating in the Global Entry Program
fedpol charges CHF 100 for its pre-clearance security check.
Required documents
- Coloured scan of your passport
- Current extract from the Swiss criminal records
- Signed declaration of consent
If you cannot upload your documents
Start the process again.
Checking your status in the admission procedure
Once fedpol has processed your application, you will receive confirmation by email.
Further information
- General information on the Global Entry Program admission procedure.
- FAQs on the Global Entry Program.
You wish to work for fedpolYou can find our job vacancies on the following platforms:
You have applied for a job at fedpol and have a question about your application
- Please contact the person mentioned in the job advertisement.
Further information on working at fedpol is available here.
You have a question on the police profession in Switzerland
Please contact the Swiss Police Institute.
You wish to report a missing person- To report a missing person, call 117 or contact the nearest police station (suisse e-police).
Please note that you cannot report a missing person to fedpol. For legal reasons, fedpol is not able to accept reports concerning missing persons from private individuals or third parties. It may only process such reports when asked to by a partner authority (e.g. a cantonal police service) in connection with a criminal investigation.
You are looking for a person who has disappeared (enforced disappearance)Achtung: Note: A missing person is not the same as a person who has disappeared. Enforced disappearances concern the abduction and often also the torture of a person, usually by agents of the state for the purpose of political repression or to prevent the prosecution of human rights’ violations.
- You can find further information on enforced disappearances here
You are looking for your ancestors or your relatives
Please consult public archives or other open sources of information. For legal reasons, fedpol is not able to accept requests to look for ancestors or relatives.
Here are a few tips on searching for your ancestors:
You wish to report a suspicion concerning money laundering- Please contact the nearest police station. You can find a list of all police stations in Switzerland here: suisse e-police.
Please note: The Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland MROS at fedpol does not accept suspicious activity reports from private individuals. MROS communicates only with financial intermediaries (i.e. banks, credit institutions, insurance companies, credit card companies, etc.) and law enforcement services.
- For further information, see MROS
Main points of contact and their tasks:Cantonal police: The cantons are responsible for prosecuting paedophile crime.
fedpol: supports the cantons and coordinates their work; triages suspicious activity reports by the U.S. authorities (NCMEC reports); is the Single Point of Contact for victim identification concerning Interpol’s International Child Sexual Exploitation database; operates the hash values database; compiles analyses; represents Switzerland in international working groups.
Clickandstop.ch: online reporting platform for sexual violence against children and young people. The platform provides information and advice on a range of topics including prevention, and promotes networking among experts.
You wish to report a website containing paedophile images or illegal pornography
Beware: Any person who saves or transmits pictures or videos containing illegal pornography is liable to prosecution. Use the reporting form above.
You have lost your passport or identity cardReport the loss to your local police station. The police will issue a confirmation of loss, which you must take to the cantonal passport office in order to obtain a new document.
- Police stations in Switzerland: suisse e-police.
- Cantonal passport offices
You have a question about ordering a passport or identity card
- Please contact your: cantonal passport office
Please note: fedpol only answers general questions on Swiss passports and identity cards.
- passports and identity cards
- Contact form
- For matters relating to identity documents for foreign nationals, please contact the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM)
Do you need a paternity test?- Institut für Rechtsmedizin Aarau
- Institut für Rechtsmedizin Basel
- Institut für Rechtsmedizin Bern
- Centre Universitaire Romand de Médecine Légale, Lausanne
- Unilabs Lausanne (exclusively prenatal parenthood analyses)
- Laboratorio di Diagnostica Molecolare, Lugano
- Institut für Rechtsmedizin St. Gallen
- Institut für Rechtsmedizin Zurich
- Genetica AG, Zurich
More detailed information on parentage regulations can be found on the FOPH website.
The Federal Office of Police fedpol is part of the Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP) and is responsible for coordination between the cantonal police and with international police authorities. In Switzerland, the cantons are responsible for policing, hence fedpol is not a ‘national’ police service and does not prevail over the cantons.
Drug misuse, organised crime, fraud, theft, bribery or calls for violence on the internet or social media
You wish to report a crimen
You or someone you know are a victim of crime and you want to report it?- Please contact the nearest police station. You can find it here: suisse e-police.
You are abroad and would like to report a crime
- Please contact the nearest police station to where you are staying.
- European emergency number: 112.
You have reported a crime and have a question about it
- Please contact the police station where you reported the crime.
Please note: You cannot report a crime to fedpol.
You wish to know if you are registered in the SIS or you wish to change or delete information in the database- You can submit a request for information for yourself or for someone else here: Request for information
Please note: fedpol receives numerous requests for information concerning the SIS database. For this reason, the processing time takes at least two months. We would like to draw your attention to the fact that you can submit your application to any other Schengen country.
You have a general question about the SIS
- You can find further information here: Schengen Information System
You have a question about a traffic fine- Please contact the administrative body that issued the fine. If the fine was issued by a police service in Switzerland, you can find a list of police stations here: suisse e-police.
You have received a traffic fine abroad and have a question about it
- Please contact the issuing authority abroad.
Please note: In Switzerland there is no national database on traffic fines. You should therefore always contact the authority that issued the fine. fedpol is responsible for cooperation between the Swiss police and their international partners and therefore cooperates only with official authorities and not with private individuals.
You have a question about the road network, traffic management or road traffic legislation
- Please contact the Federal Roads Office (FEDRO)
Revised Weapons Act: weapons that are now prohibited
Under the revised Weapons Act of 19 May 2019, further weapons are now prohibited in Switzerland. These weapons must subsequently be registered with the cantonal weapons offices; the deadline for doing so expired on 14 August 2022.If you are unsure whether you own a weapon that is now subject to registration, please enquire at the relevant cantonal weapons office. Subsequent registration is still possible without being liable to prosecution even if the deadline has expired. A non-registered weapon may be confiscated if an inspection takes place.
- List of cantonal weapons offices
- Further information on the revised weapons legislation is available in the Federal Act on Weapons, Weapon Accessories and Ammunition and in the Ordinance on Weapons, Weapon Accessories and Ammunition.
Former service weapons
You have a 90 or 57 assault rifle – your former service – in your private possession with a weapons acquisition permit after completing military service. You now wish to sell the assault rifle: does the buyer also need a weapons acquisition permit?
The buyer requires a cantonal exemption permit for a 57 or 90 assault rifle.
- Forms: Forms for a firearm
- Exemption permit for collectors
- Exemption permit for sports shooting
Importing weapons
You wish to import a riflescope into Switzerland
Under the Federal Act on Weapons, Weapon Accessories and Ammunition a riflescope is not classed as a weapon accessory (Art. 4 para. 2). You therefore do not require a permit to import one into Switzerland.
You wish to import a Japanese Samurai sword (Katana) into Switzerland
Swords with a blade longer than 30cm are not classed as weapons under the Federal Act on Weapons, Weapon Accessories and Ammunition You therefore do not require a permit to import a Japanese Samurai sword into Switzerland.
You wish to import a blank cartridge weapon into Switzerland
Under the Federal Act on Weapons, Weapon Accessories and Ammunition, imitation, blank cartridge and airsoft weapons are classed as weapons (Art. 4 para. 1 let. g). You therefore require a permit.
- Form: To obtain a permit, select the relevant form on the page Forms for a firearm (Available only in German and French: ‘Nicht gewerbsmässiges Verbringen’ / ‘Gesuch um Erteilung einer Bewilligung’).
You wish to import an airsoft weapon (with less than 0.5 joules of muzzle energy) into Switzerland
Under the Federal Act on Weapons, Weapon Accessories and Ammunition all airsoft guns are classed as weapons (Art. 4 para. 1). You therefore require a permit from fedpol’s Central Weapons Office. The 0.5 joules rule only applies in Germany.- Form: To obtain a permit, select the relevant form on the page Forms for a firearm (‘Nicht gewerbsmässiges Verbringen’ / ‘Gesuch um Erteilung einer Bewilligung’).
You have ordered a knife from an online supplier that is classed as a weapon in Switzerland (e.g. butterfly knife, throwing knife, dagger, etc.). The post office (or other transport company) requires an import permit for this. What must you do?
In some countries, such knives or imitation weapons can be bought without a permit. However, if the knife you have ordered is classified as a weapon in Switzerland, you will need an import permit as soon as the knife arrives. If you have not obtained an import permit in advance, you will face criminal charges.- Import permit: To obtain a permit, select the relevant form on the page Forms for a firearm (‘Nicht gewerbsmässiges Verbringen’ / ‘Gesuch um Erteilung einer Bewilligung’).
- If you have further questions, please contact the customs authorities or the transport company
Inheriting a weapon
You have discovered a weapon following the death of your partner. What should you do?
If you wish to keep the weapon?- Please enquire at the relevant cantonal weapons office if the weapon requires a permit or must be registered. After the death of a partner, you have six months to register the weapon or apply for a permit.
- List of cantonal weapons offices
If you do not wish to keep the weapon:
- You can give it to the police (free of charge.)
- You can sell it to a weapons dealer or another person if they are authorised to purchase weapons.
- Please do not give it to a person who is not authorised to own a weapon: if you do, both of you will be liable to prosecution.
If you have further questions about weapons
Please note: fedpol’s Central Weapons Office receives numerous enquiries. Before contacting us, please consult the information on our website.