Federal Act on Data Protection (nFADP), General Processing Principles

Federal Act on Data Protection (nFADP / revDSG / nLPD), SR 235.1, Art. 1-4, 6, 30-31

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In force since 1 September 2023.

A comprehensive regime rule binding public and private bodies.

As of 24 August 2026.

What it requires

Have a justification, consent, an overriding private or public interest, or a legal basis, before processing personal data of a person in Switzerland in a way that would otherwise violate their personality rights.
Distinguish your role as controller ("responsible person") or processor under FADP Article 5 lit. j-k, and allocate duties accordingly.

What this law does

Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.

Switzerland's comprehensive private-sector data protection law is the revised Federal Act on Data Protection (nFADP in English, revDSG in German, nLPD in French), SR 235.1, in force since 1 September 2023. It replaces the 1992 FADP and is Switzerland's own statute, aligned with but distinct from General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Processing personal data is not consent-gated by default the way GDPR is opt-in for many bases; the FADP instead prohibits processing that violates a data subject's personality rights unless justified, by consent, an overriding private or public interest, or law.

Controllers ("responsible persons") and processors are distinguished in Article 5 lit. j-k, with duty allocation similar in shape to GDPR's controller and processor split but not identical in mechanics; the Ordinance on Data Protection (ODP) adds implementing detail rather than a separate top-level instrument.

When LexLint raises it

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Read the law

Fedlex, the Swiss Federal Council's official legislation portal

Every line above is drawn from the primary source linked here, read on the date shown. This is a research summary, not legal advice.

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