Setting up an engineering company in Geneva takes no authorisation: incorporating a Sàrl or an SA for engineering services works like any other Swiss company. The gate is elsewhere, and it opens at the moment you file your first application. For any works requiring a building permit, only a professionally qualified agent entered on the table kept by the canton may sign the application and supervise the works.
Two consequences most founders discover along the way. The entry is personal: it belongs to the engineer, never to the firm. And it requires a title deed or a lease proving professional premises within the canton, which puts the question of a Geneva address before the filing of the application, not after it.
Contents
What the Geneva act says
The act on the practice of the professions of architect and engineer, rsGE L 5 40, dates from 17 December 1982 and has been in force since 1 December 1983. Its first article sets the principle: the independent practice of architecture or civil engineering is restricted to qualified agents for works whose execution requires a permit under the cantonal construction act.
Article 3 lays down three cumulative conditions: evidence of sufficient professional capacity, a professional domicile within the canton, and no criminal conviction affecting probity and honour. Its paragraph 2 also opens registration to the person heading an architecture or civil engineering department within a company, which allows a structured firm to register its department head rather than every member of staff.
The Geneva federation of building trades sums up the scope of the title in one phrase: the professionally qualified agent becomes the guardian of compliance with the cantonal construction act on behalf of the State. This is not a declaratory formality: it is delegated responsibility, with the disciplinary regime that comes with it.
The six categories of the MPQ table
Implementing regulation L 5 40.01, of 9 November 1983, lists the categories of the table in its first article, paragraph 2: architects, civil engineers, land surveyors and rural engineering engineers, landscape architects, interior architects, and other related professions.
The list is not decorative. The canton states that recognition as a professionally qualified agent extends only to the professional categories submitted in the file. A registered civil engineer does not automatically become an agent for services falling under another category. The scope requested at registration must therefore match the scope of the mandates you intend to take on, and the corporate purpose of the company you incorporate.
The application file: documents, chamber, fees
Article 2, paragraph 1, of the regulation lists the documents to be produced: the diplomas or certificates evidencing the professional capacity required by the act, a title deed or a lease proving professional premises within the canton, and an extract from the criminal record. A cantonal directive, on documents to be produced for an application as architect, interior architect, engineer or related profession, details the supporting evidence expected.
Applications may be filed at any time with the secretariat of the Chamber of Architects and Engineers, which sits monthly. The department decides after gathering the necessary opinions and, if needed, hearing the applicant; the decision is notified in writing.
| Type of registration | Fee | Use case |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent registration | CHF 400 | Ongoing practice, agent established in the canton |
| Temporary registration | CHF 150 | One-off mandate, time-limited provision of services |
The 1983 regulation, for its part, provides for a fee of between CHF 110 and CHF 550, set according to the complexity or length of the review. The amounts published today by the canton are those in the table above: budget for those.
The lease comes before the file. A lease for professional premises within the canton is a document of the application, on the same footing as the diplomas. An engineer preparing a registration from neighbouring France or from another canton must therefore settle the Geneva establishment first. This is the exact reverse of the usual project sequence, where an address is looked for once the company has been entered in the commercial register.
Access routes and foreign degrees
Article 4 of the act lists the ways of evidencing professional capacity. Three routes exist, and one is enough.
| Route | Title | Practice required |
|---|---|---|
| Master | Master’s degree from a federal institute of technology, a university or a university of applied sciences, Swiss or recognised foreign | 2 years |
| Bachelor | Equivalent bachelor’s degree | 2 years |
| REG | Entry in register REG A or REG B of the Foundation of the Swiss Registers | Per the REG rules |
For a degree obtained in the European Union, recognition runs through the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation. Where the degree appears in the annexes to the applicable EU directive, SERI issues a letter within two to three weeks that opens automatic entry in the cantonal registers, including the Geneva table. Where it does not, the procedure becomes a comparison of curricula lasting three to four months, before any compensation measures. An engineer who is not fully qualified in their country of origin has no legal basis for recognition.
A point worth noting for foreign firms working occasionally in Geneva: the authorisation is required whatever the mode of practice, permanent establishment as well as temporary provision of services, capped at 90 working days per calendar year under the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons. The CHF 150 temporary registration exists precisely for those situations.
Your engineering firm in Geneva
The lease, the company and the registration belong to one calendar
Geneva business address, incorporation of the Sàrl or SA with a corporate purpose aligned to your registration categories, recognition timeline for foreign degrees, VAT and payroll under the sector agreement: RISTER® structures your project in the right order, so that the first permit application can be filed without delay.
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RISTER – Fiduciary in Geneva, reply within one business day.
Building the firm: legal form, seat and lease
The act imposes no legal form. A single engineer may trade as a sole proprietorship, with commercial register entry mandatory from CHF 100,000 of annual revenue. A Sàrl, from CHF 20,000 of fully paid-in capital, separates private assets from professional risk: in a profession where liability outlives handover by years, that argument carries weight. An SA, from CHF 100,000 with CHF 50,000 paid in, is the standard choice once several engineers join forces, with a shareholders’ agreement covering pre-emption rights, governance and deadlock clauses. We handle the full process through our company incorporation service in Geneva.
Three points deserve particular attention. The corporate purpose must cover studies, works supervision and expert opinions, in the categories where you apply for registration. The Geneva business address must exist before the MPQ file is submitted, since the lease is one of its documents: our domiciliation service in Geneva answers that need while the firm has no premises of its own. For founders living abroad, a Swiss-resident signatory is also required, which we provide through our resident director and manager service. Finally, professional indemnity insurance is required by none of the acts cited, but no serious client signs a mandate without a certificate of cover: treat it as a condition of market access.
Geneva payroll and the collective agreement
From the first hire, the firm falls within the scope of the collective agreement for construction and building services engineering firms, generally binding at cantonal level and in force from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2027. It was concluded between the Geneva association of engineers, represented by FER Genève, and the Unia Région Genève and SIT unions. It sets weekly working time at 42.5 hours and a scale of minimum salaries by professional category and years of experience, published separately, with an extension raising entry-level minima under way subject to federal approval.
That agreement changes the cost structure of a Geneva firm compared with a Zurich firm, which is subject to no extended agreement. It is a parameter to model before fixing the seat, alongside the registration regime. We handle payroll and bookkeeping within our general administration service.
VAT on Swiss and foreign mandates
Liability starts at CHF 100,000 of annual turnover from taxable supplies, computed on Swiss and foreign revenue combined. Registration with the Federal Tax Administration is the taxpayer’s own responsibility, within 30 days of becoming liable, and the standard rate has been 8.1% since 1 January 2024.
A Geneva firm often works for clients established outside Switzerland, in neighbouring France or further afield. Article 8 paragraph 1 of the VAT Act places a supply of services at the recipient’s seat: those studies therefore carry no Swiss VAT. Registration still makes sense, since it allows input tax on Swiss costs to be reclaimed, from calculation software to office rent. Firms with no Swiss seat are supported through our fiscal representation service for VAT.
Sanctions and pitfalls
The disciplinary regime is real. Article 13 of the act allows the chamber to issue a warning, a fine of up to CHF 5,000, or a temporary removal from the table of up to two years. Article 5 reserves removal for serious breaches to the Council of State. A removal, even temporary, interrupts the firm’s ability to file applications.
Four pitfalls recur. The first is incorporating and leasing offices before checking that someone in the team meets the registration conditions: registration is personal, and the recognition timeline for a foreign degree runs into months. The second is applying for a category that does not cover the intended mandates. The third concerns foreign firms working under the 90-day free provision of services without having started the recognition of their qualifications. The fourth is a vocabulary trap: REG, a private professional register recognised by the cantons, is neither the commercial register nor the cantonal business directory. As with the electrical company in Geneva or the road transport licence, the difficulty is rarely the rule itself: it is the order in which it is executed.
FAQ: MPQ registration and engineering firms in Geneva
Who must be entered on the MPQ table in Geneva?
Anyone practising architecture or civil engineering independently who signs building permit applications or supervises works subject to a permit. The entry is personal: it belongs to the engineer, never to the company. A Sàrl with no registered partner or employee cannot file an application. The act also allows registration of the person heading an architecture or civil engineering department within a company.
How much does MPQ registration cost?
The canton publishes two amounts: CHF 400 for a permanent registration and CHF 150 for a temporary one. The implementing regulation separately provides for a range of CHF 110 to CHF 550 depending on the complexity and length of the review. Recognition fees for a foreign degree with SERI come on top where applicable.
Which documents does the application require?
The regulation requires the diplomas or certificates evidencing professional capacity, a title deed or a lease proving professional premises within the canton, and an extract from the criminal record. A cantonal directive specifies the supporting evidence expected for each category. Applications are filed at any time with the secretariat of the Chamber of Architects and Engineers, which sits monthly.
Do I need Geneva premises before applying?
Yes. The lease or title deed for professional premises within the canton is one of the documents required by the implementing regulation, and article 3 of the act requires a professional domicile in the canton. The Geneva address must therefore be settled before the file is submitted, which reverses the usual project order. A domiciliation solution covers this point without committing to office space before the first mandates.
Can a foreign engineer join the MPQ table?
Yes, provided they are fully qualified at home and have their qualifications recognised. Where the degree appears in the annexes to the applicable EU directive, SERI issues a letter within two to three weeks opening automatic entry in the cantonal registers. Otherwise the comparison of curricula takes three to four months, before any compensation measures. Entry in REG A or B is also an access route provided by the Geneva act.
What happens if a firm files without a registered agent?
The application is not admissible, which delays the client’s project and engages the firm’s contractual liability. On the disciplinary side, the act provides for a warning, a fine of up to CHF 5,000 and temporary removal from the table for up to two years, with removal for serious breaches reserved to the Council of State. A removal suspends the firm’s ability to file permit applications.
Sources
- Act on the practice of the professions of architect and engineer (LPAI, rsGE L 5 40), 17 December 1982
- Implementing regulation of the LPAI (rsGE L 5 40.01), 9 November 1983
- Canton of Geneva, Table of professionally qualified agents (MPQ)
- Canton of Geneva, Preparing an MPQ application (updated 17 August 2026)
- SERI, Practising the engineering profession in Switzerland, January 2017
- Foundation of the Swiss Registers REG, Registration rules, 2022
- Canton of Geneva, Collective agreement for construction and building services engineering firms
- Federal Act on Value Added Tax (SR 641.20), articles 8 and 10
Conclusion
In Geneva, the hard part of an engineering venture is not the company: it is the sequence. The table of professionally qualified agents governs who may sign permit applications, it requires premises within the canton, and it is granted by a chamber that sits once a month. Check the access route, start the recognition of a foreign degree, settle the Geneva address, then incorporate with the right corporate purpose: in that order, the first application goes out without delay.
RISTER – Fiduciary in Geneva supports engineers and consulting firms across that whole chain: incorporation, domiciliation, resident director, accounting, VAT on Swiss and foreign mandates, and payroll under the sector agreement. We only take on projects that stand up over time, and we say so when a step is missing. To discuss yours, get in touch.
