The Federal Office of Topography swisstopo produces the following official directories containing geographic data:

• The official directory of towns and cities, with postcodes and perimeters
• The official street directory
• The official directory of building addresses.

These directories/datasets contain data that have been verified in terms of content and legality, and are updated on an ongoing basis. All federal, cantonal and municipal authorities can fully rely on the published data. The directories are free of charge and available to everyone: The data can be directly downloaded and are accessible via web services. The directories can be used for a broad variety of tasks: for example for statistical analyses and simulations with a geographic context, for use as a database for cartographic products, or for integration into a web service for commercial purposes.

Data protection

The directories are not linked to any personal data, i.e. data relating to natural persons and legal entities. They are therefore not governed by the provisions of the Federal Data Protection Act.

Datasets produced on the basis of partnerships

All the official directories are produced on the basis of partnerships. The data pertaining to localities, streets and buildings are collected by the cantons (and in some cases by the municipalities too), within the framework of the cadastral survey or other processes. The collected data are then delivered to the federal administration. Data pertaining to localities are delivered directly to swisstopo for updating the directory of towns and cities, while data relating to streets and building addresses are sent to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) for statistical purposes. The FSO periodically supplies swisstopo with the respective datasets and swisstopo compiles and manages the directories and publishes them in a suitable form.