Selbstdeklaration in Swiss public tenders: the 2026 federal form, field by field

Most Swiss public bids ask for a Selbstdeklaration or equivalent evidence. It is the standard form by which a bidder declares it meets the Teilnahmebedingungen, the participation conditions for a public bidder under Art. 26 BöB. On federal tenders, most eligibility requirements can be discharged by ticking the boxes on the federal form; only short-listed bidders are typically asked to back the declarations up with certified documents. Bidders that keep a current Selbstdeklaration on file save days of administrative work per bid.

Federal vs cantonal: read this first. This walkthrough covers the federal Selbstdeklaration issued by the Beschaffungskonferenz des Bundes (BKB). Cantonal procurement under IVöB 2019 uses its own forms; each canton publishes a separate Selbstdeklaration with its own field structure. Always download the current cantonal form from the cantonal portal; do not assume the federal form covers a cantonal bid. The cantonal deviation notes are in the section below.

Below: the current 2026 federal form (Stand 30. Januar 2026, with the 9. März 2026 update), field by field, then where the five largest cantons by population diverge. Last reviewed: 28 May 2026. When the BKB publishes a new version, we will refresh this page.

What the federal Selbstdeklaration is

Issued by the Beschaffungskonferenz des Bundes (BKB) (not by SECO, despite what older bidding guides say), the federal Selbstdeklaration is the BKB’s standard form for self-declared compliance with the Teilnahmebedingungen.

The legal anchor is Art. 26 Abs. 2 BöB: “Sie kann von der Anbieterin verlangen, dass diese die Einhaltung der Teilnahmebedingungen insbesondere mit einer Selbstdeklaration oder der Aufnahme in ein Verzeichnis nachweist.” Translation: the buyer can accept a self-declaration as proof, instead of demanding certified documents up front. This was a 2021-reform change that reduced bid-prep paperwork significantly for SMEs.

The form lives on the BKB site:

• Federal Selbstdeklaration in German (Stand 30.01.2026)
• Federal Selbstdeklaration in English (Stand 30.01.2026)
• BKB Selbstdeklarationen landing page

A separate branch-specific form covers the cleaning industry (Reinigungsbranche, Stand 12.02.2026). If you bid on federal cleaning contracts, use the branch form: it adds GAV-Reinigung references the general form does not.

What the 2026 federal form actually asks

The current general Selbstdeklaration covers ten topic areas. Read each one carefully before signing. A false declaration carries the Art. 44–45 BöB risk of exclusion from federal contracts for up to five years.

1. Compliance with Arbeitsschutzbestimmungen and Arbeitsbedingungen at the place of performance (Art. 12 Abs. 1 BöB).
2. Compliance with the Bundesgesetz gegen die Schwarzarbeit (BGSA, SR 822.41): reporting and authorisation obligations for employed staff.
3. Equal pay between women and men (Art. 12 Abs. 1 in fine BöB). For bidders with 100 or more employees, this includes a specific declaration tied to a Lohngleichheitsanalyse.
4. Compliance with the ILO core conventions named in Anhang 6 BöB: Nos. 29, 87, 98, 100, 105, 111, 138, 182, and (added in the 2026 update) Nos. 155 and 187 on occupational safety and health.
5. Compliance with environmental law at the place of performance and with the international environmental agreements designated by the Bundesrat (Art. 12 Abs. 3 BöB).
6. Payment of taxes and social-security contributions due (Art. 26 Abs. 1 BöB; the 2026 update added an explicit declaration on this point).
7. No anti-competitive agreements: the bidder declares it has not entered into prohibited cartel arrangements regarding the tender (Art. 26 Abs. 1 BöB).
8. No final criminal conviction for a crime or offence that would warrant exclusion under Art. 44 Abs. 1 Bst. c BöB.
9. No ongoing seizure or bankruptcy proceedings affecting the bidder (Art. 44 Abs. 1 Bst. d BöB).
10. Commitment that any engaged subcontractors meet the same requirements under Art. 12 Abs. 4 BöB (see the federal subcontractor disclosure post for the full timeline).

What is not in the federal Selbstdeklaration: a criminal-record extract (Strafregisterauszug). The buyer can request this separately under Art. 26 Abs. 3 if a specific situation warrants it, but the standard federal form is self-declaration only.

How to fill it in without errors

Three practical points SMEs sometimes miss:

Treat the federal form as reusable per bidder when the buyer accepts a current version. Many federal buyers accept a single Selbstdeklaration per bidding entity for the form’s validity period (typically one year), so the same signed copy can ride alongside multiple bids. That said, always check what the specific tender documents request. Some buyers want a fresh signature dated for the specific tender, especially when the dossier was published after a BKB form update. Re-signing only when needed saves real administrative time.

Subcontractors must sign too. If you name subcontractors in your bid, each subcontractor that contributes to the contract submits its own Selbstdeklaration. The Art. 12 Abs. 4 BöB obligation flows through. Do not assume your subcontractor has a current form. Ask for it three weeks before the bid deadline, not three days.

A current Lohngleichheitsanalyse takes time to commission. If your firm has 100 or more employees, the equal-pay analysis required for the Selbstdeklaration is not a same-day administrative task. The federal Gleichstellungsbüro publishes guidance; budget at least four weeks of lead time when you first need one.

Where the five largest cantons deviate

Cantonal procurement under IVöB 2019 follows the same legal framework, but each canton publishes its own Selbstdeklaration form with its own field structure. The five largest cantons by population each handle the form differently. Always download the current cantonal form from the cantonal portal. Do not assume yesterday’s form is today’s form.

• Zürich: zh.ch Beschaffungswesen. The kdbk-form often asks for a specific GAV list relevant to ZH industries.
• Bern: Finanzdirektion BE, Beschaffungswesen. Watch for the canton’s Steueramt-Bestätigung pattern, which sometimes replaces the federal self-declaration on tax compliance.
• Vaud: vd.ch marchés publics. Romandie-French form; the GAV references differ from the German-Swiss cantons.
• Aargau: ag.ch Beschaffungswesen. DBVU runs cantonal procurement; the form structure mirrors federal but with AG-specific GAV references.
• St. Gallen: sg.ch Beschaffungswesen. Eastern-Switzerland GAV references are typically Bau-Hauptgewerbe-oriented.

We do not quote specific cantonal field structures here because cantons update their forms on independent schedules. What we wrote yesterday could be wrong today. The canton’s own procurement portal is the only authoritative source.

When to escalate beyond a Selbstdeklaration

In two cases the federal form is not enough.

For sub-treaty (CH–EU) contracts in regulated sectors (rail, gas; see Art. 4 Abs. 2 Bst. f–h BöB), the buyer may require additional sector-specific declarations. Read the Pflichtenheft for the specific evidence list.

For tenders that explicitly demand certified documents up front, you must produce them with the bid. The buyer is allowed to do this under Art. 27 Abs. 3 BöB but it is increasingly rare in federal practice after 2021. Most federal buyers default to Selbstdeklaration in the first round.

The TenderLift angle

We parse each Swiss tender’s evidence-requirement section and tag, on the tender detail page, whether the standard federal Selbstdeklaration covers the bid or whether the buyer wants certified documents from the start. Start the free preview and you will see at a glance which of your saved tenders need extra paperwork and which do not.

Sources checked

• Federal Selbstdeklaration. BKB Selbstdeklarationen landing page. Current general form: DE PDF, Stand 30.01.2026 · EN PDF.
• Statutory anchors. BöB SR 172.056.1: Art. 12 (Teilnahmevoraussetzungen), Art. 26 (Teilnahmebedingungen + Selbstdeklaration), Art. 27 (Eignungskriterien), Art. 44 (Ausschlussgründe), Anhang 6 (ILO-Kernübereinkommen 29/87/98/100/105/111/138/182, with 155 + 187 added in the 2026 update).
• Cantonal portals. Each canton publishes its own form on its procurement portal; links inside the post point at the five largest cantons’ procurement pages.
• Last reviewed: 28 May 2026.