Right to inspect according to Art. 8a DEBA

General principle

According to Art. 8a para. 1 Federal Act on Debt Enforcement and Bankruptcy (DEBA), any person who can credibly demonstrate an interest may inspect the records and registers of the debt enforcement and bankruptcy offices and obtain extracts from them. According to Art. 8a para. 2 DEBA, such an interest is deemed to be credible in particular if the request for information is made in direct connection with the conclusion or performance of a contract.

The competent debt enforcement office decides on a case-by-case basis whether and to what extent an interested party is granted access, taking into account the evidence of interest attached to the application or the facts justifying the interest listed therein. According to case law, access must be granted if there are serious indications that an interest is likely to exist.

The possibility of submitting a request for access to debt enforcement documents is also open to third parties if they meet the legal requirements. This does, however, come with certain problems, as it is possible to initiate debt enforcement proceedings without prior legal review of the validity of the claim. Consequently, an entry in the debt enforcement register can have major disadvantages for the person concerned, whether on the labour or housing market or in the business environment, as it drastically reduces the person’s creditworthiness. As a result, there are repeated cases of abusive debt enforcement proceedings, the purpose of which is not to enforce a claim but simply to harm a person.

Request for non-disclosure of debt enforcement to third parties

While Art. 85a DEBA provides the possibility of having unfounded or abusive debt enforcement proceedings dismissed or suspended in court proceedings, Art. 8a para. 3 lit. d DEBA provides those affected with a further instrument to defend themselves against such debt enforcement proceedings: according to Art. 8a para. 3 lit. d DEBA, it is possible to submit a request to the debt enforcement office to exclude the disclosure of the debt enforcement proceedings to third parties, which means that the corresponding debt enforcement proceedings are no longer visible in the debt enforcement register extract.

Until now, based on Federal Supreme Court case law (including BGer 5A_927/2020), the person subject to debt enforcement only had one year to do so, even though this was not provided for by law. With the amendments to Art. 8a para. 3 lit. d DEBA, which came into force on January 1, 2026, it was clarified that the request can be submitted and approved within five years of the conclusion of the relevant proceedings. The prerequisite for this according to Art. 8a para. 3 lit. d DEBA is that the debtor has filed an objection and submitted a corresponding application after a period of three months has elapsed since the delivery of the summons of payment and before the expiry of the right of third parties to inspect the file.

However, affected creditors can prevent that. After a period of 20 days set by the debt enforcement office has expired, they can provide evidence that proceedings to remove the legal objection were initiated in time. If this proof is successfully provided or the debt enforcement proceedings are continued, it will be brought to the attention of third parties again, unless the debtor can prove that a request by the creditor to remove the legal objection has definitely not been approved.