# VSB 20 Art. 7 — Information to be documented - **Rubric (DE):** Zu dokumentierende Angaben - **Rubric (EN):** Information to be documented - **Chapter:** 2. Kapitel — Identifizierung des Vertragspartners (1. Abschnitt: Allgemeine Bestimmungen) - **Scope:** Banks & securities firms (incorporated via [[GwV-FINMA Art. 35 - Identification, controlling person and beneficial|GwV-FINMA Art. 35]]) - **Status:** In force (since 1 January 2020) ## Description For natural persons, the following must be recorded in a suitable manner: surname, first name, date of birth, nationality and actual residential address, together with the means by which the identity was verified (Abs. 1). For legal persons and partnerships (*Personengesellschaften*), the company name (*Firma*) and actual registered-office address must be recorded in a suitable manner, together with the means by which the identity was verified (Abs. 2). Where a contracting partner comes from a country in which dates of birth or residential addresses are not used, these details are omitted (Abs. 3). ## Context & interpretation The SBA commentary states that for natural persons the actual residence is where the contracting partner stays with the intention of permanent residence (Art. 23 ZGB). For legal persons, the actual registered-office address can primarily be taken from the identification documents (usually the commercial register extract), or the bank may instead establish the place of actual management. The bank may generally rely on the contracting partner's details and must make further enquiries, on a risk-based approach, only where there are irregularities. For natural persons, since a copy of the official identity document is to be put on file, the means of identification follows from the copy and need not additionally be recorded. ## FATF - [[FATF R.10 - Customer due diligence|FATF R.10]] — the identifying particulars of the customer that are to be recorded. ## Swiss counterparts - [[GwV-FINMA Art. 44 - Required information|GwV-FINMA Art. 44]] — parallel rule: the particulars the financial intermediary collects at the start of the relationship (Abs. 1) and the same exception for countries not using dates of birth or residential addresses (Abs. 2); there the exception must be justified in a file note, and the article also covers sole proprietors (Abs. 1 Bst. a), powers of representation, trusts and minors (Abs. 3–5). VSB Art. 7 additionally requires the means of identity verification to be recorded. ## Part of - [[VSB 20]] ## Further AMLR connections - [[AMLR Art. 22 - ID - verify customer + BO|AMLR Art. 22]] — VSB Art. 7 lists the particulars to document for natural persons and legal entities, a shorter list than AMLR Art. 22(1) (no place of birth, legal form, registration number). *(direct)* ## Sources - VSB 20 (Vereinbarung vom 13. Juni 2018, in force 1.1.2020), Art. 7 - SBVg Kommentar zur VSB 20 (2020), Art. 7