Life Certificate — Swiss Compensation Office (certificat de vie)

What is SCO life certificate?

The life certificate (certificat de vie in French, Lebensbescheinigung in German) is a one-page form from the Central Compensation Office's Swiss Compensation Office (SCO) in Geneva, which pays Swiss old-age, survivors' and disability pensions (AHV/AVS and IV/AI) to people living outside Switzerland. It lets the SCO confirm that a pensioner is still alive and what their civil status is, because both can affect the pension.

Unlike most forms, the key part is not your own statement: 'the undersigned competent authority' certifies it. You fill in your Swiss insurance number, name, date of birth and home address; the authority where you live confirms that you are alive and your civil status, and adds the place, date, its stamp and authentication. The second page reminds pensioners of their duty to report changes, such as a new address, a marriage, divorce or death.

FileIt prints your details into the SCO's own official PDF, checks your 13-digit insurance number, and can pre-fill your name and date of birth from the People records in your FileIt vault — useful when you help a parent living abroad. The finished form is saved in that person's folder. You then take it to the authority for certification and post the original yourself; FileIt never sends it.

Who needs to fill out SCO life certificate?

• People who receive a Swiss AHV/AVS old-age or survivors' pension, or an IV/AI disability pension, and live outside Switzerland.
• Pensioners the SCO has asked to confirm that they are alive and to state their civil status.
• Pensioners whose civil status has changed, who return it with a copy of the official document proving the change.
• Relatives who need to tell the SCO that a pensioner has died: the form has 'is alive: No' and a date of death.
• Adult children or carers helping an older parent abroad prepare the form before the visit to the authority.

When to use SCO life certificate

• When the SCO sends you a life certificate or asks for one.
• When your civil status changes (marriage, divorce, widowhood, separation, or the same events for a registered partnership); the form says to return it with a copy of the official document.
• Soon after a pensioner dies, so the SCO is informed; the form's notice says pensions received unduly must be returned.
• Before the date the SCO gives you, allowing time for the appointment with the authority and for international post.

What you need before you start

• Your Swiss insurance number (13 digits, starting with 756), from your pension decision or SCO letters.
• Your full name and date of birth, as in your passport or identity card.
• Your current home address.
• A valid identity document to show the certifying authority.
• If your civil status has changed: a copy of the official document, such as a marriage certificate, divorce decree or death certificate.
• Access to a competent authority where you live that can stamp and certify the form.

What’s on SCO life certificate

The 2026 edition has 2 pages. FileIt asks for it in 2 parts:

1. The pensionerPensioner
2. What the authority certifiesCertifying authority

How to fill out SCO life certificate, step by step

1 Swiss insurance number

Your 13-digit AHV/AVS number, printed on your pension papers. FileIt accepts it with or without dots, checks the check digit and prints it as 756.XXXX.XXXX.XX.

2 Mr / Mrs, date of birth and home address

The person the certificate is about: full name, date of birth and current address on up to three lines. Use the same spelling as your identity documents, since the authority checks them.

3 Is alive

The authority confirms 'Yes'. If the pensioner has died, 'No' is ticked and the date of death given.

4 Her/his civil status is

Single, married, divorced, widowed or legally separated, or the registered-partnership versions (married, divorced or widowed 'LPart'). LPart refers to the Swiss federal law on registered partnerships between people of the same sex; on this form marriage then means the partnership, divorce its legal dissolution, and widowhood the death of the partner.

5 Place and date, stamp and authentication

The certifying authority writes the place and date and adds its stamp and authentication. FileIt can print the place and date for you if you know them, or leave them blank for the authority to write by hand.

6 Obligation to inform (page 2)

A notice for pensioners: report straight away any change that could affect the pension, including a change of address, a death or change of marital status, the status of fostered children, the end of a child's apprenticeship or studies after 18, and, for disability pensions, changes in income, ability to work or health. Telling another body doesn't release you from telling the SCO, pensions received unduly must be returned, and failing to inform can be prosecuted.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Signing it yourself instead of having it certified. The form is a statement by a competent authority, with its stamp.
• Sending it by e-mail or fax. The form says to send it only by post.
• Forgetting the copy of the official document when your civil status has changed.
• Using a different name spelling or date of birth from the one the SCO holds or your identity document shows.
• Mistyping the insurance number. FileIt checks the check digit, but compare it with your pension letters.
• Missing the SCO's deadline because of slow international post or a late appointment with the authority.

After you fill it out

Print the form FileIt produces and take it, with your identity document, to a competent authority where you live. The authority checks your details, confirms that you are alive and your civil status, and adds the place and date, its stamp and authentication. It can't be signed or certified electronically.

Post the certified original to the address printed on the form: Swiss Compensation Office SCO, Avenue Edmond-Vaucher 18, POB 3100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland. The form says to send it only by post. FileIt never sends it for you.

Keep a scan of the certified form in your FileIt vault in the pensioner's folder, so the whole family knows when it was last returned and can prepare the next one quickly.

SCO life certificate: frequently asked questions

Official sources

• Blank form (PDF), published by Central Compensation Office (CCO / ZAS / CdC) — Swiss Compensation Office (SCO / SAK / CSC): https://www.zas.admin.ch/dam/en/sd-web/cCBw8lq9KoZX/edcervie_en.pdf
• Official instructions and guidance: https://www.zas.admin.ch/en/pdf-forms
• Edition shown on this page: Life certificate, English (no edition printed on the form) (checked 2026-09-26).

FileIt is not affiliated with or endorsed by Central Compensation Office (CCO / ZAS / CdC) — Swiss Compensation Office (SCO / SAK / CSC) or any government. This page explains the form in general terms and is not legal, tax or immigration advice. Always read the official instructions, and check that you are using the edition the recipient accepts. Page last reviewed 2026-09-26.

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