Assisted suicide in Switzerland has been legal for decades. Article 115 of the Swiss Criminal Code punishes someone who assists a suicide only if they act from selfish motives, so compassionate help falls outside the criminal law. Swiss law does not require a doctor to be involved, does not require a terminal diagnosis, and does not require Swiss residency, although the private organizations that carry out these deaths apply stricter conditions of their own. In 2025, Exit alone facilitated 1,421 assisted suicides in German- and Italian-speaking Switzerland, up from 1,235 the year before.
What the Law Actually Says
Article 115 is the whole legal foundation. It states that inciting or assisting another person’s suicide is punishable only when done from “selfish motives,” and it sets a penalty of up to five years in prison or a monetary fine for someone who acts selfishly.1Fedlex. SR 311.0 – Swiss Criminal Code of 21 December 1937 If there is no selfish motive, there is no crime. Nothing in the article requires physician involvement, terminal illness, or citizenship.
Article 114 draws the other boundary. It criminalizes killing someone at their own request, even when the motive is compassionate, with a penalty of up to three years in prison.1Fedlex. SR 311.0 – Swiss Criminal Code of 21 December 1937 That is the legal line between assisted suicide and euthanasia. The person who wants to die must perform the final act. If a doctor or anyone else pushes the syringe or pours the drink into the person’s mouth, the act becomes killing on request, and criminal.
Related categories sit on the permitted side of that line. Giving pain medication that may shorten life as a side effect (indirect euthanasia) is generally accepted. So is withdrawing or withholding life-sustaining treatment (passive euthanasia). A parliamentary proposal to decriminalize active euthanasia was studied by a government working group in the late 1990s and voted down.2National Library of Medicine (NCBI). Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia in Switzerland – Allowing a Role for Non-Physicians
Who Qualifies
The statute imposes only two real conditions: the person must freely choose to die, and whoever helps must lack a selfish motive. The right-to-die organizations layer additional medical and ethical requirements on top.
Decision-Making Capacity
The person must have full decision-making capacity at the moment of the assisted suicide. Without it, helping them die could be prosecuted as homicide under Articles 111 through 113. The assessment covers cognitive, emotional, motivational, and volitional factors, and an independent third party must confirm capacity.3Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences. Assisted Suicide
Because capacity has to exist in the moment, advance directives cannot authorize assisted suicide. Someone who wrote a directive years ago asking for help dying cannot receive that help if they have since lost the ability to understand and confirm the decision.
Suffering and Diagnosis
The Criminal Code does not require terminal illness. In theory even a healthy person could qualify, since the law addresses only the helper’s motive. In practice, organizations require severe suffering from an incurable disease, a serious disability, or the combined effects of multiple age-related conditions. The suffering must be comprehensible to the evaluating physician, and treatment options must have been exhausted or refused.3Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences. Assisted Suicide
Mental Illness
Psychiatric conditions occupy the most contested area. The Swiss National Advisory Commission on Biomedical Ethics has taken the position that assisted suicide should never be performed when suicidality is itself a symptom of a mental disorder. Depression that drives the wish to die does not meet the ethical standard, even if the person otherwise appears competent.4Swiss National Advisory Commission on Biomedical Ethics (NEK-CNE). Opinion No. 9/2005 – Assisted Suicide
A specialist psychiatric assessment is recommended in every case where a mental disorder is suspected. An exception may be considered only when the desire for death clearly exists independently of the psychiatric condition, such as during a symptom-free interval of a chronic illness. The Commission also recommends that assisted suicide not be carried out in psychiatric institutions.4Swiss National Advisory Commission on Biomedical Ethics (NEK-CNE). Opinion No. 9/2005 – Assisted Suicide
Self-Administration
The person must physically perform the final act. They drink the lethal preparation or start the infusion themselves. If anyone else performs that step, the act crosses into Article 114 territory and becomes criminal regardless of motive.3Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences. Assisted Suicide
How the Process Works
Contact with a right-to-die organization starts the process. There is no statutory waiting period, but the practical steps take weeks to months depending on the organization, the medical history, and how quickly documentation can be gathered.
A Swiss physician reviews medical records, confirms the diagnosis and prognosis, and assesses decision-making capacity. Organizations typically require at least two medical consultations. A psychiatric evaluation is added if there is any doubt about mental state. The physician must be satisfied that the wish to die is stable, well-considered, and free of external pressure.
Once approved, a Swiss doctor writes a prescription for a lethal dose of sodium pentobarbital, a fast-acting barbiturate. On the chosen day, an escort from the organization is present, prepares the solution, and provides support. The person drinks the medication or, if unable to swallow, triggers an intravenous infusion. Death typically follows within minutes. The escort never administers the substance.5National Library of Medicine (NCBI). Suffering Is Not Enough – Assisted Dying for People With Mental Illness
What Happens After the Death
Every assisted suicide is classified as an unnatural death. The escort must notify the police immediately. A forensic team of police officers, a medical examiner, and a state attorney investigates the scene, and up to nine officials may be involved. If there is any doubt about the person’s decision-making capacity or the voluntariness of the act, criminal prosecution follows.6Swiss Medical Weekly. The Impact of Forensic Investigations Following Assisted Suicide on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Procedures vary between cantons, with some treating the scene as a routine expected death and others approaching it as a potential crime scene.
Access for People Who Live Abroad
Non-residents can use Swiss assisted suicide, a practice sometimes called suicide tourism. They must meet the same eligibility criteria as Swiss residents: capacity, self-administration, and suffering that the organization deems sufficient. Of the major organizations, Dignitas and Pegasos accept foreign nationals; Exit does not.
A study of the years 1985 through 2014 found that 46% of assisted suicides at organizations serving non-residents involved people living outside Switzerland, with Germans the largest group, followed by British and French nationals.7PMC (PubMed Central). Assisted Suicide in Switzerland – An Analysis of Death Records
The practical burden is heavier for people coming from abroad. They must travel to Switzerland, often more than once, for medical consultations and to establish a relationship with a Swiss doctor. Total costs, including organization fees, travel, and lodging, run considerably higher than for residents. Returning remains or ashes to the home country adds further logistics and expense.
Repatriating Remains to the United States
For U.S. citizens, the State Department can help coordinate the return of remains but cannot pay for it. Four documents are generally required: a consular mortuary certificate, a local death certificate from Swiss authorities, an affidavit from the funeral director, and a transit permit from local health authorities. Remains must ship in a leak-proof container, and the death certificate must confirm the cause of death is not a quarantinable disease. Families should also expect to pay a U.S. funeral director to receive and process the remains on arrival.8U.S. Department of State. Death
The Main Organizations and What They Charge
Three organizations handle the great majority of assisted suicides in Switzerland, and they differ in who they serve and what they cost.
Exit
Exit is the largest, and it serves only Swiss citizens or people whose primary residence is in Switzerland. Annual membership costs CHF 45, and lifetime membership costs CHF 1,100. After at least three years of membership, Exit charges no additional fees for the assisted suicide itself.9Exit. I Become a Member Exit facilitated 1,421 assisted suicides in German- and Italian-speaking Switzerland in 2025 and had nearly 196,000 members at year’s end.
Dignitas
Dignitas is the best-known organization internationally because it accepts foreign nationals. Membership requires a one-time joining fee of CHF 220 and an annual fee of at least CHF 80.10Dignitas. Information Brochure The total cost for the accompanied suicide is CHF 11,000 when Dignitas handles funeral and administrative arrangements, or CHF 7,500 when the family handles those matters separately. Reductions or exemptions are available for people with limited financial means.11Dignitas. Costs
Pegasos
Pegasos also accepts foreign nationals. The total cost is approximately CHF 10,000, split into a deposit at application and a second payment when the date is scheduled. Pegasos charges an optional annual supporter contribution of CHF 100.12Pegasos. Procedure
The Sarco Capsule and the Edges of the Law
In September 2024, an American woman died using a “Sarco” capsule, a 3D-printed pod that causes death by nitrogen gas rather than a prescribed barbiturate. Swiss police detained several people connected to the device, and a criminal investigation was opened for aiding and abetting suicide. Switzerland’s interior minister stated publicly that the capsule does not comply with Swiss law, that it fails product safety requirements, and that its use of nitrogen is incompatible with Swiss chemicals legislation. Florian Willet, the man present at the death, was released from pretrial detention in December 2024 and died in 2025. The case shows the limit of the permissive framework: assistance outside the physician-prescribed model still triggers prosecution.