Anyone wishing to carry out an activity as defined by the ContainO must, before commencing the activity:

• carry out a risk assessment;
• apply the necessary safety measures to protect humans, animals and the environment (Art. 12 ContainO; Appendix 4 ContainO);
• record all relevant information about the activity, and store the records;
• determine whether the planned activity must be registered with the authorities, or if it is subject to authorisation.

Notifications, authorisation applications, or modifications of notifications and applications can be submitted in two ways:

1. via the Internet through the

2. by post, using Word forms

For reasons of authenticity, each new notification or each new authorisation application must be submitted as a signed document. When submitting via the Internet, the main form or the signature form can be printed out and signed. When submitting Word documents, all forms and appendices should be printed out and, where required, signed.

The contact address is:

Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN)
Federal Coordination Centre for Biotechnology
3003 Bern
Tel. 031 323 55 99
Fax: 031 324 79 78
e-mail:

Website:

After receipt of a notification or authorisation application, the procedure continues as follows:

• If received by post: the notification or application is registered by the Coordination Centre for Biotechnology and an electronic confirmation of receipt sent to the person responsible, with a copy to the Biosafety Officer.
• The documentation is checked for completeness by the Coordination Centre for Biotechnology; queries or requests for additional information are sent if the dossier is not complete.
• The complete documentation is transmitted to the competent federal authority and the other agencies involved.
• Specialist assessment by all agencies.
• Synthesis of the opinions received by the competent authority.
• The competent authority writes and sends the decree to the person responsible. The decree specifies the classification and all safety measures that must be observed for carrying out the activity.