Genetics is developing rapidly in research and clinical practice. This guidance document (in German, in French, in Italian) is intended to assist researchers when submitting studies or projects involving genetic data to ethics committees. The Federal Act on Human Genetic Testing (HGTA) was revised in December 2022. Current regulatory requirements and developments in genetics must now be taken into account. In particular, the guidance document also focuses on the differences between germline genetic tests and tests for somatic gene alterations in tumours.