In 2021 the coordination center for earthquake risk mitigation of the Swiss Confederation published interdisciplinary guidelines to the Swiss practice which addressed all players involved in the assessment of seismic safety as well as the planning and realization of retrofitting interventions on historic buildings. The guidelines focus on secular and sacred buildings from all periods of history with a higher occupation due to their use. The main recommendation of the guidelines is to address seismic safety in the framework of a concrete building project through an ideal interdisciplinary process. With these guidelines, the federal authorities aim to raise awareness and promote personal responsibility among all parties involved. In the long term, the interdisciplinary approach encourages the development of technical and economic retrofitting measures that are appropriate for historic buildings and enables recommendations by all parties involved that serve as a basis for decision-making by building owners. It is essential to recognize that legal basis, processes and enforcement in preservation differ because of the Swiss federalist system and experiences in earthquake risk mitigation only date back to 2000. The paper gives a brief overview of the content of the publication by highlighting the main messages and main challenges in Switzerland.