The Swiss vignette: what you need to know (and how to avoid the fakes)
Every car driving on Swiss highways needs a CHF 40 sticker called a vignette. Tourists get scammed buying from fake websites. Here's how to buy the real thing and what happens if you don't.
Every vehicle driving on a Swiss national highway (Autobahn/Autoroute) must display a valid vignette , a small adhesive sticker issued annually by the Swiss government. It costs 40 CHF. It is valid for 14 months, from December 1 of the previous year through January 31 of the following year. And it is mandatory.
What sounds simple has spawned a small industry of scams, confusion, and unnecessary fines. Here is everything you need to know.. See our guide to Switzerland's world-class public transport
What the vignette covers and what it doesn't
The Swiss road vignette covers the national motorway network , highways marked with green signs and designated by route numbers. It does not cover cantonal roads, mountain passes, or toll tunnels. Some specific roads and tunnels in Switzerland have their own separate charges, including the Great St. Bernard Tunnel and the San Bernardino Tunnel road sections under certain conditions.
The vignette is valid for the calendar year in which it is issued, plus the preceding December and the following January. This means a 2025 vignette is valid from 1 December 2024 through 31 January 2026 , a 14-month window. You do not need to buy a new one at exactly January 1st each year.
Trailers and caravans towed by your vehicle require their own separate vignette at the same price. Motorcycles also require a vignette if they use the motorway network.
Where to buy the official vignette
The only legitimate sources for a Swiss vignette are:
Official Swiss customs offices at the border, post offices (La Poste, Die Post) inside Switzerland, petrol stations operated by major chains in Switzerland, and the online shop run by the Swiss Federal Roads Office (ASTRA) at shop.admin.ch.
The price is fixed at 40 CHF for all official channels. If you are paying more , or significantly less , you are not buying from an official source.
"We see tourists arrive in Lugano having paid 60 or 80 euros online for a vignette they never received, or received a counterfeit. The official sticker costs 40 francs. It has never cost more. Any website charging more is taking advantage of you." Andreas Wenger, customs officer, Chiasso border crossing, Canton Ticino
The fake vignette problem
Third-party websites sell what they describe as "Swiss vignettes" for prices ranging from 15 to 90 euros. Some are outright fraudulent , they take payment and deliver nothing. Others deliver a genuine vignette but charge a significant "service fee" on top of the official price. In both cases, the buyer is worse off.
A small number of these sites deliver what appears to be a genuine sticker. This may be a counterfeit, a stolen sticker, or a legitimate one purchased at cost and resold with a markup. None of these options is legally reliable. If a counterfeit sticker is detected at a border crossing or by enforcement cameras, the driver faces a fine regardless of what they paid or where they bought it.
The safest rule: buy at the border when you enter Switzerland, at a Swiss petrol station once inside, or through the official ASTRA online shop. There is no legitimate reason to use a third-party vendor.
What happens without a vignette
Enforcement in Switzerland is a combination of roadside inspection by police and automated camera systems that scan licence plates at motorway entry points. The fine for driving on Swiss motorways without a valid vignette is 200 CHF, issued on the spot. The fine does not replace the need to buy a vignette , you must still purchase one.
Foreign-registered vehicles are not exempt. Swiss authorities regularly enforce this at borders and on the motorway network itself. EU-registered vehicles coming from Germany, France, Austria, or Italy are subject to the same rules from the first kilometre on Swiss motorway.
How to apply the vignette correctly
The vignette is adhesive and must be applied directly to the inside of the windscreen , not on a removable holder, not on a sticker or magnet, not in the window without contact with the glass. The official requirement is that it is affixed to the lower-left or lower-right section of the windscreen, on the inside, visible from outside the vehicle.
Vignettes that have been removed from one vehicle and applied to another are automatically invalid, regardless of the dates they cover. The adhesive is designed to destroy the sticker upon removal. An attempted transfer is immediately visible.
Electric vehicles and the vignette
Electric vehicles are subject to exactly the same vignette requirement as petrol or diesel vehicles. There is no exemption or reduced rate for EVs. Swiss authorities have confirmed this position repeatedly in response to questions from EV owners and rental companies.
Rented vehicles in Switzerland
If you rent a vehicle in Switzerland from a major rental company operating at Swiss airports or city centres, the vignette is typically already applied to the windscreen. Confirm this before driving onto a motorway. If you rent a vehicle in a neighbouring country and intend to drive on Swiss motorways, the rental car may or may not have a Swiss vignette. Check explicitly with the rental company before crossing the border.
The practical checklist
Before driving on Swiss motorways, confirm: the vignette sticker is present on the inside of the windscreen, it shows the current valid year (or the year spanning the 14-month window covering your travel date), it has not been removed and reapplied, and your trailer or caravan has its own separate vignette if applicable.
The Swiss vignette is one of the cheapest and most straightforward motorway charges in Europe. At 40 CHF for 14 months of unlimited motorway access across the entire Swiss network, it represents exceptional value when used legitimately. The only mistake is buying from the wrong source.
Lifestyle | SwissMastery