What is the Swiss Vignette?

The Swiss Vignette is a mandatory road tax sticker required to use Switzerland’s national motorway network. Introduced in 1985, it ensures motorists contribute to the upkeep of the country’s extensive, well-maintained roads. It applies to all motor vehicles and trailers up to 3.5 tonnes, cars, motorcycles, motorhomes, and caravans, using highways and expressways marked with green Autobahn/Autostrasse signs.

Since 1 August 2023, Switzerland has also offered a digital e-vignette, linked directly to your vehicle’s license plate rather than a physical sticker. Both formats cost exactly the same and carry identical validity; the digital version simply removes the need to attach anything to your windscreen.

Why the vignette is required

Revenue from vignette sales funds the maintenance and development of Switzerland’s motorway network, including the substantial ongoing costs of tunnel upkeep and snow clearing in a mountainous, weather-exposed country. The flat-fee model means residents and foreign drivers contribute equally, regardless of how much of the network they actually use.

Toll roads in Switzerland

The vignette applies to Switzerland’s national motorway and expressway network subject to the charge. Other roads generally do not require a vignette, although separate road or tunnel charges can apply on specific routes.

• A1: St. Margrethen (Austrian border) to Geneva, via Zurich, Bern, and Lausanne
• A2: Basel to Chiasso, via Lucerne, the Gotthard tunnel, Bellinzona, and Lugano
• A3: Basel to Zurich
• A4: Schaffhausen to Zurich
• A9: Lausanne to the Italian border
• A13: Sargans to Bellinzona, over the San Bernardino

Vehicles over 3.5 tonnes do not use the standard vignette; instead, the applicable Swiss heavy vehicle charge depends on the vehicle category and use.

Special tolls and exceptions

A handful of alpine tunnels charge their own fee on top of the vignette, since they sit outside the standard national-road network:

• Great St. Bernard Tunnel (Italian border): CHF 32.00 (approx. €33.50) for a single passenger-car trip, or CHF 51.00 (approx. €53.50) for a return ticket valid 30 days, under the tariff in force since 1 February 2026.
• Munt la Schera Tunnel (connecting to Livigno, Italy): a separate per-trip fee also applies, paid at the tunnel itself.

These fees are charged by the tunnel operators directly and aren’t included in your vignette, regardless of which format you hold.

Vignette-free driving

Switzerland allows limited vignette-free access at a few border customs points, letting you exit at the first motorway junction near these crossings without a valid vignette: Basel/St. Louis, Kreuzlingen, and Rheinfelden.

Vignette sticker vs. e-vignette

Drivers can choose between two equally valid formats:

• The sticker: in use since 1985, a physical adhesive placed on the inside of the windscreen (or a prominent, non-removable part of the vehicle for trailers and motorcycles), valid for the full 14-month period.
• The e-vignette: available since 1 August 2023, linked electronically to your license plate with nothing to attach; validity starts the moment your purchase is confirmed, with no waiting period at all, unlike some neighbouring countries’ systems for longer-duration products.

Both cost exactly the same and offer identical coverage; the choice comes down to personal preference.

Advantages of the e-vignette

• No physical sticker to attach, align, or eventually remove.
• Linked directly to your registration, so compliance checks are automatic.
• Simpler to manage if you change vehicles.
• Instant validity after purchase: no delivery wait.
• Nothing to damage, lose, or peel off incorrectly.

Vehicles covered by the vignette requirement

The vignette is mandatory for all motor vehicles and trailers up to 3.5 tonnes using Switzerland’s national motorway network, passenger cars, motorcycles, motorhomes, and caravans alike. Even a brief transit through the country requires a valid vignette to use these roads.

Motorhomes, caravans, and trailers: separate vignettes required

A towing vehicle and its trailer or caravan generally each need their own separate vignette, at the same flat CHF 40 rate, unless the trailer is subject to the heavy vehicle charge. A trailer towed by a motorcycle is exempt.

Exempt vehicles

• Trailers and trolleys towed by motorcycles
• Vehicles used to assist citizens (e.g., certain aid or rescue vehicles)
• Test vehicles
• Police vehicles
• Fixed (non-mobile) trailers
• Vehicles used for driver testing
• Certain agricultural tractors

Any other vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes must have a valid vignette to use the national motorway network.

Heavy vehicles: the performance-based charge

Vehicles over 3.5 tonnes do not use the standard vignette system. Depending on the vehicle category and use, they may be subject to Switzerland’s performance-related heavy vehicle charge (LSVA) or lump-sum heavy vehicle charge (PSVA). The LSVA generally applies to qualifying goods-transport vehicles, while the PSVA covers several other heavy vehicle categories, including certain heavy motorhomes and passenger vehicles.

Choosing the right Swiss road charge

The type of vehicle you drive determines whether you need a vignette or a heavy vehicle charge. Passenger cars, motorcycles, motorhomes, and trailers within the standard vignette rules generally use the CHF 40 vignette when traveling on Switzerland’s national motorway network. Heavier vehicles require closer attention because Switzerland distinguishes between different heavy-vehicle charging systems. Goods-transport vehicles may fall under the LSVA, while certain passenger, motorhome, coach, and other vehicle categories can be subject to the PSVA instead. If you are driving a vehicle above 3.5 tonnes, check its official registration category and intended use before entering Switzerland. This is particularly important for motorhomes and vehicles towing trailers, where assuming that every heavy vehicle follows the same charging system could lead to the wrong payment or registration.

Before entering Switzerland, check the vehicle category carefully. The standard vignette is designed for vehicles and trailers that are not subject to Switzerland’s heavy vehicle charge. For vehicles above 3.5 tonnes, the applicable system depends on the vehicle’s category and use. Goods-transport vehicles can fall under the LSVA, while heavy motorhomes, caravans, coaches, and certain passenger vehicles can fall under the PSVA. This distinction is especially important for larger motorhomes and vehicle combinations, because buying a standard vignette does not replace a heavy vehicle charge when that charge applies.

When should you buy the vignette?

You can purchase the Swiss vignette before your journey or during the validity period, but you must have a valid vignette before using a chargeable motorway or expressway. Since the annual vignette has a fixed end date, buying it earlier does not extend its validity beyond the applicable annual period.

How much does the Swiss vignette cost?

The price has been a flat CHF 40 (approximately €42-€44, depending on the exchange rate) since February 1994. It covers the full validity period regardless of when in the year you buy it, and the same flat rate applies to cars, motorcycles, motorhomes, and each individual trailer or caravan.

Switzerland does not offer a short-term vignette option; there is no 1-day, 10-day, or monthly product, only the single annual vignette. This isn’t an oversight: in a November 2013 referendum, Swiss voters explicitly rejected a proposal (60.5% against) to introduce a cheaper 2-month vignette alongside raising the annual price from CHF 40 to CHF 100. The flat annual-only model has remained unchanged since.

How long is the vignette valid?

Every Swiss vignette, sticker or digital, runs from 1 December of the preceding year through 31 January of the following year: a 14-month window rather than a calendar year. The 2026 vignette, for example, is valid from 1 December 2025 to 31 January 2027. Because it’s a flat annual product, buying it later in the year doesn’t reduce the price, but it also doesn’t extend the coverage; the end date stays fixed regardless of your purchase date.

How to buy a Swiss vignette

1. Navigate to the ordering page on Avignette.com.
2. Input your travel details, including where you’re coming from and your destination in Switzerland.
3. Review the recommended products shown for your journey.
4. Choose your vehicle type, car, motorcycle, or motorhome, and confirm your travel date.
5. Let the system automatically recommend the correct vignette.
6. Remove anything from your cart you don’t need.
7. Review the required products for your trip.
8. Enter your personal and vehicle details.
9. Complete your purchase using your preferred secure payment method.
10. Your e-vignette becomes valid immediately, linked directly to your license plate.

Buying online vs. at a sales point

Buying online gives you instant registration from anywhere, with nothing to wait for. Physical sales points, petrol stations, border crossings, and retail outlets throughout Switzerland, remain an option if you’d rather have a sticker in hand immediately, though this means visiting a specific location, which can be less convenient depending on your route.

Penalties for driving without a valid vignette

Driving on Swiss motorways without a valid vignette carries a fine of CHF 200 (approximately €210-€220), in addition to still having to buy the CHF 40 vignette itself, so the total cost of getting caught runs well over CHF 240. This applies whether you’ve simply forgotten, are using an expired vignette, or are misusing an e-vignette on a vehicle other than the one it’s registered to. Swiss authorities conduct vignette checks through electronic controls and other enforcement measures, including checks by customs officers and police.

Misuse of the e-vignette

Because the e-vignette is linked to a specific license plate, using an e-vignette for a different vehicle without completing an approved transfer, or using incorrect vehicle details, can result in enforcement action and the applicable fine.

Vignettes for rental cars

Most rental cars picked up within Switzerland already come with a valid vignette included, so you typically won’t need to buy one separately, but confirm this with the rental agency before setting off. If you’re renting a car outside Switzerland and driving into the country, check whether the vehicle already has a vignette; if not, you’ll need to buy either the sticker or the e-vignette yourself before using the motorway network.