Switzerland vignette for UK drivers: price, e-vignette and fine

Yes. Every car on a Swiss motorway needs a vignette, the annual road charge shown as a sticker or as an electronic e-vignette. It costs CHF 40 (about £36), is valid for 14 months and is sold only as a yearly pass: there is no short-stay vignette for a holiday.

The rule covers every motor vehicle and trailer up to 3.5 tonnes that uses Swiss motorways and expressways, and a UK-registered car is no exception. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office gives the same warning in its Switzerland travel advice: you must buy and display a vignette to travel on Swiss motorways, and without one you could get a large fine.

That advice speaks of a sticker, but since 1 August 2023 the vignette also exists in electronic form. The e-vignette is tied to your number plate instead of your windscreen, so nothing needs to be stuck on the car. The Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS) sells it online, and we explain below how to find the official shop.

There is no cheaper pass for a short trip. Asked whether a visitor who comes only once a year still needs the annual vignette, the FOCBS answers: 'Yes. Unlike other European countries, Switzerland does not have a short-stay vignette.' A week's skiing and a year of commuting cost the same.

Both versions cost the same, last the same time and carry the same legal weight. The FOCBS puts the only difference in use in one line: the sticker is linked to the vehicle, while the e-vignette is linked to the licence plate. For a car that arrives from the UK, that single difference shapes everything else in the table.

For a driver leaving from the UK, the e-vignette has one clear advantage: it can be bought at home before you set off and is valid at once, so there is no counter to find on the way and no sticker to place. The sticker suits a driver who prefers a paper proof, or who crosses at a customs office that sells it. Changing your mind later is hard: the FOCBS says a sticker can be replaced by an e-vignette only if the windscreen itself is replaced.

Type the plate exactly as it appears on the car. Hyphens and spaces do not matter. For a foreign plate, a typing error can be corrected once within 24 hours of purchase, directly in the ticket, and after that the FOCBS points foreign owners to a licence plate change application, if the requirements are met.

There is also no safety net for a purchase you regret. Swiss law, unlike EU law, gives the customer no right of withdrawal for online purchases, and the FOCBS says a refund is in principle possible only when a double purchase is proven. You do not have to carry a receipt, but entering your email address at payment sends you electronic proof of payment, and your tickets are stored in the Via portal.

The vignette costs CHF 40 (about £36) for a car, whether you choose the sticker or the e-vignette. The FOCBS says it charges exactly CHF 40 for the e-vignette and asks for no deposit. The price is set in Swiss francs, so the pound figure moves with the exchange rate: the amounts below use the European Central Bank reference rates published on 30 October 2026, the most recent on the day we checked, 1 November 2026, which was a Sunday.

A higher price on the official webshop would be a warning sign. The FOCBS does say that independent distributors may add surcharges, and that they must identify themselves clearly as independent and itemise their costs. If a page does not do that and asks for more than CHF 40 for a car, you are not buying from the Swiss authority.

The official shop for the e-vignette is the Via webshop of the FOCBS, at via.admin.ch. The FOCBS also gives www.e-vignette.ch as the address for the same Via Portal. The steps are short.

1. Open the Via webshop at via.admin.ch and choose the e-vignette.
2. Enter the vehicle category, the country of registration and the number plate.
3. Pay, and enter your email address so that proof of payment is sent to you.
4. Wait for the confirmation email, which arrives within a few minutes. If it is not in your inbox, look in the junk folder. The ticket is also stored in the Via portal, under the tickets icon at the top right.

If you prefer the sticker, the FOCBS lists post offices, most petrol stations and garages and TCS outlets in Switzerland, and says that in exceptional cases it can be bought at certain customs offices when you cross the border. The FOCBS vignette FAQ links to a list of sale locations, so check it before counting on a counter at the frontier.

One narrow exception exists. If you enter Switzerland through the Basel/St Louis motorway, Rheinfelden motorway or Kreuzlingen motorway customs offices, no vignette is needed as long as you leave the motorway at the first exit. Everywhere else, the FOCBS FAQ answers 'No' to the question of using the motorway up to the first exit without a vignette.

Both versions run for 14 months: from 1 December of the year before the one shown on the vignette to 31 January of the year after it. The 2026 vignette therefore covers 1 December 2025 to 31 January 2027, and a vignette for 2027 starts on 1 December 2026.

A trip in the coming weeks therefore needs the 2026 vignette. A ski holiday in the first weeks of 2027 can use either the 2026 vignette, if you already hold it, or the 2027 one, because both are valid until 31 January 2027. From 1 February 2027, only the 2027 vignette counts.

The e-vignette is valid immediately after purchase, so buying it the evening before you leave is enough. Do not wait for a shorter option: the FOCBS says the Vignette Act makes no provision for short-term vignettes, and that the annual charge would become significantly more expensive if they were introduced.

Often, yes. The vignette follows the vehicle or the trailer, not the journey, so a car towing a caravan can need two. The FOCBS motorway charge FAQ is clear on each case.

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  Car with a trailer or caravan: Trailers are also subject to the motorway charge, unless they are subject to the heavy vehicle charge, so the trailer needs a vignette as well.
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  Motorhome up to 3.5 tonnes: It needs a vignette like a car.
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  Classic or vintage car: Classic vehicles need a vignette too.

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  Trailer behind a motorbike: This is exempt from the vignette.
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  Motorhome above 3.5 tonnes: It pays the lump-sum heavy vehicle charge (PSVA) instead of the vignette.

On the sticker version, a vehicle with a windscreen carries it on the inside of the windscreen, in a place that can easily be seen from outside. A trailer takes it on an easily accessible, non-removable part. If you use the e-vignette for vehicles with interchangeable plates, the FOCBS says one e-vignette is enough, while two such vehicles each need a sticker.

The fine reported by the FOCBS is CHF 200 (about £180), and you still have to buy the vignette. The figure comes from a joint check by the FOCBS and the Basel-Stadt cantonal police on the morning of 20 May 2026 at the Basel/St Louis motorway crossing: 50 of 1,292 vehicles had no valid vignette. Those drivers had to buy it on the spot and also received a fine of 200 francs. The amount is set, not just reported: FOCBS Directive 15-01 on the motorway charge says that anyone who uses a Swiss motorway without a valid vignette is fined CHF 200, and must also buy a vignette at once.

Notice the direction of that check: it stopped vehicles leaving Switzerland, so a driver who forgot the vignette can be caught on the way home. The FOCBS adds that it and the cantonal police run vignette checks regularly, and that vehicles can also be checked inside the country.

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  No valid vignette: At the Basel check, a fine of CHF 200 (about £180), plus the vignette bought on the spot.
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  A sticker moved to another car: The FOCBS says peeling off stickers and transferring them to other vehicles is forbidden, and detached stickers are invalid.
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  A manipulated vignette: In the Basel check, one such case was reported to the public prosecutor's office.

GOV.UK adds that Swiss traffic police strictly enforce the road regulations, and that a serious breach can mean heavy fines or imprisonment.

The vignette is only one of the papers and habits to check before you drive. GOV.UK says you can use a UK photocard driving licence in Switzerland. On the permit question, its international driving permit page lists Switzerland as a 1968 convention country and says you do not need an IDP, adding that if you hire a car, you should check whether the hire company says you need one. Our guide to the international driving permit explains the types.

Mountain driving is the other warning. GOV.UK says roads outside urban areas are narrow and winding, that conditions can deteriorate fast even in summer, and that you should reduce your speed significantly to suit them. For winter, it says to equip your car with winter tyres and snow chains. If you are in an accident, it says to use the orange emergency phones to ask for help.

Many UK drivers cross France to reach Switzerland. Booking the crossing is covered in our guide to the ferry to France, and French cities with low-emission zones have their own sticker, explained in our Crit'Air guide. The other papers a UK driver needs in Europe are in our guide to driving in Europe from the UK.

• Do I need a vignette to drive through Switzerland to Italy?

  Yes, on any Swiss motorway. The only exception in the FOCBS FAQ is entering through the Basel/St Louis, Rheinfelden or Kreuzlingen motorway customs offices and leaving at the first exit.

• How much is the Swiss vignette for a UK car in pounds?

  CHF 40 (about £36), at the European Central Bank rates of 30 October 2026. The price is the same for the sticker and the e-vignette, and the pound figure moves with the exchange rate.

• Is the e-vignette valid straight after I buy it?

  Yes. The FOCBS says it is valid immediately after purchase. Swiss law gives no right of withdrawal for online purchases, so check the plate before you pay.

• Can I buy a vignette for just one week?

  No. Switzerland has no short-stay vignette, and the Vignette Act makes no provision for short-term ones. A single visit still needs the annual vignette at CHF 40 (about £36).

• What is the fine for driving without a vignette?

  The FOCBS reported a fine of CHF 200 (about £180) at its Basel check of 20 May 2026, and the drivers also had to buy the vignette on the spot. In all, 50 of 1,292 vehicles had no valid vignette.

• Do I need to carry a receipt for the e-vignette?

  No, the FOCBS says you do not need to carry a receipt. If you enter your email address at payment you receive electronic proof, and your tickets are stored in the Via portal.

• What if I type my number plate wrongly?

  Hyphens and spaces do not matter. For a foreign plate, the error can be corrected once within 24 hours of purchase, directly in the ticket. After that, a licence plate change application is needed, if the requirements are met.

• Does my caravan or trailer need a vignette too?

  Yes, a trailer is subject to the motorway charge as well, unless it falls under the heavy vehicle charge. A trailer attached to a motorbike is exempt.

• When does the vignette stop being valid?

  It runs for 14 months, to 31 January of the year after the one shown on it. The 2026 vignette is valid from 1 December 2025 to 31 January 2027.

• Can I swap my sticker for an e-vignette?

  No. The FOCBS says a sticker can be replaced by an e-vignette only if the windscreen is replaced and the sticker has become invalid.