Switzerland vignette 2026: prices, rules and how to order
The Swiss vignette costs CHF 40, about €42.80, and it exists in one version only: an annual permit valid from 1 December 2025 to 31 January 2027. Switzerland sells no 1-day, 10-day or monthly vignette, so a single afternoon on a Swiss motorway costs the same CHF 40 as fourteen months of daily driving.
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How much does the Switzerland vignette cost in 2026?
The Swiss vignette costs CHF 40, roughly €42.80 at the August 2026 exchange rate, and that one figure covers every case a private driver will meet. Switzerland applies no reduced motorcycle rate and no vehicle-class scale, so a car, a motorbike and a caravan each pay CHF 40. The price is set by the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS) and has stood at CHF 40 since 1995.
| What you are buying | Price | Approx. EUR | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car up to 3.5 t (e-vignette) | CHF 40 | ≈ €42.80 | Linked to the licence plate |
| Car up to 3.5 t (sticker) | CHF 40 | ≈ €42.80 | Glued to the windscreen |
| Motorcycle | CHF 40 | ≈ €42.80 | No reduced rate in Switzerland |
| Trailer or caravan | CHF 40 | ≈ €42.80 | Needs a vignette of its own |
Official FOCBS fee, checked August 2026. Euro figures are indicative and move with the exchange rate; the vignette itself is always billed in Swiss francs.
Why Switzerland has no short-term vignette
Switzerland is the one country on a typical Alpine route that sells no short-term permit, and drivers regularly discover this at the border. Austria and Czechia both sell 1-day and 10-day vignettes and Slovenia sells a weekly one, while Switzerland offers nothing below the year. The Swiss charge is a flat annual road-use levy rather than a graduated tourist toll, so the transit driver and the daily commuter are billed identically.
Plan around the flat fee, not against it. If a Swiss motorway appears just once in your route, compare CHF 40 against the detour. Ordinary cantonal and main roads in Switzerland are free of charge, and on a short north-to-south hop the non-motorway alternative sometimes costs only an extra hour. On any trip longer than a single crossing, the vignette wins easily.
Is the Swiss vignette an e-vignette or a sticker?
Switzerland sells both formats at the same CHF 40, and the digital one has been available since August 2023. The Swiss e-vignette is registered against a licence plate and a country of registration, and it survives a windscreen replacement because the entitlement lives in the register rather than on the glass. The adhesive sticker is still sold at petrol stations, post offices and customs posts at the border, and it must be stuck to the windscreen properly, not propped behind it.
For foreign drivers the Swiss e-vignette is the simpler choice, with one caveat worth knowing: it belongs to the plate, and FOCBS transfers it to a different plate only when the vehicle and the holder stay the same, for example after a move. A mistyped character therefore leaves the car unregistered, so check the plate on the confirmation before you set off.
When the Swiss vignette becomes valid
A Swiss e-vignette becomes valid the moment the purchase completes, which FOCBS states plainly on the Via Portal. Switzerland imposes no cooling-off delay, so unlike the Austrian digital vignette with its 18-day withdrawal rule, a Swiss e-vignette bought on a phone in the last lay-by before the border is already live when you cross. The 2026 vignette then runs from 1 December 2025 to 31 January 2027, a fourteen-month window rather than a rolling year.
Which roads the Swiss vignette covers
The Swiss vignette is required on the national motorway network, the routes signed in green as Autobahn and Autostrasse, which carries almost every long-distance journey through the country including the A1 from Geneva to St Gallen, the A2 through the Gotthard tunnel and the A13 over the San Bernardino. Cantonal, main and municipal roads carry no charge, and the obligation applies to all motor vehicles and trailers up to 3.5 tonnes. Vehicles above 3.5 tonnes leave the vignette system and pay the Swiss heavy vehicle charge instead.
Tunnels that are tolled separately
Two Swiss tunnels are billed on top of the vignette, and both sit on popular routes into Italy. The Great St Bernard tunnel charges CHF 32.00, or €33.50, for a single passenger-car trip and CHF 51.00, or €53.50, for a return ticket valid 30 days, under the tariff its operator put in force on 1 February 2026. The Munt la Schera tunnel toward Livigno is also paid at its own barrier. The Gotthard road tunnel on the A2, by contrast, is covered by the vignette and costs nothing extra.
What happens if you drive without one
Driving a Swiss motorway without a valid vignette carries a fine of CHF 200, and the vignette itself still has to be bought, so the total comes to CHF 240 for what would have cost CHF 40. A sticker that is not properly affixed counts as no vignette at all. Enforcement in Switzerland mixes staffed checks at border crossings and on motorway approaches with automatic plate reading against the e-vignette register, and towing a caravan on a single vignette is treated as one unpaid vehicle.
How to order a Swiss vignette through Vignettera
Choose the 2026 Swiss e-vignette, enter the licence plate exactly as it reads on the vehicle, add the country of registration, and pay. Our team registers the vignette in the Swiss system, normally within 5 to 30 minutes during working hours, and emails a confirmation showing the plate, the validity window and both the CHF 40 state fee and our service fee. Nothing needs to go on the windscreen, and nothing has to be printed; the entitlement sits in the FOCBS register against your plate.
You can equally buy directly from FOCBS on the official Via Portal and pay only the CHF 40 state fee. Drivers use Vignettera when a route crosses several countries and they would otherwise work through three or four national portals, each in its own language, its own currency and its own validity rule.
Switzerland vignette FAQ
Is there a 10-day or one-month Swiss vignette?
No. Switzerland sells the annual vignette only, at CHF 40, and no short-term product exists in any format. A driver crossing Switzerland once still pays the full CHF 40, which is why some short transits are cheaper on the free cantonal road network than on the motorway.
Does a caravan need its own Swiss vignette?
Yes. Switzerland charges the vignette per vehicle and per trailer, so a car towing a caravan needs two vignettes at CHF 40 each. Austria bills the towing vehicle only, so drivers arriving from Austria are often surprised. Trailers behind a motorcycle are treated as an exception.
Can I use the Swiss e-vignette immediately after buying it?
Yes. FOCBS states that validity starts as soon as the purchase succeeds, so there is no waiting period and no 18-day withdrawal delay of the Austrian kind. In practice you can order shortly before the border, provided the confirmation has arrived and the plate on it is correct.
How long is the 2026 Swiss vignette valid?
The 2026 Swiss vignette is valid from 1 December 2025 to 31 January 2027, a fourteen-month window. Buying it in August 2026 still means it expires on 31 January 2027, so late in the year the effective cost per remaining month rises sharply.
Is the Gotthard tunnel included in the Swiss vignette?
Yes. The Gotthard road tunnel is part of the A2 motorway and is covered by the vignette with no extra charge. The Great St Bernard and Munt la Schera tunnels are the exceptions, both being paid separately at their own barriers.
Do electric cars pay the Swiss vignette?
Yes. Switzerland grants no vignette discount or exemption for electric or hybrid vehicles, so an electric car pays the same CHF 40 as a petrol one. Czechia takes the opposite approach and lets electric and hydrogen vehicles use its motorways at no charge.