This information may change. Always check the official source.Last verified: August 2026 by Ondřej Kadlec
Driving in Switzerland: the three basics
Drives on the
right
The driver sits on the left and overtakes on the left. Roundabouts turn anticlockwise.
Your licence
EU licence is enough
An EU, EEA or Swiss licence is valid as it stands. A licence from anywhere else works alongside an International Driving Permit, which hire desks and police expect to see.
Motorways
Vignette
Motorways are paid for with a time-based vignette bought before you join one, not at a barrier. Driving a motorway without it is a fine, and the check is usually automatic.
The motorway vignette is sold for a calendar year only - there is no short-term version - and it is checked at the border.
Switzerland sells only an annual motorway vignette - there is no short-term version - and speed enforcement is unforgiving.
One annual vignette, no short-term option, and the strictest speed enforcement in Europe.
The vignette is valid for a calendar year whatever day you buy it, and there is no ten-day version as in Austria. It is sold at the border, at petrol stations and as an e-vignette tied to the plate.
Speeding is treated as a crime, not a fine, above certain margins. Serious excesses bring vehicle confiscation and a criminal record, and fines are means-tested.
The alcohol limit is 0.5 g/l, and 0.1 g/l for new and professional drivers.
Dipped headlights are compulsory day and night.
The big alpine tunnels are included in the vignette - the Gotthard charges nothing - but the car trains through the Lotschberg and Furka are separate and worth the money in winter.
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