Toll Roads in Switzerland: The CHF 40 Vignette and What Tourists Get Wrong

Switzerland has a single-tier toll system: one annual vignette, one fixed price, no short-stay alternative. Most tourists discover this when they cross the border and realise a CHF 40 sticker is required regardless of whether they are driving through for two hours or staying for two weeks. There is no daily option. There is no weekly option. CHF 40 is the only entry point to using Swiss motorways.

The vignette: what it is and what it costs

The Swiss motorway vignette (Autobahnvignette / Vignette autoroute) is a physical sticker that must be attached to the windscreen of the vehicle. It is not digital — unlike Austria, Switzerland has not switched to a plate-linked digital system.

The vignette is valid from 1 December of the preceding year to 31 January of the year after the printed year. A sticker marked 2026 is valid from 1 December 2025 to 31 January 2027 — approximately 14 months of coverage.

This means if you buy a 2026 sticker in November 2026, it is still valid. And if you buy one in January 2026, it covers a very long period.

Rental cars do not include the vignette

Swiss rental companies — including international brands at Zurich, Geneva and Basel airports — do not include the vignette in their rental rates. You must buy one yourself.

Where to buy on arrival:

• Border crossings: petrol stations at every major Swiss border entry point sell the vignette. This is the most reliable purchase point for tourists entering by road.
• Swiss petrol stations: available at most stations within Switzerland.
• Post offices (La Poste / Die Post): sold at branches across the country.
• Online: can be ordered via the Swiss customs website, but only with postal delivery — not useful if you need it immediately.

The sticker must be applied to the inside of the windscreen. Placing it on the outside or on a removable mount makes it invalid. It cannot be transferred between vehicles — if you switch rental cars mid-trip, you need a new vignette for the second car.

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What happens without a vignette

Driving on a Swiss motorway without a valid vignette displayed on the windscreen carries a fine of CHF 200, payable on the spot. Border police and cantonal police conduct spot checks.

The fine is CHF 200 on top of being required to purchase the vignette anyway. There is no discount for immediate compliance.

Additional tolls beyond the vignette

Several major tunnels and mountain road options carry a separate charge on top of the vignette:

The Grand Saint-Bernard is the most commonly encountered extra toll for tourists heading into northern Italy from the Swiss Valais region. The tunnel is the winter option (the pass road is closed from November to June). Budget CHF 30 each way.

The Gotthard: free road vs car-train

The Gotthard A2 motorway is Switzerland’s main north-south artery, connecting Zurich and Basel to the Ticino and Italy. The road tunnel through the Gotthard is part of the motorway network and covered by the vignette — no extra charge.

However, in summer the road tunnel queues can exceed two hours. An alternative is the Gotthard car-carrying train (Autoverlad) between Realp and Andermatt, or between Airolo and Goschenen — you drive the car onto a flatcar and ride through the mountain.

The car train costs approximately CHF 17 to 25 per car per crossing and runs on a first-come, first-served basis (no reservation). On summer weekends with heavy traffic, many drivers consider this faster and less frustrating than queuing for the road tunnel.

Driving from France, Germany or Austria into Switzerland

Switzerland is not in the EU toll interoperability zone. French Liber-t transponders and Austrian digital vignettes do not work on Swiss motorways. You need a Swiss vignette specifically.

If your route enters Switzerland from:

• France (Basel or Geneva direction): buy the vignette at the border petrol station before joining the A1 or A1a.
• Germany (Schaffhausen, Konstanz, Basel direction): same — buy at the border.
• Austria (Bregenz / St. Margrethen direction): the Swiss border checkpoint has vignette sales. Stop and buy before continuing.

For Austrian toll information, see toll roads in Austria.

In short

Switzerland has one toll option: a CHF 40 annual vignette, physical sticker, no short-stay alternative. It is not included in rental car rates — buy it at the border before joining the motorway. The Grand Saint-Bernard tunnel carries an extra CHF 30 each way. The Gotthard road tunnel is free (covered by vignette) but queues in summer can be long — the car-carrying train is the faster alternative on busy days.