Swiss Motorway Vignette Fines: The CHF 200 Penalty

Short answer: driving on a Swiss motorway without a valid vignette is a CHF 200 fine, paid on the spot, and you must still buy the vignette. Buying in advance is always cheaper and simpler.

How much is the fine?

The penalty for using a Swiss motorway or national road without a valid vignette is a flat CHF 200. It is not a substitute for the vignette: after paying the fine you still have to buy one, so non-compliance always costs at least CHF 240 in total.

How Switzerland catches you

Enforcement is thorough and increasingly automated:

• Roadside police checks, especially near borders and on busy routes during ski and summer seasons.
• Automatic number-plate recognition (ANPR) cameras. Because the e-vignette links your plate to the federal database, cameras can flag an unregistered vehicle automatically.
• Border spot checks as you enter Switzerland.

With the shift to plate-based e-vignettes, the days of hoping a sticker goes unnoticed are over.

Common ways drivers get caught out

• “I only missed an exit.” Any use of the motorway network counts. There is no short grace period.
• Sticker in the wrong place. A physical sticker that is loose, taped, or stuck to the wrong part of the glass can be judged invalid.
• Windscreen replaced. A sticker is tied to the glass; replace the windscreen and it is void.
• Trailer with no vignette. A caravan or trailer needs its own vignette.

Does it affect my UK licence?

No. A Swiss vignette fine is a Swiss administrative penalty. It does not put points on your UK licence, but it is an unpleasant and avoidable start to a holiday.

The easy way to avoid it

Register before you travel. An e-vignette is valid the moment it is registered, so you can be covered within a couple of hours of ordering.

---

Avoid the fine entirely. Apply for your Swiss vignette now.