Ski holiday in Switzerland: which vignette do you need in winter?

What matters is the date of your return journey: the 2026 vignette is valid until 31 January 2027, the 2027 vignette from 1 December 2026 to 31 January 2028.

The 2027 vignette goes on sale on 1 December 2026. With us, you choose the start date yourself: if it is in December 2026 or later, the order form shows 31 January 2028 as the end date.

Yes, as soon as you use a motorway or expressway on the way. This applies, for example, to the A13 to Graubünden, the A6 to the Bernese Oberland and the A9 to Valais.

Exactly which sections are included is shown on the interactive map of national roads requiring a vignette. On the road, you can recognise motorways and expressways by their green signs.

There, the drive ends before the village, and the car stays in a car park in the valley or at the village entrance. You need the vignette for the motorways and expressways on the way there.

Even if the car stays parked for the whole holiday week, the vignette must be valid for the outward and return journeys on motorways and expressways. So pay attention to the date of your return journey.

• Zermatt: Private vehicles may only go as far as Täsch, five kilometres before Zermatt. From there, you continue by shuttle train or taxi (Zermatt Tourism).
• Saas-Fee: The car stays in the multi-storey car park or the car park at the village entrance (Saas-Fee Tourism).
• Wengen: The car stays in Lauterbrunnen, and you continue by train.
• Mürren: The car stays in Lauterbrunnen or Stechelberg, and you continue by public transport (Jungfrau Region Tourism).

No. The car-carrying trains at the Lötschberg, the Furka and the Vereina charge their own fee, which the vignette does not cover.

There is no general winter tyre requirement in Switzerland. Where the “Snow chains compulsory” sign is displayed, snow chains must be fitted.

• Winter tyres: You must be in control of your vehicle at all times. If you cause an accident because you do not have winter tyres, your insurer may reduce its benefits or take recourse against you. ch.ch recommends winter tyres from October to Easter.
• Tread depth: at least 1.6 mm, for both summer and winter tyres.
• Snow chains: The “Snow chains compulsory” sign requires multi-track motor vehicles to have metal snow chains on at least two drive wheels of the same axle. Similar devices approved by FEDRO are also permitted (Art. 29 SSV).
• Road conditions: On pass roads and access roads to winter sports resorts, signs show whether the road is open (green panel), closed (red panel) or only passable with snow chains (Art. 58 SSV).
• Number plates and windows: Number plates must be easy to read, and windows, lights and rear-view mirrors must be clean (Art. 57(2) VRV). Clear them of snow before you set off.

Both are valid for the same period. The sticker is tied to the vehicle and stuck on the windscreen; the e-vignette is tied to the number plate and has no sticker.

With the e-vignette, there is nothing to stick on the windscreen or scrape free, and you do not carry any proof. What is checked is the entry for the number plate in the system of the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS).

If the windscreen has to be replaced, for example after a stone chip, the e-vignette remains valid because it is linked to the number plate. For a vignette sticker on a foreign vehicle, the FOCBS provides for a replacement of the same year after a broken windscreen (Regulation R 15-01, section 7.4).

Motorhomes up to 3.5 t need the vignette; heavier ones pay the lump-sum heavy vehicle charge (PSVA). For a rental car, it depends on where the car is registered.

The PSVA applies on all roads, not just on motorways. A caravan or trailer up to 3.5 t needs its own vignette. On the Vereina car-carrying train, capacity for vehicles with a corner height of more than 3.3 m is limited on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays during the winter season. Details in the guides Vignette for motorhomes and Trailers and caravans.

Rental cars registered in Switzerland usually already have the vignette, while cars hired abroad usually do not; ask the rental company. The e-vignette can only be registered once you know the number plate. More in the guide Vignette for rental cars.