Driving through Switzerland to Italy: what applies to the vignette?

Four routes at a glance: via the Gotthard, the San Bernardino, the Simplon and the Great St Bernard. On all four, you drive on motorways that require a vignette.

Exactly which sections are included is shown on the interactive map of national roads requiring a vignette, which the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS) links to. On the road, you can recognise motorways and expressways by their green signs.

Yes. The requirement applies to every journey on a motorway or expressway, regardless of its length. Even for a single transit journey, you need the annual vignette.

The only exceptions are at the Basel-St. Louis, Rheinfelden and Kreuzlingen customs offices, and only if you leave the motorway at the first exit. If you continue towards Italy from Basel-St. Louis, you need the vignette from the border. At the Basel/Weil am Rhein customs office, the vignette requirement starts right at the border.

If you are checked without a valid vignette, you pay a CHF 200 fine and must buy the vignette on the spot. There is no short-term vignette for transit; more on this in the guide Is there a short-term vignette?. How to recognise motorways and where the border stretches are is explained in the guide Driving without a vignette.

Before you use a motorway or expressway for the first time (Art. 7a(1) NSAG). If you enter Switzerland by motorway, for example at Basel/Weil am Rhein or Chiasso, the registration must be complete before you reach the border.

1. 1Order before you leave: Enter the number plate and country of registration exactly as they appear on the plate. For foreign number plates, an input error can only be corrected once and only within 24 hours, see Changing or correcting your number plate.
2. 2Choose the start date: the day you enter Switzerland or an earlier day. The form shows you the vignette's end date.
3. 3Wait for the registration confirmation: After payment, you receive two emails, the order confirmation and the registration confirmation. Only drive on motorways and expressways after the second email.
4. 4Carry nothing on the way: With the e-vignette, you do not need a sticker or any proof. What is checked is the entry for the number plate in the FOCBS system.

Order before you leave, not at the border: Have your e-vignette registered for the trip to Italy.

The Gotthard road tunnel has no extra charge. The Great St Bernard Tunnel and the car-carrying trains at the Lötschberg, the Simplon, the Furka and the Vereina charge their own fee, which is not included in the vignette.

There is no general toll for mountain passes in Switzerland.

• Gotthard road tunnel: part of the A2 between Göschenen and Airolo, which requires a vignette, with no extra charge.
• Great St Bernard Tunnel: connects Bourg-Saint-Pierre in Valais with Saint-Rhémy-en-Bosses in Italy. The operator charges its own toll, which is paid at the tunnel's toll stations.
• Lötschberg and Simplon car-carrying trains: BLS car trains between Kandersteg and Goppenstein and between Brig and Iselle in Italy, each with its own ticket.
• Furka and Vereina car-carrying trains: also with their own fee, independent of the vignette.

A trailer or caravan up to 3.5 t needs its own vignette. Motorhomes over 3.5 t pay the lump-sum heavy vehicle charge (PSVA) instead of the vignette, and it applies on all roads.

If neither the towing vehicle nor the trailer of a combination has a vignette, the CHF 200 fine is charged twice. How many vignettes a combination needs is explained in the guide Trailers and caravans, and the weight limit for motorhomes in the guide Vignette for motorhomes.

The vignette must still be valid on the day of your return journey. The 2026 vignette is valid until 31 January 2027, the 2027 vignette from 1 December 2026 to 31 January 2028.

All the rules for the turn of the year are in the guide Vignette validity.

• Outward journey in December 2026, return in January 2027: Both vignettes cover the whole trip.
• Return from 1 February 2027: The 2026 vignette is then no longer valid; you need the 2027 vignette.
• New purchase from 1 December 2026: You get the 2027 vignette, which is valid until 31 January 2028.