Driving without a vignette: which roads can you use?

Yes, on main roads, minor roads and all other roads outside the motorway network. Only motorways and expressways require a vignette.

The charge applies to Class I and II national highways (Art. 2 NSAG). Class III national highways and all other roads do not require a vignette.

Exactly which sections are included is shown on the interactive map of national highways subject to the charge, which the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS) links to on its website.

By their green signs: white lettering on a green background leads to motorways or expressways. Blue signs indicate main roads, white signs minor roads.

This is laid down in the Road Signs Ordinance (Art. 51 SSV). The “motorway” and “expressway” signs are placed at the start of the slip road (Art. 85 SSV). If you do not have a vignette, do not drive past them onto the slip road.

Check whether your satnav's “avoid motorways” setting also avoids expressways, and look out for the green signs and the sign at the slip road as well.

Only at three motorway customs offices: Basel-St. Louis, Rheinfelden and Kreuzlingen. There, the stretch between the border and the first exit is vignette-free if you leave the motorway at that exit.

At all other motorway border crossings, the requirement applies from the border. Driving to the first exit without a vignette is not allowed there.

Yes. Every journey on a motorway or expressway requires a vignette, regardless of distance or duration. There is no short-term vignette for transit.

The vignette sticker must be affixed or the number plate registered before you use a motorway or expressway for the first time in the charge period (Art. 7(2) and Art. 7a(1) NSAG). This also applies to a single stretch on the way to a neighbouring country.

If you only drive through Switzerland once, you still need the annual vignette. Why there is no shorter one is explained in the guide Short-term vignette. Without a vignette, your only option is a route on main and minor roads.

You pay a CHF 200 fine and must buy a vignette or register the number plate on the spot. If neither the towing vehicle nor the trailer of a combination has a vignette, the fine is charged twice.

The fine is fixed (Art. 14(1) NSAG). For a combination without vignettes, the fines come to CHF 400, and the missing vignettes must also be bought. How many vignettes a vehicle combination needs is explained in the guide Trailers and caravans.

Checks are random: inside Switzerland by the cantonal police, at the border and in the border area by the FOCBS. If you are not resident in Switzerland and dispute the obligation to pay or do not pay immediately, you must pay a deposit of the amount or provide security (Art. 12 NSAG).

Not for Liechtenstein itself: there is no motorway and no road that requires a vignette. If you travel there on Swiss motorways, for example the A13, you do need the Swiss vignette.

All that matters is whether you use a Swiss motorway or expressway on the way. If you travel to Liechtenstein only on main and minor roads, you do not need a vignette.