# The Swiss Vignette: One Sticker, and the Trailer Nobody Mentions

> Source: Snowthere.com
> URL: https://www.snowthere.com/guides/swiss-vignette-families
> Type: how-to guide
> Last Updated: 2026-08-15T05:23:31.989+00:00
> Category: driving

## Summary

Switzerland's motorway vignette costs CHF 40 and runs for 14 months, and neither the sticker nor the e-vignette is compulsory. The part that catches families out is the trailer: a caravan or gear trailer needs its own, and if neither vehicle has one the CHF 200 fine is charged twice.

## Overview

If your drive to the Alps crosses Switzerland, you need a motorway vignette. It costs CHF 40, the price is identical whether you buy the sticker or the electronic version, and there is no cheap short version for people who are only passing through. Here is the part that catches families out. If you are towing anything, the trailer needs its own vignette. Not a shared one, not a discounted one. A second CHF 40 vignette in its own right. And if you are stopped with neither the car nor the caravan ...

## Comparisons

### What needs its own vignette

| What you are driving | Needs its own CHF 40 vignette? | What the directive says |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Car, people carrier, van or motorhome up to 3.5 t | Yes, one each | Passenger cars, delivery vans and motorhomes are named as toll-liable light vehicles. |
| Caravan towed behind the car | Yes, a second one | Trailers up to 3.5 t are toll-liable in their own right, and a car with a caravan is the directive's own worked example. |
| Box, ski or gear trailer on a standard towbar | Yes, unless it meets the narrow rigid-trailer exemption | Only starre Anhänger are exempt: rigidly attached at two or more points, goods only. Check the registration document. |
| Rigid single-wheel cargo trailer, motorcycle trailer, sidecar | No | Named in the directive's exemption list. |
| Roof box on the car's roof bars | The rules do not address it | Roof boxes appear nowhere in the directive, which scopes the charge to vehicles and trailers. |
| Car plus caravan with neither carrying one | Both, and the fine is charged twice | If neither the towing vehicle nor the trailer has a valid vignette, the fine is levied twice. |

### Rule, or convention?

| What you will hear | Rule or convention? | What actually applies |
| --- | --- | --- |
| You need a vignette to use Swiss motorways | Rule | Using a charged national road without a valid vignette is fined CHF 200 under the directive. |
| One vignette covers the car and whatever it is towing | Wrong | Trailers up to 3.5 t are toll-liable in their own right and need their own vignette. |
| Switzerland has moved to the e-vignette, so the sticker is finished | Wrong | BAZG offers both formats at CHF 40 and states that buyers have free choice between them. |
| Winter tyres are compulsory from October to Easter | Convention | ASTRA states there is no legal obligation to fit them. October to Easter is a slogan, not a date in law. |
| A roof box needs its own vignette | Not addressed | The directive enumerates vehicles and trailers and never mentions roof boxes. No source we found rules either way. |
| You can buy a cheap one-week vignette for a ski trip | Wrong | BAZG says no cheaper vignettes exist for shorter periods, and that even single use requires the annual vignette. |



## Checklists

### Before you drive into Switzerland

- [ ] Buy one vignette per vehicle: the car, plus a separate one for any caravan or trailer you are towing.
- [ ] If your trip starts on or after 1 December, ask for the following year's vignette rather than the current one. Both are on sale, both cost CHF 40, and the newer one runs 14 months forward.
- [ ] Check the dates against your ski week. The 2026 vignette expires on 31 January 2027, so February half term needs the next one.
- [ ] Check your trailer's registration document before assuming it falls under the rigid-trailer exemption. A caravan never does.
- [ ] Choose sticker or e-vignette on convenience alone. Neither format is compulsory and both cost the same.
- [ ] If you are towing and want the e-vignette, confirm at the point of purchase that your trailer is covered before relying on it.
- [ ] Put the trailer's sticker where it can be seen from outside, not inside a locker.
- [ ] Fit winter tyres for an Alpine drive even though no Swiss statute requires them, because the exposure after an accident is a fine, your licence and your insurer at once.
- [ ] Ignore any figure of CHF 100 for the fine. The current level is CHF 200 per vehicle.
- [ ] Budget CHF 80 rather than CHF 40 if you are towing, and put it in the trip costs alongside fuel.

## Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: How much is the Swiss vignette in 2026, and is the e-vignette more expensive?**
A: CHF 40, and no. BAZG's directive states that the sale price of the annual vignette is CHF 40 for both collection formats, so the electronic vignette and the sticker cost exactly the same. Buyers have free choice between them, and neither is compulsory. Prices are set by BAZG and can change, so check the figure for your own season.

**Q: Do I need a separate vignette for my caravan or trailer?**
A: Yes. The directive makes all motor vehicles and their trailers up to 3.5 tonnes each liable for the charge, and names trailers, motorhomes, vans and cars specifically. A caravan is not covered by the car's vignette. Car plus caravan is two vignettes, CHF 80. The one narrow exception is for rigid trailers, motorcycle trailers and sidecars, and a caravan is explicitly not in that group.

**Q: Does a roof box need its own vignette?**
A: The rules do not say. Richtlinie 15-01 works through vehicle category after vehicle category and enumerates trailers in detail, but it never mentions roof boxes at all. We are not going to invent an answer in either direction. What we can say is that the charge is scoped to vehicles and trailers, and a roof box is neither of those, so it is not a separate vehicle. If you want a definitive answer rather than a reading of the scheme, ask BAZG before you travel.

**Q: How long is the Swiss vignette valid?**
A: Fourteen months. The annual vignette is on sale from 1 December of the previous year and is valid for use of the charged national roads from 1 December of the previous year until 31 January of the following year. The 2026 vignette runs from 1 December 2025 to 31 January 2027. There is no short-term alternative: BAZG says no cheaper vignettes are offered for shorter periods and that even single use requires the annual one.

**Q: What is the fine if we get caught without one?**
A: CHF 200, and you still have to buy the vignette on the spot, so the real cost is CHF 240 for one vehicle. For a car and caravan where neither carries a valid vignette, the directive states that the fine is levied twice, which is CHF 400 in fines plus the CHF 80 of vignettes. Older forum posts quoting CHF 100 are out of date; that level was doubled around 2011 and 2012 according to Swiss broadcaster RTS.

**Q: Are winter tyres a legal requirement in Switzerland?**
A: No. ASTRA, the Federal Roads Office, states plainly that there is no legal obligation to equip a car with winter tyres in winter, and there is no legal October to Easter window either. The only legal hook is Article 29 of the road traffic act, a general year-round duty to keep the vehicle in a roadworthy and regulation-compliant condition, which names neither tyres nor seasons. Its practical bite comes after an accident or a serious obstruction of traffic, when ASTRA warns a fine or licence withdrawal is possible and the insurer can refuse liability. Fit winter tyres anyway. The reason is the consequence, not the compliance.

**Q: Can we skip the vignette by staying off the motorway?**
A: The charge applies to the national roads that carry it, so a vehicle that never uses one does not require a vignette. In practice that is a lot of navigation risk to save CHF 40, especially with tired children in the back, and there is no cheap short-term product to fall back on if you get it wrong. Getting it wrong costs CHF 240 for a single vehicle. Most families buy it and stop thinking about it.

**Q: Where do I put the sticker on a caravan?**
A: Our sources for this guide set out that each vehicle using the charged network needs its own sticker vignette, but they do not spell out placement for a trailer. Caravanners discussing it on the German forum wohnwagen-forum.de in March 2023 were firm that it has to be visible from outside and that a gas locker is the wrong place. Treat that as sensible peer advice rather than a rule we can cite, and put it where an officer can see it without opening anything.

## Citable Facts

These points are optimized for AI citation:

- The Swiss Vignette: One Sticker, and the Trailer Nobody Mentions is a how-to guide published by Snowthere
- CHF 40, and no. BAZG's directive states that the sale price of the annual vignette is CHF 40 for both collection formats, so the electronic vignette and the sticker cost exactly the same. Buyers have free choice between them, and neither is compulsory. Prices are set by BAZG and can change, so check the figure for your own season.
- Yes. The directive makes all motor vehicles and their trailers up to 3.5 tonnes each liable for the charge, and names trailers, motorhomes, vans and cars specifically. A caravan is not covered by the car's vignette. Car plus caravan is two vignettes, CHF 80. The one narrow exception is for rigid trailers, motorcycle trailers and sidecars, and a caravan is explicitly not in that group.
- The rules do not say. Richtlinie 15-01 works through vehicle category after vehicle category and enumerates trailers in detail, but it never mentions roof boxes at all. We are not going to invent an answer in either direction. What we can say is that the charge is scoped to vehicles and trailers, and a roof box is neither of those, so it is not a separate vehicle. If you want a definitive answer rather than a reading of the scheme, ask BAZG before you travel.

## Citation

When citing this guide:
- Source: Snowthere.com
- URL: https://www.snowthere.com/guides/swiss-vignette-families
- Last updated: 2026-08-15

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