Driving in Switzerland

Right

Drive on the right, and keep as far to the right as you reasonably can, especially when you are going slowly or cannot see far ahead.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Left

Overtake on the left. Passing on the right by pulling out and back in is an offence. You may move past traffic on your right in a few narrow cases: in stop-and-go queues on the left or middle lane, on marked lane-selection stretches where the lanes show different destinations, and on motorway acceleration and deceleration lanes.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

120 km/h

120 km/h applies from the green "Autobahn" sign until the sign that ends it. An expressway, marked by the white-on-blue "Autostrasse" sign, is 100 km/h. Both are separate from the 80 km/h that applies on all other roads outside towns. A signposted lower limit always wins.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

80 km/h

80 km/h on main and minor roads outside built-up areas. It starts at the sign that ends the general 50 km/h limit, or when you leave an expressway or a motorway.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

50 km/h

50 km/h across the whole built-up area, from the "Höchstgeschwindigkeit 50 generell" sign to the sign that ends it. If you come into a village off a minor road with no sign, the 50 limit still applies as soon as the buildings become dense.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

20 km/h

20 km/h in a "Begegnungszone" (encounter zone), the sign used in residential and shopping streets. Pedestrians may use the whole road surface there and they have priority over you, though they must not block you needlessly. Park only in marked places. A "Tempo-30-Zone" is a different sign with a 30 km/h limit; in it, pedestrians may cross anywhere but do not have priority.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

• Motorway — 100 km/h
• Country roads — 80 km/h
• Towns and cities — 50 km/h

A car with a trailer is limited to 80 km/h on ordinary roads outside towns. On a motorway or an expressway the limit is 100 km/h, but only if the trailer's total weight does not exceed 3.5 tonnes; a heavier combination stays at 80. In towns the ordinary 50 km/h applies. These limits hold even where a higher limit is signposted.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

0.05 % BAC

You may not drive with more than 0.05% alcohol in your blood. The same limit is written 0.5 g/l or 0.5 per mille elsewhere, and a breath reading of 0.25 mg/l is the same thing. From 0.05% to 0.079% you get a formal reprimand and a fine of about CHF 600 to 800. Over 0.08% you lose your licence for at least three months and the fine is set from your income.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

0.01 % BAC

Drink nothing at all if you hold a probationary licence, if you are a learner driver, or if you are the person supervising a learner. The limit is 0.01%, which is 0.1 g/l or 0.1 per mille, and it exists only so that alcohol from fruit does not count. Every new Swiss licence is probationary for three years.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

0.01 % BAC

The same 0.01% limit — 0.1 g/l, or 0.1 per mille — applies to professional drivers and to driving instructors. In practice it means no alcohol.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

18 years

A foreign licence may be used in Switzerland only by someone who is old enough under Swiss rules, and for driving a car on your own the minimum age is 18. Swiss learners may drive a car from 17 with a supervisor in the passenger seat, but that does not extend to a visitor driving alone.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Required unless your licence is in Latin letters

Switzerland is not in the EU, but your own national licence is accepted on its own, whoever issued it. What matters is the document: it must show the vehicle categories clearly and in Latin script. If it does not, carry a valid International Driving Permit with it — the permit alone is not enough, you must be able to show both. An official translation is the usual alternative if you cannot get a permit. A licence obtained to get around Swiss or home-country licensing rules may not be used here at all.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

12 months

This is about living in Switzerland, not visiting. Once you have lived here for twelve months, without a single absence abroad of more than three months in a row, you need a Swiss licence and must exchange yours. An EU or EEA licence is exchanged without a driving test; most others need a practical test. You may still exchange after the year is up, but you may be fined. A tourist is not affected.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

• Warning triangle

Only the warning triangle. Switzerland does not require a hi-vis vest, a first aid kit or a fire extinguisher in a car, which surprises drivers arriving from Austria, France or Italy. Keep the triangle where you can reach it from inside the car, not in the boot under the luggage. Check the hire car has one before you drive away.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

• High-visibility vest

A hi-vis vest is not required by law here, but TCS advises carrying one and wearing it any time you have to leave the car on the road — after a breakdown or a crash. It makes you visible to traffic.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Required at all times

Lights on at all times, day and night, all year. Daytime running lights are enough in daylight and good visibility. Cars first registered before 1 January 1970 are exempt, as are vehicles that cannot exceed 10 km/h.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Required

In a tunnel you must switch on dipped beam, not just daytime running lights, and the vehicle must stay lit for the whole tunnel. The same applies from dusk and in poor visibility. Daytime running lights are too weak and leave your rear lamps off. If your car switches lights automatically, check that it has done so. Fog lamps may only be used when fog, blowing snow or heavy rain really cuts visibility.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Not allowed

Using a phone in your hand while driving is a fixed-penalty offence and costs CHF 100. You must also keep both hands available for the wheel.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Allowed

Calls through a hands-free system, headset or the car's own system are allowed, as long as you stay in control of the car and keep your attention on the road and the traffic.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Not allowed

Red means stop. There is no right turn on red for cars. If a green arrow lights up, you may go in the direction it points; if a yellow light flashes beside it, give way to oncoming traffic and to pedestrians on the road you are turning into. Cyclists and moped riders may turn right on red, but only where a small "Rechtsabbiegen für Radfahrer gestattet" sign is fitted next to the red lamp. That sign does not apply to cars.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Traffic already on the roundabout goes first

Slow down before you enter and give way to vehicles coming from your left inside the roundabout. You do not have to indicate on the way in, but you must indicate as you leave. On a two-lane roundabout the vehicle in the left lane has priority over the one in the right lane. Cyclists are allowed to leave the right-hand side of the lane inside a roundabout, so look for them.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Yes — traffic from the right goes first at unmarked junctions

At a junction with no signs and no lights, the vehicle coming from your right goes first. Traffic on a marked main road ("Hauptstrasse") has priority even when it comes from your left. Signs, lights and the police override both rules. This catches visitors out most often in Tempo-30 zones and other quiet residential streets, where junctions are usually unmarked on purpose.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Everyone, in every seat

Everyone in the car wears the belt fitted to their seat, front and back. The driver is responsible for making sure children under twelve are properly secured.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

12 years

A child under twelve needs a child restraint on any seat that has a belt. Height also counts: a child who is 150 cm or taller does not need one, even below twelve. So the restraint rule applies to children who are both under twelve and under 150 cm. The seat must be approved to UNECE Regulation 44 or 129. Booster cushions and baby carriers count as restraints.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

150 cm

A child of 150 cm or more does not need a child restraint. Below that height, a child under twelve does. There are narrow exceptions: from four years on seats specially approved for children and in coaches, and from seven years on a seat with a lap belt only.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

0 years

There is no minimum age. A child of any age may sit in the front passenger seat, in the correct restraint for their size. One condition matters: if the car has a passenger airbag, you may only fit a rear-facing seat there after that airbag has been switched off.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

• Blue bay — short stays only. The Blue Zone. On working days between 08:00 and 19:00 you may park only for a limited time, and you must set a parking disc to the arrival time and leave it visible behind the windscreen. A small extra plate may extend the rule to Sundays and holidays, or show a different time limit, which is never less than half an hour. Do not change the disc setting until you drive away.
• Single yellow line — no stopping. An unbroken yellow line along the kerb means you may not stop there at all. A yellow line broken by crosses is different: it means no parking, so you may still stop briefly. A yellow rectangle with a diagonal cross painted on the road also means no parking.
• Yellow zigzag line — picking up passengers only. A yellow zigzag line marks a public transport stop. You may stop only to let people in or out, and only if you do not get in the way of the buses or trams.

Colour is the whole vocabulary here. Blue means a disc, yellow means not for you.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

• A parking disc set to your arrival time
• Parking meters
• Pay and display machines

Buy a cardboard parking disc before you need one — you are expected to own it already, and the Blue Zone is unusable without it. Set the arrow to the mark after your real arrival time. Where the sign shows a coin instead, pay at the meter. A "Zentrale Parkuhr" plate means one machine serves several bays; it prints a ticket you must display behind the windscreen. Not displaying the disc or the ticket costs CHF 40 on its own.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Only where signs or markings allow it

Parking on the pavement is banned unless a sign or a marking expressly allows it. Without that permission you may only stop on a pavement to load or unload, or to let people in or out, you must finish without delay, and you must always leave 1.5 m clear for pedestrians. If you do have to use the pavement, pedestrians have priority.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Only on one-way streets

Normally you stop and park on the right, parallel to the kerb. You may use the left side in four cases only: in a one-way street, where a tram track runs down the right, where the right side has a no-stopping or no-parking sign or marking, and in narrow streets with light traffic.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

• A junction — 5 m
• A pedestrian crossing — 5 m
• A bus stop — 10 m
• A level crossing — 20 m
• Tram tracks — 1.5 m

The 5 m at a junction is measured from the edge of the crossing carriageway, and applies before and after it. The 5 m before a pedestrian crossing applies where there is no yellow no-stopping line, and covers the pavement as well as the road; you may never stop on a crossing or right beside one. The 10 m at a bus or tram stop is measured from the stop sign and applies both before and after it — there you may stop only to let people in or out. Never park on a tram rail. Also do not park on a bridge, on a cycle lane, on a main road outside a town, or in front of someone's entrance.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Not required

There is no legal duty to fit winter tyres in Switzerland. But you must stay in control of the car at all times, and if you cause a crash or block the road on a snowy road with the wrong tyres you can be held liable and your insurer may not pay in full. On a mountain road in winter, fit them. ch.ch advises changing them from October until around Easter.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Required where signs say so

Where the "Schneeketten obligatorisch" sign is up, you may only drive on that stretch with metal snow chains on at least two driven wheels of the same axle. Devices of other materials are allowed if ASTRA has approved them. The sign comes down as soon as good tyres are enough, and a separate end sign cancels it.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Required for rider and passenger

Rider and passenger must wear a helmet on a motorcycle, on light, small and three-wheeled motor vehicles, and the rider on a moped. The helmet must be approved to UNECE Regulation 22; on a moped a cycle helmet to SN EN 1078 is enough. The driver must make sure a passenger under twelve wears one. The exemptions are narrow: people in closed cabins, people on seats fitted with seatbelts, vehicles built for 20 km/h or less, and electric mopeds whose motor assists only up to 25 km/h.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

• Engine up to 50 cc
• Power up to 1 kW
• Top speed up to 30 km/h

A Swiss car licence (category B) also covers special category M, which is mopeds, with nothing added to the licence — that entitlement is in Art. 4 of the VZV. The figures here are the Swiss moped: one seat, single track, at most 50 cm3 and 1 kW, and no more than 30 km/h under engine power. That is slower than the moped most visitors know: an EU moped is a 45 km/h machine. Electric mopeds with pedal assistance may assist up to 45 km/h within the same 1 kW limit. A 125 cc motorcycle is NOT covered — that needs subcategory A1, and a car licence does not give it.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

14 years

The category M moped licence can be held from 14. A visitor whose own country does not require a licence for the moped they arrived on may ride it in Switzerland from 16, if they are old enough at home; they must carry photo identity and may only ride the machine they came in on.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Nothing beyond a helmet

The law asks for a helmet for the rider and the passenger, and for the headlight to be on day and night. It asks for nothing else. Gloves, armoured jackets and boots are not required here, unlike in France or Belgium.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Not allowed

When traffic comes to a stop you must keep your place in the queue. Do not ride forward between the lanes. Riding side by side with another motorcycle is also banned, except where it is necessary inside a queue of cars.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

• Engine at least 50 cc
• Power at least 4 kW
• Top speed at least 80 km/h

Motorways and expressways are open only to motor vehicles that can and may reach at least 80 km/h, so a machine that just touches 80 does qualify. On top of that, motorcycles of 50 cm3 or less, or of 4 kW or less, are banned outright. Read together: to use a motorway a machine must be over 50 cm3 AND over 4 kW AND able to do 80 km/h. A moped is banned. A 125 cc motorcycle is fine. Tractors, tracked vehicles and vehicles on studded tyres are also banned.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Required at all times

Dipped beam on, day and night. For a motorcycle daytime running lights are not treated as enough.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

• Vignette sticker

One annual charge, no toll booths. You need a vignette for a car, motorcycle, van, trailer, caravan or camper up to 3.5 tonnes to use any motorway or expressway. It costs CHF 40. There are no daily, weekly or monthly vignettes. The 2026 vignette runs from 1 December 2025 to 31 January 2027. Buy it before you join a motorway: as a sticker at the border customs posts, petrol stations and post offices, or as an e-vignette online at e-vignette.ch. The sticker goes on the inside of the windscreen and belongs to that one vehicle; the e-vignette is tied to the number plate. Driving without one costs a CHF 200 fine plus the CHF 40. Vehicles over 3.5 tonnes pay a different, distance-based charge instead.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

In some cities

Geneva has one, introduced on 15 January 2020. When air pollution passes a set level, only cars showing a "Stick'AIR" sticker may drive in the city centre between 06:00 and 22:00, and the dirtiest vehicles are shut out altogether. It covers the whole city of Geneva plus Carouge, Cologny, Lancy and Vernier. The scheme follows the French "Crit'Air" model, and a Crit'Air sticker is recognised in Switzerland.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

112

112 works for everything. Switzerland also has direct numbers: police 117, ambulance 144, fire 118, and the Rega air rescue service on 1414. Breakdown help is on 0800 140 140. Call the police if anyone is hurt, or if either driver asks for them; for damage to vehicles only you can fill in a European accident statement instead.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

• Minor speeding — fine 20–260 CHF (Fixed penalty, and the amount depends on the road. In a town: CHF 40 for 1-5 km/h over, 120 for 6-10, 250 for 11-15. Outside towns and on expressways: 40, 100, 160, and 240 for 16-20 km/h over. On a motorway: 20, 60, 120, 180, and 260 for 21-25 km/h over. Above those bands there is no fixed penalty and the case goes to a court.)
• Running a red light — fine 250–250 CHF (Failing to obey a traffic light.)
• Holding a phone — fine 100–100 CHF (Using a phone without a hands-free system while driving.)
• No seatbelt — fine 60–60 CHF (The driver not wearing a belt, or carrying a child under twelve who is not properly secured. Each is CHF 60.)
• Missing required equipment — fine 40–40 CHF (Not carrying the warning triangle.)
• Illegal parking — fine 40–120 CHF (CHF 40 for going up to two hours past your paid or disc time, 60 up to four hours over, 100 up to ten hours over. CHF 40 for not displaying the parking disc or the meter ticket. CHF 120 for parking up to 60 minutes where stopping is banned.)

These are Switzerland's fixed penalties, set in a federal ordinance, so the amount does not change from canton to canton. The list is deliberately short of the serious offences: drink-driving is not a fixed-penalty matter at all, and neither is speeding beyond the bands above. Those go to a court, which sets the fine from your income and can withdraw your licence.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source

Yes

If the police identify you at the scene, you may pay the fixed penalty straight away, and you then get a receipt without your name on it. Or you may take 30 days to pay. But if you do not live in Switzerland and do not pay immediately, you must leave the money on deposit or give some other adequate security; it is then set against the fine. If nothing is paid in time, ordinary criminal proceedings follow.

Checked 9 Sep 2026 · official source