Country driving guide · 2026
Everything UK and EU drivers need before crossing the border into Switzerland: 4 legal requirements + 4 other things worth knowing.
Required
Recommended
Good to know
Tick before you go
4 legal must-haves. Print it, tick them off, throw it in the glovebox.
Annual vignette (£35)
Required to drive on Swiss motorways (signed with green panels). Only sold as an annual sticker. No shorter option for visitors. Buy at the border, post office, or many petrol stations. Stick it INSIDE the windscreen: handed-loose-on-the-dashboard is treated as not having one (£170 fine).
Source: Buy online →Warning triangle
Always required in the car.
Pet travel: Animal Health Certificate
Switzerland follows EU pet-import rules. GB pets need a UK-vet AHC within 10 days of entry, plus a microchip and current rabies vaccination. Valid 4 months onward and for re-entry to GB.
Source: gov.uk: AHC for EU travel →Income-scaled speeding fines + criminal threshold
Fines are pegged to monthly income, a high earner caught at 30 km/h over can be billed CHF 1,000+. Driving more than 25 km/h over on a motorway (or 15+ in town) is a criminal offence, not a fine: court summons, possible jail, vehicle seizure.
Source: TCS: traffic fines →Required to drive on Swiss motorways (signed with green panels). Only sold as an annual sticker. No shorter option for visitors. Buy at the border, post office, or many petrol stations. Stick it INSIDE the windscreen: handed-loose-on-the-dashboard is treated as not having one (£170 fine).
Buy onlineAlways required in the car.
Required on roads with the snow-chain sign. Even outside that, mountain passes can demand them with no notice. Hire from snowchainsrental.com or buy a £40 set.
Many Swiss tunnels are several km long. Dipped headlights are required at all times inside; fines for failing to switch on are immediate.
Fines are pegged to monthly income, a high earner caught at 30 km/h over can be billed CHF 1,000+. Driving more than 25 km/h over on a motorway (or 15+ in town) is a criminal offence, not a fine: court summons, possible jail, vehicle seizure.
TCS: traffic finesOn narrow alpine routes, yellow PostBus coaches always have priority. They sound a distinctive three-tone horn before blind corners: pull over and wait.
PostBus mountain rulesPer person on return: 18 L still wine + 4 L spirits + 200 cigarettes or 250g tobacco + £390 of other goods. Swiss watches and chocolate are a common over-cap purchase: declare anything over £390.
gov.uk: customs allowanceSwitzerland follows EU pet-import rules. GB pets need a UK-vet AHC within 10 days of entry, plus a microchip and current rabies vaccination. Valid 4 months onward and for re-entry to GB.
gov.uk: AHC for EU travelWe'll build the itinerary, estimate fuel + tolls, and show EV chargers along the route, and this checklist appears automatically on every trip that crosses into Switzerland.
Start planning →Places to add to your Switzerland road trip.
Indicative budget
A back-of-the-envelope estimate for a typical petrol car at 40 UK mpg, with 800 km of motorway driving. Real fuel prices move monthly: treat this as a ballpark.
Fuel
€129
~70.6 L · 1,000 km @ 40 mpg
Tolls
€0
800 km of motorways
Vignette
€42
Shortest tourist sticker
Total estimate
€171
1,000 km road trip
Don't get caught out
Fines are pegged to monthly income, a high earner caught at 30 km/h over can be billed CHF 1,000+. Driving more than 25 km/h over on a motorway (or 15+ in town) is a criminal offence, not a fine: court summons, possible jail, vehicle seizure.
TCS: traffic fines →On the way home
Customs allowance back to the UK
Per person on return: 18 L still wine + 4 L spirits + 200 cigarettes or 250g tobacco + £390 of other goods. Swiss watches and chocolate are a common over-cap purchase: declare anything over £390.
gov.uk: customs allowance →