Every year the vignette is a different colour. This year it’s metallic sky blue.
Valid from 1 December 2018 until 31 January 2020, the new stickers will be available at the same CHF 40 price in the usual places: service stations, garages, post offices and customs offices.
If you have a 2018 sticker it remains valid until 31 January 2019. Cars, motorcycles and trailers all need a valid sticker to be used on Switzerland’s motorway network, shown here.
Last year stiffer penalties were introduced for fake ones, with sanctions as high as three years in prison. The amount lost from various forms of cheating is estimated to be CHF 26 million.
To be valid the vignette must be stuck directly to the inside of the windscreen in specified places. Used vignettes cannot be reused.
Motorway costs and charging practices vary significantly across Europe. Germany charges nothing while CHF 40 does not get motorists far on French or Italian highways.
Optional electronic passes to replace the stickers are in the pipeline. Criticisms of the current system include the high cost of vignettes for trailers and motorcycles, and the need for those with one set of license plates, that can be used on multiple cars, to pay for every car when they can only ever drive one at any given moment. These vehicles all require the same CHF 40 sticker.
More on this:
Government press release (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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