What you need to know about the new digital highway sticker

Those who no longer want a sticky windscreen can switch to an e-vignette from August 1. © Keystone / Martial Trezzini

From August 1, anyone who wants to can also buy the motorway vignette in digital form. Here is what you need to know.

What is it about?

The federal government is launching a new digital highway toll sticker. You no longer stick it on your windscreen but register online. The vignette is no longer linked to the vehicle, but to the number plate.

The change is particularly worthwhile for owners of several vehicles who juggle number plates between them. But even those who buy a new car will benefit because the toll sticker will no longer be attached to the vehicle but to the number plate. The annoying process of peeling or scratching off the sticker is no longer necessary.

+ Here is where you can buy a digital stickerExternal link

How does the e-vignette work?

The programme is voluntary. So if you want, you can continue to use the conventional sticker. Nothing will change in terms of price either. As before, the e-vignette costs CHF40. You can register via a federal portal.

According to the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS), a single change of licence plate per e-vignette is possible, and a maximum of two e-vignettes can be purchased. Like the sticker, it is valid for 14 months (from December 1 of the previous year to January 31 of the following year).

How is it checked?

As the federal government has announced, random checks are caried out for the e-vignette.

 “On the occasion of a check, the licence plate of the vehicle in question is compared with the database of registered licence plates. This is done by means of an app,” the FOCBS said on request.

Last year, around 18,000 fines were issued by the cantons for vehicles lacking a vignette. It is questionable whether the risk of fraud will increase with the e-vignette. The Federal Council has already taken precautions: if abuse should increase in the future, automated checks might be needed.

Why is the e-vignette being introduced now?

in 2013, the people rejected a proposal to increase the price of the motorway vignette to CHF100. Three years later, the matter was once again put on the agenda when the Centre Party submitted a motion for an e-vignette.

The Federal Council subsequently also spoke out in favour of it. In 2020, both chambers of parliament approved a resolution to this effect. Switzerland is thus catching up with other countries such as Austria, which already have a digital vignette.

Is there any criticism?

Advocates for a digital sticker have always pointed to the advantages of simplification – especially for those from abroad, who account for about a third of all vignette purchases.

The conservative parties, on the other hand, were more sceptical. The People’s Party feared surveillance by the state and a gradual introduction of mobility pricing. The Federal Councillor at the time, Ueli Maurer, therefore spoke in 2020 of a “good Swiss compromise” that had been found with the coexistence of an actual and digital vignette.

Is this the end of the old-fashioned toll sticker? 

In 1985, Switzerland was the first country ever to introduce a motorway toll sticker. The federal government sells about 10 million vignettes a year. According to a statement from 2020, the government assumes that the revenue from the e-vignette will be about the same as with the previous system.

So for the time being, everything remains the same. There is, however, a small loophole: if less than ten per cent of the revenue is generated by the old-fashioned sticker, as decided by parliament, it will be scrapped and only the digital form will be available in future.