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If you relocate to Switzerland with your car, you need to declare it immediately at the customs office, which will issue a proof of customs clearance form for the attention of the cantonal agencies. After relocating, you have one year to register your car. As this might take some time, it’s recommended to hand in the needed documents as soon as possible. For the registration you will need proof of your vehicle insurance, the foreign vehicle pass and the customs clearance form as well as your residence permit. In the Canton of Zurich, you must direct your request to the Zurich road traffic office.
Importing a vehicle
Car registration (in German)
How to get a Swiss number plate (in German) (PDF, 283 KB)
Under the Road Traffic Act, all owners of motor vehicles must have third-party liability insurance. This covers damages you may cause to other road users or to property while driving. Additional coverage is available, such as full or partial physical damage insurance or parking damage insurance.
The use of Swiss motorways requires a motorway charge sticker ("Vignette"), which costs CHF 40 and is valid from 1 December of the year prior to the year printed on the sticker through to 31 January of the year following that printed on the sticker. Make sure to affix it correctly on your vehicle (inside the front windshield), as there’s a fine for a missing or wrongly affixed sticker. Stickers can be bought at gas stations or post offices. For further information and on where to purchase the sticker outside Switzerland, visit the website of the Swiss Customs Administration.
If you live in Zurich with no parking included with your housing, you can get a resident parking permit, which allows unlimited parking in the blue zone within a certain perimeter of your residence. A residence parking permit is usually valid for a year. There is also a provisional 45 day parking permit available at the registration office. Visitors can get daily parking permits. All parking permits are subject to a fee.
City of Zurich resident parking permit leaflet (PDF, 681 KB)
Information on parking permits in the city of Zurich