Why foreign plates require extra care
The Swiss e-vignette is digitally linked to the plate. Character sequence, national format and special symbols must match exactly. A nearly-correct plate can fail roadside verification.
Maximum characters per country
Guide for the main plate field only (the EU/national strip at the left is not counted here). Valid plates may use fewer characters.
| Country | Max. | Typical format | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇩🇪 Germany | 8 | B AB 1234 | Including optional E or H suffix. |
| 🇦🇹 Austria | 7 | W 12345 AB | Coat of arms in the strip does not count as a character. |
| 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 8 | ZH 123 456 | 2 letters + up to 6 digits. |
| 🇱🇮 Liechtenstein | 7 | FL 12345 | Golden crown between FL and digits (visual). |
| 🇫🇷 France | 7 | AB-123-CD | Fixed SIV layout since 2009. |
| 🇮🇹 Italy | 7 | AB 123 CD | Blue strip on the right often shows the province. |
| 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 6 | AB-123-C | Sidecode layouts vary widely. |
| 🇵🇱 Poland | 8 | KOS 12345 | 2–3 district letters + number block. |
Which details are decisive?
- Registration country: Not driver nationality, but the issuing state/region shown on the plate.
- Character sequence: Include hyphens, dots or diplomatic prefixes where physically present.
- Vehicle class: Passenger car, motorcycle or light commercial class according to official categories.
EU plates and blue strip
Many EU plates combine a blue strip and country code. Ensure your system handles this correctly and do not copy only the middle alphanumeric block if the UI implies strip logic.
UK, Norway and non-EU layouts
UK and Nordic plate patterns differ. Use the official spelling from registration papers rather than an insurance translation.
Diplomatic and authority plates
Short code formats and CD/CC prefixes must not be mixed up. For special-status vehicles, verify obligation scope with your administration before private travel.
Typical errors and how to avoid them
- Confusing 0 and O or I and 1
- Wrong country for rental cars with foreign plates
- Changing the plate after purchase without a new vignette
Official purchase
For direct official purchase use https://www.e-vignette.ch or https://via.admin.ch/shop/. Field definitions there are binding; onlinevignette.ch mirrors the same logic in a guided flow.
More on fees and market context: Price & History.