Your driving licence in Switzerland: exchange within twelve months, no driving test
Unlike in the EU, in Switzerland you do have to exchange your Dutch driving licence: twelve months after arrival you may no longer drive on it. For a Dutch licence it's a formality, without a control drive or extra theory, but with an eye test. You don't get your Dutch licence back, and according to the government the cost is probably above 100 francs.
Yes, in Switzerland you have to exchange your Dutch driving licence, and that's the big difference from a move within the EU. Anyone living in Switzerland may drive on a foreign licence for twelve months; after that it has to be a Swiss licence. The good news: with a Dutch licence the exchange is a formality, without a control drive and without an extra theory exam. The pitfall is the date. After those twelve months you're driving without a valid licence, and you don't get your Dutch licence back.
Why does it have to happen here, and not in Austria or Spain?
Switzerland is not a member of the EU, and the European rule that a licence from one member state simply stays valid in another doesn't apply there. The Swiss government puts it briefly: anyone living in Switzerland may drive on a foreign licence for only twelve months and must exchange it after that. Exchanging is still possible after that deadline, but a fine may follow, and in the meantime you may not drive.
The rule is in article 42 of the Verkehrszulassungsverordnung: anyone who has lived in Switzerland for twelve months and in that time was not abroad for more than three months at a stretch needs a Swiss licence. In Zürich the twelve months count from the date of entry. Professional driving requires an additional exam on the Swiss rules; ask the Strassenverkehrsamt of your canton.
Do I have to take the test again?
No. According to ch.ch, with a licence from an EU or EEA country you get the Swiss licence without an additional test of your driving skills. For licences from other countries article 44 of the VZV prescribes a control drive. It cannot be repeated: anyone who fails loses the recognition of their foreign licence and must get the Swiss licence from scratch.
What does belong to every exchange: your original licence and a passed eye test.
| Step or rule | What it involves | Deadline or cost |
|---|---|---|
| Driving on your Dutch licence | allowed if you live in Switzerland | twelve months |
| Exchanging after that deadline | still possible, but a fine may follow | no driving until then |
| Control drive or theory exam | not for a licence from an EU or EEA country; an exam does apply to professional driving | none |
| Eye test | at an optician or doctor in Switzerland | in Zürich valid for two years |
| Identity check on your first Swiss application | at the municipality or the Strassenverkehrsamt | in Zürich CHF 20 |
| Cost of the exchange | differs per canton | probably above CHF 100 |
| Delivery time | by post | in Zürich 10 to 14 working days |
How does the application work?
Your canton sets the exact procedure; Zürich is a good example. You download the application form, have the eye test filled in on it by a Swiss optician or doctor, and stick a recent colour passport photo on it. A scanned or self-printed photo doesn't count. You hand in the form with your original Dutch licence and your Swiss residence permit, the Ausländerausweis.
If you've never had a Swiss licence, you must have your identity established in person, at the municipality or at the Strassenverkehrsamt; in Zürich that costs CHF 20. The Swiss licence then follows by post.
Your Dutch licence is gone afterwards. After the exchange the canton sends a licence from an EU or EEA country back to the country that issued it. If you still drive regularly in the Netherlands or elsewhere, you now do so on your Swiss licence. Don't plan the application in the week before a long road trip.
After the exchange you get a Swiss probationary licence for three years, or a licence without an expiry date. Article 44a of the VZV decides: probationary only if your licence was valid for less than a year when you moved, and never if it was issued before 1 December 2005.
And the car?
It has a clock of its own. If you brought your car, it must go on Swiss plates after import, and you arrange that at the Strassenverkehrsamt too. How import and plates work is in your car and household goods to Switzerland. What else comes up in your first year is in your first year in Switzerland.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey, step 5.1: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Switzerland or go straight to step 5.1 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change — when in doubt the source is leading, not this article.
- ch.ch — driving with a foreign licence and exchanging it: twelve months, eye test, costs — ch.ch
- Fedlex — Verkehrszulassungsverordnung (VZV), articles 42, 44 and 44a: twelve months, the control drive and the probationary licence — fedlex.admin.ch
- Canton of Zürich — exchanging a foreign licence: application, eye test, photo, identity check — zh.ch
Read on
- SwitzerlandArrival4 min
Buying a house in Switzerland: first the Lex Koller question — are you allowed to buy yet?
In Switzerland a house purchase doesn't begin with the viewing but with one legal question: do you already live there? Whoever as an EU citizen genuinely lives in Switzerland buys freely; whoever wants to buy something from the Netherlands in advance falls under the permit requirement of the Lex Koller. After that the canton determines almost everything: the notary, the costs and the Handänderungssteuer. And for tax purposes your own home counts as notional income until the end of 2028 — the Eigenmietwert.
Updated 26 September 2026
- SwitzerlandArrival3 min
Your first year in Switzerland: the clocks from your arrival, and a language choice
After arriving in Switzerland more clocks run than you think: fourteen days for your registration, three months for your health insurance, ten days for your dog, twelve months for your driving licence, and for anyone paying Quellensteuer 31 March of the following year. Plus a broadcasting bill that arrives by itself and the decision without a deadline that determines the most: in which language your children go to school.
Updated 26 September 2026
- SwitzerlandArrival4 min
School in Switzerland: from age four, for eleven years, and in your canton's language
In Switzerland your child usually starts kindergarten at four, and it already counts: in most cantons compulsory schooling lasts eleven years, kindergarten included. The school year starts in August, and a child who is four by 31 July starts after the summer. The pitfall is the language: the canton decides which language your child learns in, and you make that choice with your address.
Updated 26 September 2026