Registering a car in Vaud (SAN)
How to put Swiss plates on a car with the Vaud vehicle office, SAN (Service des automobiles et de la navigation), what it costs where SAN publishes the price, the cantonal vehicle tax and the motorway vignette.
Key facts
- Customs first. An imported car goes through customs before SAN. Forms 13.20 A and 15.30, and the deadline for Swiss plates, are explained on Customs: moving your household goods.
- Import files are handled only at the SAN centre in Lausanne, inspection office, counter "D". Once your file is complete, SAN gives you an inspection (contrôle technique / expertise) appointment. Plates are issued after a passed inspection.
- Swiss liability insurance (RC) is required: the file includes a Swiss RC insurance certificate (attestation d'assurance RC suisse).
- SAN prices (published): registration document CHF 45, pair of plates CHF 60, import inspection CHF 100 (car with COC) or CHF 125 (car without COC).
- Motorway vignette: CHF 40, sticker or e-vignette, valid 1 December of the previous year to 31 January of the following year.
1. Steps for an imported car
SAN lists these steps:
- Check before buying that the car can be registered in Switzerland.
- Declare the car to Swiss customs and pay import taxes (see customs page).
- Prepare your file with the form for your vehicle type (form 1737 for a light vehicle not type-approved in Switzerland; form 211, registration request, if needed).
- Hand in the complete file, with original documents, at the Lausanne centre only, or send it by post to SAN, Bureau technique, Avenue du Grey 110, 1014 Lausanne.
- SAN sets an inspection appointment.
- The car is registered after a passed inspection.
Documents SAN lists for a light vehicle (information sheet and checklist form 1712; check the current form before you go):
- customs form 13.20 A
- Swiss RC insurance certificate
- for a car already registered abroad: original proof of first registration (foreign registration document); for a car from the USA, also a CARFAX extract
- form 1737, completed and signed, and form 211 for normal VD plates
- certificate of conformity (COC), if available
- ID
If the car's CO2 emissions are not known, SAN says the tax is increased. You can prove emissions with an official document such as the COC.
2. The inspection (expertise)
- Required before registration when you import a new or used car from abroad.
- Bring your appointment letter, the registration document if you have one, and any document requested when your file was prepared. Report any modification to the car at least 3 days ahead.
- You do not pay on the day: the invoice comes by post.
3. Insurance
You need Swiss motor liability insurance before you get plates; the insurance certificate is part of the SAN file. Ask your insurer for the certificate before you send SAN your file: Vaud requires an electronic liability insurance certificate, valid on the day of registration, which the insurer files directly on a system SAN can access, so there is no paper copy to hand in. The certificate is valid 30 days from issue (vd.ch, new plates, vd.ch, liability insurance). Liability insurance for your home and private life is a separate product: see Household and personal liability insurance.
After an accident (police, European accident report, insurer): see After a car accident in Switzerland.
4. SAN fees (only those SAN publishes)
| Item | CHF |
|---|---|
| Registration document (permis de circulation) at registration | 45 |
| Pair of plates (issue or exchange) | 60 |
| Inspection at import, car with COC | 100 |
| Inspection at import, car without COC | 125 |
| Later or voluntary inspection, car | 65 |
Source: vd.ch "Frais des prestations du SAN". The SAN fee regulation (RE-SAN, BLV 741.15.1), as amended from 1 September 2026, confirms CHF 45 for the registration document and CHF 60 for a pair of plates; the 2026 changes concern other services (for example a driver record extract CHF 15, a new learner permit after a move CHF 30). RE-SAN also charges for examining an individual import request: CHF 30 for a light vehicle with COC, CHF 60 without. Inspection amounts are set in an annex to RE-SAN; the table uses SAN's fee page.
5. Cantonal vehicle tax
- Vaud charges an annual tax for every vehicle registered in the canton, from registration until plates are handed back.
- Cars up to 3500 kg: CHF 0.15 per kg up to 2500 kg, CHF 0.30 per extra kg, plus CHF 1.60 per kW up to 100 kW and CHF 4 per extra kW. The result is then reduced or increased according to CO2 emissions. The taxable weight is reduced by 25% for fully electric light cars.
- Billing: due on 28 February by invoice, pro rata to the registration period; payable within 30 days if you register during the year.
- Simulate your own tax with SAN's online calculator (you need the registration document). Only the tax decision and invoice are binding.
- Handing back your plates stops the tax for that period (useful when you leave: see Leaving and deregistering).
6. Motorway vignette
- Needed on Swiss motorways and semi-motorways. CHF 40, sticker or e-vignette, same price and validity (1 December of the previous year to 31 January of the following year).
- Buy the e-vignette only from the official shop (e-vignette.ch / via.admin.ch). Third-party sites may add surcharges.
- The e-vignette is linked to your plate number. If the vehicle and holder stay the same (for example foreign plates replaced by Swiss plates), you can ask to move it to the new plate on the Via portal or with the form, attaching the old and new registration documents; it is valid for the new plate only after FOCBS confirms (FOCBS, Changement de plaque de contrôle).
- Rental cars, trailers, vignette scams and fines: see Motorway vignette: rental cars, trailers, scams and fines.