# Vehicle registration plates of Switzerland

Vehicle license plates of Switzerland, are composed of a two-letter code for the canton and a number with up to 6 digits. The rear plates also display two shields with the flags of Switzerland and the respective canton. In 1987, the optional long format for rear plates, which had been abolished in 1972, was reintroduced.
The vehicle license number plates are assigned to the car owner and not to the vehicle. If the owner changes the vehicle, the same vehicle license number plates are attached to the new vehicle. The previous vehicle receives the vehicle license number plates of the new owner. It is also possible to own two (or more) vehicles that share the vehicle license number plates: the plates are physically unmounted from one vehicle and mounted on another, provided the vehicles in question are owned by the same owner of the vehicle license number plate. In some cantons, when vehicle license number plates are returned and retired, they are made available again after a certain time.

## Canton codes

| Code | Canton |
| AG | Aargau |
| AI | Appenzell Innerrhoden |
| AR | Appenzell Ausserrhoden |
| BE | Bern |
| BL | Basel-Landschaft |
| BS | Basel-Stadt |
| FR | Fribourg |
| GE | Geneva |
| GL | Glarus |
| GR | Grisons |
| JU | Jura |
| LU | Lucerne |
| NE | Neuchâtel |
| NW | Nidwalden |
| OW | Obwalden |
| SG | St. Gallen |
| SH | Schaffhausen |
| SO | Solothurn |
| SZ | Schwyz |
| TG | Thurgau |
| TI | Ticino |
| UR | Uri |
| VD | Vaud |
| VS | Valais |
| ZG | Zug |
| ZH | Zürich |
Until 2020, vehicles in the Italian enclave of Campione d'Italia were registered in Ticino, but are now to be registered in the Italian town of Como.

## Types

* Standard type for motor vehicles, motorcycles and trailers
* Utility vehicles e.g. for construction, snow removal, fire brigade etc.
* Exceptional vehicles that do not comply with mass and weight regulations
* Agricultural vehicles
* Military vehicles
* For vehicle dealers and workshops, additional letter "U"
* Temporary registration, with control mark showing the expiry date
* Temporary, duty unpaid, with control mark and letter "Z"
* Motorcycles and electric vehicles
* Light motor vehicles and small motorcycles limited to 45 km/h
* Mopeds and E-Bikes
* Segway vehicles
* Bicycle carriers, rear plate only

## Diplomatic plates

Swiss diplomatic plates display one of the prefixes "CD", "CC" or "AT", followed by a canton code, a serial number and a code for the country or organization. Low serial numbers are reserved for ambassadors or the head of an organization and their deputies.
* Official cars of the diplomatic missions.
* Motor vehicles of the members of the diplomatic staff of these missions .
* Vehicles of consular posts headed by a professional official.
* Motor vehicles of consular officials.
* Vehicles of permanent missions or other representations to intergovernmental organizations and motor vehicles for the members of the diplomatic staff of these missions.
* Vehicles of institutional beneficiaries such as intergovernmental organizations, international institutions, secretariats or other bodies set up under an international treaty, independent commissions, international courts, arbitral tribunals and other international bodies, who enjoy privileges, immunities and facilities, as well as the motor vehicles of the highest-ranking officials of these institutional beneficiaries, who enjoy diplomatic status in Switzerland.
* Vehicles belonging to members of the administrative and technical staff of diplomatic missions .

### Codes

Diplomatic Codes (UN Missions) :
| 01 – UN 02 – ILO 03 – WHO 04 – WMO 05 – ITU | 06 – WIPO 07 – CERN 08 – WTO 09 – EFTA 010 – IOM | 011 – IBE 012 – IPU 013 – ICDO 014 – APEF 015 – UPU | 016 – OTIF 017 – ADB 018 – IHC 019 – WCED 020 – BIS | 021 – ITCB 022 – SC 023 – ILC 024 – ACTED 025 – EC | 026 – ICRC 027 – . . . 028 – . . . 029 – . . . 030 – IFRC | 031 – ACWL 032 – OSCE 033 – WMO 034 – . . . 035 – GFATM 036 – . . . |
Diplomatic Codes (Int. Organizations) :
| 201 – EU 202 – OAS 203 – SICA 204 – SCI 205 – AGC 206 – OAU 207 – Commonwealth 208 – Arab League 209 – ATO 210 – IIDC | 211 – OIC 212 – G-15 213 – OIF 214 – World Bank 215 – ACP 216 – (WTO) 217 – PIF 3xx – International Disarmament Talks ( xx = Country Code e.g. 309 = USA ) 5xx – World Trade Organization (WTO) ( xx = Country Code e.g. 509 = USA ) |
Diplomatic Codes (Countries) :
| 1 Vatican City 2 Canada 3 Sri Lanka 4 Australia 5 Iran 6 Spain 7 Israel 8 Kuwait 9 United States 10 Brazil 11 Mexico 12 Ireland 13 Japan 14 New Zealand 15 Liechtenstein 16 Monaco 17 South Africa 18 Egypt 19 Syria 20 Algeria 21 Argentina 22 Austria 23 Bolivia 24 Chile 25 Colombia 26 South Korea 27 Costa Rica 28 Ivory Coast 29 Cuba 30 Ecuador 31 Finland 32 France 33 Ghana 34 Guatemala 35 Haiti 36 India 37 Indonesia 38 Iraq 39 Italy 40 Lebanon 41 Panama 42 Peru 43 Philippines 44 Portugal 45 Tunisia | 46 Turkey 47 Uruguay 48 Venezuela 49 Vietnam 50 Democratic Republic of the Congo 51 Germany 52 Nigeria 53 Pakistan 54 Bulgaria 55 China 56 Hungary 57 Poland 58 Romania 59 Serbia 60 Czech Republic 61 Saudi Arabia 62 Belgium 63 Denmark 64 Greece 65 Libya 66 Morocco 67 Norway 68 Netherlands 69 Sweden 70 Thailand 71 Jordan 72 United Kingdom 73 Russia 74 Luxembourg 75 Ethiopia 76 Dominican Republic 77 Paraguay 78 El Salvador 79 Chinese Taipei 80 Jamaica 81 San Marino 82 Trinidad and Tobago 83 Yemen 84 Gabon 85 Malaysia 86 Liberia 87 Sudan 88 Mongolia 89 Malta 90 Belarus | 91 Ukraine 92 Iceland 93 Republic of the Congo 94 Chad 95 Myanmar 96 Senegal 97 Nicaragua 98 Fiji 99 Honduras 100 Bangladesh 101 Cambodia 102 North Korea 103 Benin 104 Cyprus 105 Singapore 106 Central African Republic 107 Qatar 108 Oman 109 Cameroon 110 Madagascar 111 Kenya 112 Somalia 113 United Arab Emirates 114 Tanzania 115 Burundi 116 . . . . (Yemen until 1990) 117 Nepal 118 Bahrain 119 Afghanistan 120 Rwanda 121 Bhutan 122 Guinea 123 Zimbabwe 124 Hong Kong 125 Albania 126 Brunei 127 Dominica 128 São Tomé and Príncipe 129 Equatorial Guinea 130 Belize 131 Mauritius 132 Kyrgyzstan 133 Slovenia 134 Croatia 135 Zambia | 136 Bosnia and Herzegovina 137 Slovakia 138 Lithuania 139 Latvia 140 Jordan 141 Angola 142 North Macedonia 143 Gambia 144 Armenia 145 Estonia 146 Uganda 147 Kazakhstan 148 Eritrea 149 Georgia 150 Mauritania 151 Moldova 152 Azerbaijan 153 Lesotho 154 Barbados 155 Cape Verde 156 Mozambique 157 Andorra 158 Botswana 159 Mali 160 Uzbekistan 161 Burkina Faso 162 Namibia 163 Timor-Leste 164 Saint Kitts and Nevis 165 Eswatini 166 Djibouti 167 Maldives 168 Montenegro 169 Grenada 170 Niger 171 Tajikistan 172 . . . . 173 Kosovo 174 Palestine 175 Togo 176 Comoros 177 Turkmenistan 178 . . . . 179 Sierra Leone 180 . . . . 181 South Sudan |

## Obsolete types

Civilian Federal vehicles had registration plates composed of the Swiss shield followed by the letter "A" (short for "Administration") and a number with up to five digits. The first digit indicated the department. In 2004 these plates were replaced with normal cantonal plates.
* A 1xxxx – Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
* A 2xxxx – Federal Department of Home Affairs
* A 3xxxx – Federal Department of Justice and Police
* A 4xxxx – Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sport
* A 5xxxx – Federal Department of Finance
* A 6xxxx – Federal Department of Economy
* A 7xxxx – Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communication
The Post, Telegraph and Telephone company (PTT) and the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) were part of the federal government until 1997/98. Their vehicles had registration plates composed of the Swiss coat followed by the letter "P" (short for "Post") and a number with up to five digits. When they became independent companies, the P-plates were replaced with cantonal plates in 2004.
* P 1xxxx to P 7xxxx were attributed to PTT
* P 8xxxx to P 9xxxx were attributed to SBB