Certified translation › Driving licence
Driving licence translation for Switzerland is a notarised certified translation of the Führerausweis by a qualified translator — one of three routes often confused with the International Driving Permit and the exchange (Umschreibung) of a foreign licence at the cantonal Strassenverkehrsamt. This page says plainly which one applies to you. Binding fixed price from CHF 89, certification and shipping included.
Strassenverkehrsamt-ready · notarised certified translation · honest routing on Art. 42 VZV · DIN EN ISO 17100
That depends on the purpose — and the three routes are often confused. A notarised certified translation of your Führerausweis is what you need for employers, courts, insurers and car-rental companies abroad, for matching your name to your passport, and as supporting documentation when you exchange a foreign licence. It does not replace the International Driving Permit, and it is not the exchange itself.
The International Driving Permit is not a translation — it is a supplementary booklet that the cantonal Strassenverkehrsamt issues to accompany your valid Führerausweis. The exchange (Umschreibung) under Art. 44 VZV is an administrative procedure run by the Strassenverkehrsamt of your canton. And driving in Switzerland on a non-EU licence for longer than twelve months, or on a licence not issued in Latin script, falls under Art. 42 VZV, which requires a translation from a specific recognised body — not a notarised certified translation from a qualified translator. We tell you which route applies before you order anything.
Three things people confuse
These are not interchangeable, and mixing them up is the most common reason a Führerausweis file stalls at the counter. Here is what each one actually is.
What FÜD provides
What the Strassenverkehrsamt issues
What the Strassenverkehrsamt decides
A notarised certified translation is a reading aid the Strassenverkehrsamt or another recipient may require; the exchange is the legal step that gives you a Swiss Führerausweis; the International Driving Permit is a travel companion the Strassenverkehrsamt issues itself. FÜD handles the first — cleanly, notarised, and recognised — and tells you honestly when your case needs one of the other two instead.
Step by step
The cantonal Strassenverkehrsamt runs the exchange under Art. 44 VZV. These four steps are what turn a foreign licence into a supporting file it can process — and show where the notarised certified translation fits in.
Scan both sides of your Führerausweis — the reverse carries categories, code numbers and validity dates the Strassenverkehrsamt needs to see.
Exchange runs under Art. 44 VZV; driving on a non-EU licence pending exchange, for longer than twelve months, falls under the separate Art. 42 VZV rule.
A professional translator renders categories, code numbers and dates faithfully and signs a certification statement; a Swiss notary certifies that signature.
You hand in the original Führerausweis and the notarised certified translation. You receive an advance PDF and the certified hard copy by post.
Art. 42 VZV governs driving in Switzerland on a non-EU licence: beyond twelve months' residence, or where the licence is not in Latin script, you need a translation from an internationally recognised automobile club of the issuing country or another officially designated body — a notarised certified translation from a qualified translator is not the prescribed route for this specific case.
Art. 44 VZV governs the permanent exchange of a foreign licence into a Swiss Führerausweis. For this, the Strassenverkehrsamt regularly asks for a notarised certified translation as supporting documentation — that is what we provide, once we have confirmed it is the route your case needs.
Switzerland has no system of state-sworn or court-authorised translators, unlike Germany or Austria. A professional translator signs the translation to attest its accuracy and completeness, and a Swiss notary (Notariat) certifies that signature — confirming the translator's identity and that the signature is genuine, not the linguistic content itself. Together this produces a notarised certified translation, the form the Strassenverkehrsamt and most employers, courts and insurers recognise.
The Führerausweis is an administrative document. Where it needs an apostille for use abroad, that is issued by the cantonal state chancellery (Staatskanzlei) of your canton of residence — never by the FÜD and never by a translation agency; we translate the apostille once it has been added.
Driving in Switzerland on a non-EU licence is a separate matter, governed by Art. 42 VZV (Ordinance on Admission to Road Traffic, SR 741.51): beyond twelve months' residence, or where the licence is not issued in Latin script, the law requires a translation from an internationally recognised automobile club of the issuing country or another officially designated body — not from a qualified translator under a notarised certified translation. We flag this before you order, rather than sell you a document that will not serve that specific purpose.
A Führerausweis translation can be needed for a licence in almost any language. FÜD assigns a native-speaker translator with the correct handling of categories and code numbers for each — and 70+ languages besides.
Quality that only shows up at the counter
A Führerausweis is checked against its categories, code numbers and name spelling. These are the recurring pitfalls — and how a notarised certified translation avoids them.
| Pitfall | Why it goes wrong | How the FÜD solves it |
|---|---|---|
| Licence categories equated 1:1 | Foreign categories do not map cleanly onto the EU classes A/B/C/D; a false equivalence can cause the exchange application to be rejected. | Categories are carried over exactly as issued and explained with a translator's note, without claiming a Swiss category that was never granted. |
| Harmonised code numbers left out | EU code numbers (e.g. 01 corrective lenses, 78 automatic only) are legally relevant; omitting them leaves a condition undocumented. | Every code number and restriction is transferred in full, with its meaning explained. |
| Name transliteration ≠ passport | If the spelling differs from the passport, the Strassenverkehrsamt cannot reliably match the licence to the applicant. | Names are transliterated by the applicable rules and matched exactly to the passport spelling; any deviation is noted. |
| Issue and validity dates confused | A date format written as 03/04 is read differently abroad — a wrong expiry date makes the document unusable as evidence. | Dates and number formats are rendered unambiguously into the target format. |
| Authority & issuing state translated | The issuing body needs to stay traceable for the receiving authority; a "translated" agency name is not. | Proper names stay in the original, with an explanatory equivalent added in brackets. |
| Translation confused with the Art. 42 VZV proof | Driving in Switzerland on a non-EU licence requires the specific automobile-club translation under Art. 42 VZV — a different document is not accepted. | We clarify the purpose up front and point to the correct route for Art. 42 VZV instead of supplying an unsuitable document. |
First: is this for the exchange (Umschreibung) at the Strassenverkehrsamt, an employer, a court, insurer or car-rental company — or for driving in Switzerland on a non-EU licence under Art. 42 VZV? Second: does the receiving side abroad also require an apostille from the cantonal Staatskanzlei? The answers decide which document you actually need.
A translation is not a driving permit.
We translate your Führerausweis correctly — and say plainly when you need the International Driving Permit or the exchange instead.
Typical situations
The purpose decides the form — and whether a translation is even the right document. Three common cases.
Exchange
Employment
Driving abroad
So it works
You upload a clear, legible scan of both sides of your Führerausweis — the reverse carries the code numbers — and tell us the purpose and destination: exchange, employer, car rental, or a foreign licence for a Swiss recipient. We check whether a notarised certified translation is the right route, or whether Art. 42 VZV or the International Driving Permit applies instead, and name a binding fixed price.
Once you confirm, a professional translator renders categories, code numbers and dates faithfully and signs the certification statement; a Swiss notary then certifies that signature. You receive the finished document as a PDF in advance, then the notarised original by post. On request we check in advance whether the receiving authority abroad also needs an apostille from the cantonal Staatskanzlei — so the submission is right the first time.
We review the licence, the purpose and whether a translation is even the right document, then name a binding fixed price. A driving licence is usually a flat fee per document; longer or unusual supporting documents are priced per standard line — notarisation, an advance PDF and postal delivery included.
| Professional translation by a qualified translator | ✓included |
| Notarised certification (signature certified by a Swiss notary) | ✓included |
| Passport-matched spelling of names | ✓included |
| Advance PDF & postal delivery of the notarised original | ✓included |
| Quality management & final check | ✓included |
A standard line is 55 characters incl. spaces; a standard Führerausweis is usually a flat fee per document. The exact fixed price depends on volume, language combination and file condition — plus VAT in Switzerland. A required apostille is issued by the cantonal Staatskanzlei and is not part of our service. How the price is made up →
Sources & legal basis
Every legal and procedural claim on this page is tied to a primary, verifiable source — Swiss federal law and the responsible federal and cantonal authorities. Acceptance of any individual document is always decided by the receiving office.
FAQ
Instead of just selling me something, FÜD explained that this notarised certified translation was exactly what I needed for the exchange — and something different for driving beforehand. That saved me from ordering the wrong document.
A. Nowak · exchange (Umschreibung), Lucerne
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