Before you start

Valid foreign driving licence
Basel-Stadt residence permit or registration confirmation
Eyesight test from a recognised provider
Certified translation where the licence is not in an official Swiss language

Step-by-step

1
Note the twelve-month deadline the week you register
The clock starts from taking up residence, not from your first drive. Basel is compact and tram-served enough that many people simply do not drive in their first year.
In personWho: YouWithin 12 months of taking up residence
2
Take the eyesight test
At a recognised optician or doctor. Cheap, quick, and the step that most often delays an application filed at the last minute.
In personWho: You
3
Apply at the cantonal motor vehicle office
Submit your foreign licence, permit, eyesight report, photograph and the form. The original licence is surrendered on exchange.
In personWho: You
4
Sit a control drive if your issuing country's category requires one
Switzerland groups foreign licences. EU and EEA licences generally exchange on paper; several other countries require a practical assessment. Two failures send you into full Swiss training.
In personWho: You
5
Clear and re-register a foreign car
Bringing a car as part of a move means a customs declaration and Swiss registration, including a technical inspection. Driving on foreign plates as a Swiss resident beyond the permitted period is a customs matter, not a traffic one.
In personWho: You
6
Check the paperwork if you drive a Swiss company car home to the EU
A commuter resident in Germany or France driving a Swiss-plated company vehicle across the border needs to satisfy EU customs rules on the use of a non-EU vehicle. Employers do not always raise it and enforcement at the Basel crossings is real.
Via employerWho: You and your employer

Documents you’ll need

Foreign driving licence
Residence permit or registration confirmation
Eyesight test report
Passport photograph
Vehicle documents and purchase evidence if importing a car

Things most newcomers don’t know

Missing the twelve-month exchange is the single most expensive administrative slip available to a new Basel resident.

The exchange itself is a counter transaction. Miss it and you generally lose that route and face theory, a first-aid course, mandatory lessons and a test — a bill that can pass CHF 3,000 for someone who has driven for decades. Diary it in your first week, whether or not you own a car.

Source: Swiss road traffic licensing rules

The car and the licence are two separate deadlines with two separate offices.

People exchange the licence, feel finished, and keep driving a German-plated car because everyone around them has one. Those cars belong to people resident in Germany. As a Swiss resident you owe a customs declaration and Swiss registration, and the penalty side of this sits with customs rather than the traffic police.

Source: Federal Office for Customs and Border Security

Basel is one of the easiest Swiss cities to live in without a car, which is precisely the trap.

The tram network reaches into Germany and France, the city is flat and small, and parking in Basel-Stadt is scarce and priced. A year passes very easily without needing to drive, and the exchange window closes on schedule regardless of whether you used it.

Source: community-reported

Swiss motorway use needs the annual vignette, and it is now available digitally.

Any vehicle on a Swiss motorway needs the annual vignette, which runs on a calendar-year basis with a grace period either side. It can be bought as an e-vignette linked to the plate rather than stuck to the windscreen — useful if you swap between a Swiss and a foreign car, and a fine you can otherwise collect within minutes of joining the A2.

Source: Federal Office for Customs and Border Security — motorway charge

Common mistakes to avoid

Letting the twelve-month licence window lapse because the trams made a car unnecessary.
Keeping a German- or French-plated car after becoming a Swiss resident.
Forgetting the eyesight test until the final week before the deadline.
Assuming a paper exchange when your issuing country's category requires a control drive.
Driving a Swiss company car into the EU without checking the customs formalities on the far side.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.