Licence plates in Switzerland
Canton letters and two shields
A white plate with canton letters and small Swiss and canton shields, and no EU band, is Swiss.
- Format ZH 123456: two canton letters, then numbers.
- Rear plates show small shields of Switzerland and the canton.
- No EU band: Switzerland is not in the EU.
10 photos, grouped by the clue they show.
Key clue Swiss and canton shields 10
Switzerland: what its plates look like
Swiss plates start with the two-letter canton code, like ZH for Zurich or GE for Geneva, followed by up to six numbers.
Switzerland is not in the EU, so there is no blue band. Rear plates show small shields of Switzerland and the canton.
Every canton has its own code, so a Swiss plate shows where the car is registered.
Look-alikes: how to tell them apart
Switzerland vs 
Austria
Germany
Austria and Germany both have a blue EU band. No band and canton letters mean Switzerland.
Questions about plates in Switzerland
Why do Swiss plates have no EU band?
Switzerland is not a member of the European Union.
What do the letters on Swiss plates mean?
They are the canton code, like BE for Bern or VD for Vaud.