Editorial overview, not legal advice. The directives of the Federal Roads Office (ASTRA) of 10 July 2026 and the inspection by your canton's road traffic office are decisive. As of the review: September 2026.
What has applied since 1 August 2026
Since 1 August 2026, the new ASTRA directives for veteran vehicles (version of 10 July 2026) have applied. They replace the directives of 3 November 2008.
The most important change in substance: for the entry, only age, private use, the mileage limit and technically sound condition still count. The earlier requirements of « original specification » and « visually faultless condition » are no longer in the directive.
« Veteran vehicle » remains an entry on the vehicle registration certificate (rubric « besondere Verwendung », Ziffer 180). It is not an honorary title and not a synonym for « Oldtimer ». The canton decides on the occasion of an inspection. If the conditions are later no longer met, the status is withdrawn.
Without the entry, the car remains an entirely ordinary motor vehicle, with the usual MFK interval.
The conditions
Under the ASTRA directive (Ziffer 1), motor vehicles count as veteran vehicles if they meet the following:
- Age: first entry into service was more than 30 years ago. If the date is missing, the year of manufacture can apply; the certificate may then show 31 December of the year of manufacture.
- Private only: strictly private purposes. Excluded are journeys for payment that are offered to the public, and journeys by which an economic success is achieved. An economic success exists when the compensation exceeds the sum of the vehicle costs and the reimbursement of the driver's expenses.
- Little use: annual mileage is limited to an average of 3000 km, or 60 operating hours.
- Condition: technically sound. The directive requires nothing more.
What « technically sound » means in practice is still decided by the vehicle inspector. Torn seats, badly damaged paint or similar faults can count as technical defects. That is not a revived appearance clause; it is road safety. Entered modifications and departures from the Typenschein remain relevant to the inspection; they do not « slip through » automatically. Details on the duty to report and on entry are under Entering modifications and Originality.
Trailer and tow hitch
The final directive regulates this clearly:
- Ziffer 3: towing trailers, with or without their own veteran status, with a veteran vehicle is permitted, provided private use and the mileage limit are observed. A tow hitch on the veteran towing vehicle is therefore expressly contemplated; a historic trailer is not required for that.
- Ziffer 2: a trailer itself receives veteran status only if it has a particular connection with the veteran towing vehicle (e.g. a Jeep trailer) or is especially worth preserving for other reasons (e.g. a historic caravan). For the trailer, age, private use and technical condition apply, not the mileage limit.
What the status changes
- MFK: the re-inspection interval can be extended to six years (a departure from Art. 33 VTS). That is a discretionary provision: the canton enters it.
- Interchangeable plate: an interchangeable plate or pair of plates may apply to more than two veteran vehicles (a departure from Art. 13 Abs. 2 VVV).
- Further reliefs: no requirement for a maximum-speed disc, no rear marking plate, and no duty to fit a tachograph or a data recording device. For heavy passenger-transport veterans, exceptions to the ARV 1 apply in domestic traffic.
- Conditions: the licensing authority can enter additional restrictions on use (e.g. number of passengers or routes that may be driven).
- Tax: vehicle taxes are cantonal. In the canton of Zurich, for example, the charge for veterans is capped at 400 francs a year; other cantons regulate this differently. We deliberately do not keep a Switzerland-wide table: it would be out of date at once.
- Insurance: veteran status and the policy are two separate things. Many Oldtimer policies do, however, tie to similar limits on use. See Insuring an Oldtimer.
How you apply for the entry
- Ask the road traffic office (or the test centre it names) for an appointment and say that a veteran assessment is wanted, often an extra slot alongside the ordinary MFK.
- Bring the cantonal application (in several cantons, « form 28 » or an equivalent request). Some cantons ask for photos and papers in advance.
- Present the car clean, dry and ready to drive. Invoices for work, modifications and any history help.
- Under the federal directive, a FIVA-ID-Card is not a condition. Individual cantons can still require it in special cases. That is practice, not an ASTRA requirement.
The vehicle registration certificate records « veteran vehicle », Ziffer 180, the date of grant and the mileage (or the operating hours), except for trailers. Compliance is checked at the following periodic inspections.
After a change of keeper, several cantons require a new application by the new keeper. The entry does not pass across automatically.
Sources
- ASTRA, directives for veteran vehicles, 10 July 2026 (in force since 1 August 2026)
- Ordinance on the Technical Requirements for Road Vehicles (VTS), in particular Art. 33 and Art. 220 Abs. 4
- Vehicle Insurance Ordinance (VVV), Art. 76a Abs. 1 and Art. 13 Abs. 2
- SHVF, press release « Eine Weisung mit Augenmass », 10 July 2026
- Austin Healey Club Switzerland, technical note on the new directive (August 2026)
- Zwischengas, report on the new directive, 10 July 2026
- Cantonal leaflets and the TCS summary (as of September 2026)