Where can I find what in the vehicle registration document?

A vehicle has numerous characteristics, making it almost impossible to know all of them by heart and keep track. Therefore, the vehicle registration document is the most important document in road traffic, alongside the driving licence – especially important for drivers and vehicle owners.

What is colloquially known as the "vehicle registration document" is called the registration certificate Part I. Together with the "vehicle logbook", officially the registration certificate Part II, these are the documents of a vehicle subject to registration.

These documents contain a lot of technical information that is difficult to find and understand. To make it easier for you to read and understand the vehicle registration document, we explain briefly and simply in this blog where you can find the essential information about the car.

Vehicle registration document Switzerland: What does it look like?

The Swiss vehicle registration document is white-grey in colour and consists of 2 pages:

Outside – cover and inside.

On the cover, the front of the cover, you will find the following information:

Document name
State and canton
Issuer

On the back of the cover you will find the regulations and customs regulations.

The following information can be found on the inside of the vehicle registration document:

Left inside: Personal details of the vehicle owner, such as: surname, first name, place of residence, and insurance
Right inside: General and technical information about the vehicle

Vehicle Registration Document Explained: Where to Find What

Now we come to the most important part: reading the vehicle registration document.

Since the vehicle registration document was "Europeanised", there are letters and numbers that are valid at European level.

Here we explain the most important information you need in general, but also when changing wheels or tyres, in a nutshell.

In this image you will find the most important information in the vehicle registration document and in the following short paragraphs a simple explanation of this information.

Vehicle Type (Number 19)

The vehicle type gives you information on whether it is a passenger car, company car, delivery van, or agricultural vehicle.

In addition, according to Swiss regulations, there are the following categories: work carts, motorcycles, mopeds, motor carts, and goods transport.

Chassis Number – VIN (Number 23)

The chassis number is also known as the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).

When purchasing some car parts, such as tyres and rims, the VIN number is only rarely requested.

This is the case if there is an X marking on the type approval number.
Then you will be asked for a photo of the vehicle registration document and the VIN number.

Type Approval / Type Approval Number (Number 24)

The Federal Roads Office (ASTRA) issues the type approval for vehicles that meet the regulations applicable to the vehicle category.

This type approval number is relevant for road traffic offices and for garages. You can use it to check which vehicle weights are permissible, which rim and tyre dimensions are approved, and check the maximum speeds for trailers.

For imported vehicles for own consumption, an "X" entry is noted under point 24.

In this case, you will be asked for a COC document when purchasing complete wheels, exhaust systems and other car accessories. This COC document is required especially for exhaust systems and for some rims.

No Type Approval Number Available: What to do?

You have an imported car with an "X" entry on the type approval or the car is completely new and you do not yet have a vehicle registration document for it – but you want to change something on your car – what to do?

In such cases, you can easily find the following information, or send it to the garage:

KW / HP – are abbreviations for horsepower and kilowatts. How many HP the car has is not noted in the vehicle registration document. However, you can find the power of your vehicle in KW.
Displacement (cm) – under No. 37 on the second inside page, the displacement is noted in cubic centimetres.
Year of manufacture – or the date of first registration of the vehicle can be found under No. 36.
Make / Model – the car brand can be found under No. 21 on the second inside page.

Tuning and Alloys: What's important in the vehicle registration document?

Whether you're a tuning fan or just doing the seasonal wheel change – a basic knowledge of a few details in the vehicle registration document is essential for ordering the desired car parts.

So, who needs this information?

To enable garages to assist you quickly and easily with your product requests, you'll need either the type approval or a photo of the vehicle registration document, or the information described in the section "No type approval number available: What to do?".

With this data, the garage can check which alloy and tyre dimensions are approved for your vehicle, as well as which parts are a perfect fit for this car – to be able to offer you the right product.

Do I always have to carry these documents with me?

You must always have the original vehicle registration document with you when driving the car.

If you only have a copy or don't have it on board at all, you may have to pay a warning fine of 20 Swiss francs.

It is particularly important to have this document with you when crossing borders.

If you have this basic information about your car, you can also easily play around with our alloy configurator and check for yourself which alloys and tyres fit your car.

And in our alloy shop and tyre shop, you can scroll through and discover a variety of well-known brands at your leisure.