Before you start

Valid foreign driving licence
Bern 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
Diarise the twelve-month deadline in your first week
The clock starts from taking up residence, not from your first drive. Put it in a calendar on the day you register, whether or not you own a car.
In personWho: YouWithin 12 months of taking up residence
2
Take the eyesight test
At a recognised optician or doctor. Cheap and quick, and the step that most often delays an application filed at the last minute.
In personWho: You
3
Apply at the cantonal road traffic office
Applications go to the Strassenverkehrs- und Schifffahrtsamt of Canton Bern. Submit the foreign licence, permit, eyesight report, photograph and form. The original licence is surrendered on exchange.
In personWho: You
4
Sit a control drive if your issuing country requires one
Switzerland groups foreign licences. EU and EEA licences generally exchange on paper; several other countries require a practical assessment, and 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
Buy the motorway vignette if you drive at all
Any vehicle on a Swiss motorway needs the annual vignette, available as an e-vignette linked to the plate rather than stuck to the windscreen. The A1 and A6 both feed straight into Bern, so this catches people within minutes of arriving.
OnlineWho: You

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 most expensive administrative slip available to a new resident.

The exchange 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. It is a paperwork deadline with a four-figure penalty and no reminder.

Source: ch.ch — exchanging a foreign driving licence

Bern is one of the easiest Swiss cities to live in car-free, which is exactly the trap.

The Libero network covers the city and reaches deep into the canton, the Old Town is largely closed to through traffic and parking 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

The car and the licence are two deadlines at two different offices.

People exchange the licence, feel finished, and keep a foreign-plated car. As a Swiss resident you owe a customs declaration and Swiss registration, and the enforcement side of that sits with customs rather than the traffic police.

Source: Federal Office for Customs and Border Security

If you commute in from Fribourg or Solothurn, check which canton's office you belong to.

The licence and the vehicle are both cantonal matters and follow your registered address, not your workplace. A great many Bern workers live in another canton, and doing the paperwork in the canton you work in rather than the one you live in wastes an appointment.

Source: Canton of Bern — road traffic and shipping office

Common mistakes to avoid

Letting the twelve-month window lapse because the trams made a car unnecessary.
Keeping a foreign-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.
Doing the paperwork in the canton you work in rather than the one you are registered in.

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