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Country · ADR contracting party · CH

Switzerland — ADR essentials

National regulator, the DGSA requirement and ADRplus availability, in one place.

ADR contracting party since

1972

DGSA required

Required

Competent authority

Bundesamt für Verkehr (BAV) / Office fédéral des transports (OFT)

National ADR application

Switzerland is a formal ADR contracting party since 1972. The lead national authority for dangerous goods (ADR) matters is Bundesamt für Verkehr (BAV) / Office fédéral des transports (OFT). A DGSA must be appointed under ADR 1.8.3.

Competent authorities and contacts

Checked against official sources · 2026-06-13

Bundesamt für Strassen (ASTRA) — Federal Roads Office (FEDRO)

Main ADR competent authority for road dangerous goods transport; grants exceptions under SDR; coordinates with other ADR contracting parties under ADR 1.5.1

Bundesamt für Verkehr (BAV) — Federal Office of Transport (FOT)

Oversees DGSA (Gefahrgutbeauftragter) framework under GGBV; recognizes exam bodies (Prüfungsstellen) for DGSA certification; supervises dangerous goods packaging/containers

Kantonspolizei (cantonal police forces) — Cantonal Police

Roadside enforcement and inspection of dangerous goods road transport; execute SDR/ADR controls on Swiss roads under cantonal authority

  • kapo.zh.ch
  • +41 58 648 43 40 (Kantonspolizei Zürich Verkehrspolizei)
  • Varies by canton — 26 cantonal forces; e.g., Kantonspolizei Zürich, Verkehrspolizei/Fahrzeuge & Technik

ADR driver certificate — authenticity check

Countries increasingly check foreign drivers’ ADR certificates against forgeries. Genuine certificate models of every contracting party are published in the official UNECE register — compare the layout, security features and issuing authority.

Open the UNECE certificate register

Penalties with legal references

ViolationPenaltyLegal basisSource
Failure to carry SDR driver training certificate during dangerous goods transport20 CHFOBV (Ordnungsbussenverordnung, SR 314.11) Annex 1, referencing Art. 21confirmed in the act
Failure to carry required dangerous goods transport document during transport140 CHFOBV (SR 314.11) Annex 1, referencing Art. 21 SDR (SR 741.621)confirmed in the act
Failure to carry written accident instructions (Unfallmerkblatt) during dangerous goods tr40 CHFOBV (SR 314.11) Annex 1, referencing Art. 21 SDR (SR 741.621)confirmed in the act
Failure to remove or cover orange hazard placards (Warntafeln) after completion of dangero60 CHFOBV (SR 314.11) Annex 1, referencing Art. 21 lit. d SDR (SR 741.621)confirmed in the act
Operating a dangerous goods transport vehicle with missing, incomplete or non-compliant sa40 CHFOBV (SR 314.11) Annex 1, referencing Art. 4 SDR (SR 741.621) in conjunconfirmed in the act
Cooperation

Cooperation in this country

Work with companies in this country runs remotely. The DGSA certificate is recognised in all 55 ADR Contracting Parties — describe your operation, and the reply comes within one business day.

Contact a DGSA

Good to know

Framework law

Verordnung über die Beförderung gefährlicher Güter auf der Strasse (SDR)

Visit official site

Transport document language

German, French, or Italian (Switzerland's three official transport languages; ADR/SDR permit any official language of the contracting party)

DGSA exam

UVEK (Eidgenössisches Departement für Umwelt, Verkehr, Energie und Kommunikation) recognizes exam bodies (Prüfungsstellen) under GGBV Art. 20; BAV (Bundesamt für Verkehr) publishes the current list of approved exam bodies; individual recognized bodies include Safety Training+ (safetytrainingplus.com) and others listed on bav.admin.ch under Gefahrgutbeauftragte.

Switzerland — contact a DGSA.

Tell us about your loads, routes or operation, and a certified consultant replies personally.

Contact a DGSA

Application for cooperation in another country

Describe the company and the operation. The request is reviewed individually and the answer states plainly whether cooperation is possible.