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Private sale contract for a used car (Switzerland)
Switzerland · in English
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Made for use in Switzerland
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For private people in Switzerland selling or buying a used car who deal in English: records the car, its master number (Stammnummer), mileage, price and payment, handover only against the full price, the seller's assurances on accidents and mileage, and the exclusion of warranty within its legal limits (Art. 199 and 100 CO). The plates stay with the seller; the buyer registers the car with the canton's road traffic office. Print two copies, both sign, with a receipt. Swiss authorities and courts work in their official language — German, French or Italian — so this English version is for dealings between private parties.
- Made for use in Switzerland
- Last updated November 4, 2026
- Document in English
Published byDocMuse
When to use this document
- You are selling your car to another expat in Switzerland and you both want the contract in English.
- You are buying a used car from a private seller in Switzerland who does not speak German.
- You are leaving Switzerland and selling your car quickly before the move.
- You want the seller to put the accident history and mileage in writing before you pay.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Seller
- Seller's date of birth
- Seller's address
- Buyer
- Buyer's date of birth
- Buyer's address
- Make and model
- Chassis number
- Vehicle master number (Stammnummer, on the registration certificate)
- Registration plate
- Date of first registration
- Odometer reading
- Last official vehicle inspection (date on the registration certificate)
- Number of keys
- Accessories
- Price
- How the price is paid
- Accident history the seller states
- What the seller states about the total mileage
- Known accident damage and how it was repaired
- Known defects
- Other agreed features of the car
- Handover date
- Time of handover
- Other documents and items handed over (service book, invoices, winter tyres)
- Other terms
- City
- Date
Common questions
- Can a used car be sold privately in Switzerland with no warranty at all?
- Almost. Between private people the warranty may be excluded, but three things stay: the exclusion is void for defects the seller fraudulently concealed (Art. 199 CO); it does not cover what the seller assured, such as the accident history and mileage in clause 4 (BGE 109 II 24); and liability for intent or gross negligence cannot be excluded (Art. 100 para. 1 CO). It also does not reach a defect entirely outside what a buyer had reasonably to expect (BGE 130 III 686). As buyer, examine the car on delivery and report any defect to the seller at once (Art. 201 CO).
- After a private car sale in Switzerland, what must each side do about plates, registration and insurance?
- The seller keeps the plates, whose number stays reserved for them (Art. 87 para. 1 VZV), and returns them to the road traffic office unless they go on another vehicle within 14 days (Art. 74 para. 5 VZV); the seller also tells their insurer, as the insurance passes to the new holder until a new registration on other insurance (Art. 67 SVG). The buyer registers the car with the original registration certificate and proof of liability insurance at the road traffic office of the canton where it will be kept (Art. 74 para. 1 let. b VZV). If the certificate shows code 178, the leasing or credit company must consent first.
- Is a car sale contract written in English valid in Switzerland?
- Yes, between the two of you: a private car sale needs no form and no official language, so a contract in English that both parties understand binds them like any other. Choose it when you deal in English; if one of you reads German, French or Italian better, use the version in that language. Swiss authorities and courts work in their official language — German, French or Italian — so this English version is for dealings between private parties. If a dispute reaches a conciliation authority or a court, the proceedings are in the canton's official language (Art. 129 para. 1 CPC) and you may be asked for a translation.
- Until the buyer has paid in full, whose car is it, and who carries the risk?
- The seller's. Ownership of a car passes with possession (Art. 714 para. 1 CC), and a retention of title works only once entered in the register at the buyer's domicile (Art. 715 para. 1 CC), so this contract hands over the car, keys and registration certificate only against the whole price (Art. 184 para. 2 CO). By law, benefit and risk would pass as soon as the contract is signed (Art. 185 para. 1 CO); clause 3 moves them to the handover. Keep the signed receipt as proof of payment.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
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