Driving with epilepsy

In general, people with active epilepsy are not consid­ered fit to drive. The prereq­ui­sites for a person with epilepsy being issued or re-issued with a licence to drive a motor vehicle are periodic specialist neuro­log­ical tests tailored to the individual situa­tion and a test of fitness to drive.

A licence to drive a motor vehicle can usually only be issued or re-issued after the person has remained seizure free for a year (with or without anti-epileptic medication).

There are certain circum­stances under which this time limit can be short­ened or extended.

The rules that apply to driving trucks or the carriage of passen­gers for hire or reward are stricter: After a diagnosis of epilepsy, drivers can only hold a Swiss category C or D1 driving licence if they have been seizure free for five years without medication.

The guide­lines were last updated in November 2019.

Last update of this page: December 2021.