A driving licence at 17. From 2021 that is reality in Switzerland – well, not quite, but almost. It would be better to say the Lernfahrausweis at 17. Everything you need to know about this new rule is in this article.
A 12-month learning phase
From 1.1.2021 you can apply for the Lernfahrausweis as early as your 17th birthday. What is also new, however, is that everyone who applies for the Lernfahrausweis in Switzerland before the age of 20 automatically has to go through a learning phase of 12 months. To sum up: if you apply for the Lernfahrausweis before your 20th birthday, you automatically have to gather at least a year of driving practice, whether through lessons or private practice drives, before you are admitted to the practical driving test at all.
A note on supervised driving
The Swiss Lernfahrausweis allows you to take lessons with a Fahrlehrer:in (driving instructor), or to make learner drives with a supervisor from among the people you know (parents, siblings, friends and so on). If you make private practice drives, your supervisor has to have held the full driving licence for at least three years and to have completed their 23rd year. You will find more information in the article on private practice drives.
01
Driving from 17 for people born in 2003
So that young drivers born in 2003 still have the chance to get their licence before their 19th birthday, the Federal Council adopted a transitional provision. It runs as follows:
- Anyone born in 2003 can apply for the Lernfahrausweis at 17 from 1 January 2021. If the Lernfahrausweis is issued during 2021, the practical driving test may be taken from their 18th birthday, even if they have not held the permit for 12 months. Had this addition not come about, a person born in 2003 with a birthday early in the year would not have been able to take the car test until they were almost 19, because of the one-year learning phase.
- People born in 2003 who apply for the Lernfahrausweis only in 2022 or later have to go through the compulsory learning phase like everyone else.
- People born in 2002 have to receive their Lernfahrausweis during 2020 if they want to avoid the one-year learning phase.
So if you were born in 2002 or 2003, we would urge you to obtain the Lernfahrausweis during 2020, and then you do not have to go through the learning phase.
At ASTRA you will find the special rules for those born in 2003 explained in more detail. Click here to reach the ASTRA page.
Reasons for the change in the law
This 12-month learning phase is meant to improve road safety generally. During that time you are supposed to gather plenty of experience behind the wheel, but always under the eye and care of a supervisor. The accident risk after the practical driving test should thereby be reduced considerably.
If the Federal Council had not lowered the minimum age for obtaining the Lernfahrausweis from 18 to 17 when the compulsory 12-month learning phase came into force, new Swiss drivers could have taken the car test at 19 at the earliest. For certain vocational training courses in particular, a licence at 18 is almost an essential requirement, and those would have suffered especially under the new rule.
Evaluation after 3 years
Is driving from 17 in Switzerland a future success story? That is exactly the question the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (UVEK) has to answer, on behalf of the Federal Council. So after three years at the latest we will know more about the effects of this new rule. Once the evaluation is complete, UVEK will publish the resulting report and present it to the Federal Council. A decision then has to be made on whether this approach is pursued further.
On the subject of «a licence at 17», Switzerland is in a certain sense a pioneer, because if this becomes a success story it is entirely possible that other countries will lower the minimum driving age too. After all, we have already exported the «supervised driving» model as a success story to other countries, such as Canada, France and certain states in the USA.
Further changes in the law
Only 1 further training day (WAB) left
From 1 January 2020 the Federal Council wants only one course day, which you also have to complete within the first year after the practical driving test. The course length drops by more than half to seven hours. The new further training day will, however, cost more than the current first training day. Use this transitional phase in your own financial interest by doing the first course day this year. Exactly how that works is explained under important notes on the further training courses.
The focus of the future course day will be accident prevention. Practical exercises under realistic conditions will teach you to brake in good time and decisively, up to and including the emergency stop. The emergency stop is already part of the practical driving test, but in what is often very dense traffic it can be neither practised nor tested. Energy-efficient driving will also be an important topic.
Important notes on the further training courses
Probationary licence expiring in 2020 or later
If you hold a licence expiring in 2020 or later, you only have to attend the new further training day, or show that you have completed further training course 1. A small tip: do the WAB 1 this year instead of the new, more expensive further training course.
If you obtained your licence on probation before 31 December 2019, you can decide freely whether to do the new further training day or the old WAB 1. In both cases you have three years.
If you receive a licence on probation after 31 December 2019, you have to complete the new further training day within the first 12 months.
Unlimited validity of the theory test and the VKU
Until now the legal rules were that you had to register for the practical driving test within two years of passing the theory test and attending both road-awareness courses. If that did not happen, you would have been forced to repeat both. In future your passed theory test and the Verkehrskundeunterricht (VKU, road-awareness course) you have completed are in principle valid indefinitely. This law comes into force on 1 January 2021.
No more automatic-only entry
Anyone who took the practical driving test in a car with an automatic gearbox up to 1 February 2019 received a corresponding entry in their licence and was only allowed to drive such a car. This restriction has now been dropped: so you can also drive a manual vehicle if you sat your practical test in a car with an automatic gearbox. Holders of the previous licence can apply to the responsible Strassenverkehrsamt (cantonal road traffic office) for the restriction to be removed, and it will comply as long as there are no health problems (for instance an inability to operate the clutch pedal).
02
Change in the law for motorbikes
No more direct entry into the unrestricted category A
If you are someone who wants as much horsepower as possible carrying you through the bends and needs the most powerful motorbikes for it, you will in future have to make do for at least 2 years with a category A motorbike restricted to 35 kW. This new rule comes into force on 1 January 2021.
03
Introduction of the motorbike categories in line with EU directives
From 1 January 2021 the Swiss motorbike categories will be aligned with EU directives. The minimum age will be brought into line with the EU level too. From the age of 16 you may ride motorbikes in the 125 class, and not, as until now, only from 18. The new EU class AM carries the right to ride small motorbikes (top speed 45 km/h, engine capacity at most 50 cm3 or 4 kW of power). It is being integrated into subcategory A1. The minimum age is not, as until now in Switzerland, 16 years, but is being lowered to 15.
If you want to know more, you can consult the fact sheet giving an overview of the changes to the licence rules, or the complete revision of the licence rules at the Federal Roads Office (ASTRA).
04
Is the Lernfahrausweis valid abroad?
No, your Lernfahrausweis is not valid abroad, only in Switzerland. For more information go to Lernfahrausweis.
All the changes to the Lernfahrausweis from 17 described above were reported by SRF on its radio stations and on 10vor10.
And in this video a Swiss driving instructor explains the exact changes.