BERN - Learner drivers who start the licensing process from next year will meet a digitalised procedure, the Association of Road Traffic Authorities announced on Tuesday. The changes take effect on 1 January 2027 and touch almost every step before the practical exam.
The first-aid course and the vision test will in future be entered digitally instead of being handed around as paper certificates. The traffic theory course, the classroom element known to every Swiss teenager, must be completed before the theory exam rather than alongside it.
More questions, earlier preparation
The theory exam itself grows from 50 to 55 questions, a sign the authorities want more of the syllabus settled before a candidate ever takes the wheel. The ASA presents the reorganisation as a modernisation: fewer paper forms, fewer forged or lost certificates, and a clearer sequence that pushes preparation earlier in the process.
Driving schools now have fourteen months to adjust their course plans. The reform lands at an odd moment in the history of driving: while Bern polishes the exam, the Zurich left wants to ban the self-driving taxis that could one day make the licence optional, and the annual GA travelcard price rise keeps the rail alternative in the news. For the class of 2027, though, the L plate is still the only way in.