Withdrawal of license in Switzerland

There are several situations where a driver’s license may be revoked. One thinks in particular of the withdrawal of the driving license for safety reasons or when the administrative authorities consider that a person has become unfit to drive.

This will be the case, for example, when the person is addicted to narcotics and this has been demonstrated by an expert.

A driver’s licence can also be withdrawn as a preventive measure A driver’s licence may be withdrawn when the person is unfit but no expert opinion has yet been obtained.

Finally, a driver’s license is often revoked as a result of a violation of the Highway Traffic Act This occurs when a person loses control of their vehicle and is involved in a traffic accident. In the latter case, we commonly speak of withdrawal of admonition .

For a warning (1) a minor violation of the Federal Road Traffic Act has been committed, and (2) the driver’s license has not been revoked within the preceding two years, nor has any other administrative action been taken within that period.

The withdrawal of the ordinary license (also called admonition withdrawal) is pronounced by the administrative authorities when three conditions are met:

1. the driver violates the provisions enshrined in the Federal Road Traffic Act
2. the driver causes an abstract endangerment and finally
3. the driver’s behavior is at fault.

The security withdrawal of the driving license can be pronounced by the administrative authorities when the legal conditions for the issuance of the license are not or no longer met.

Thus, this withdrawal takes place without any violation of the provisions of the Federal Road Traffic Act having occurred. Such a withdrawal can be made for medical or character reasons, or because of alcoholism or other forms of addiction.

A driver’s license can be withdrawn preventively if there are serious doubts about a person’s fitness to drive. The particularity of preventive withdrawal is that it is withdrawn for an indefinite period of time .

What distinguishes a preventive withdrawal from a safety withdrawal is that the former is pronounced before an expertise has taken place. Thus, only if an expert opinion shows that a person is unfit to drive will the authorities pronounce a safety withdrawal.

If a driver’s licence has been withdrawn for a minimum of two years within a period of five years, and the driver continues to violate the Federal Road Traffic Act by committing a new offence, the licence is permanently withdrawn.

Although the withdrawal of the license is final, the driver may, within a period of 5 years and with the approval of the cantonal administrative authorities, restart the procedure for the granting of the driving license.

The authority competent to decide on the withdrawal of a driver’s license is a cantonal administrative authority . In the canton of Vaud, it is the Service des automobiles et de la navigation. In other cantons, however, it may be the prefect.

It is therefore important to distinguish between, on the one hand, the withdrawal of the driving license which is ordered by an administrative authority and, on the other hand, the sanction for the violation of the rules of the Federal Road Traffic Act, which can also be issued by an administrative authority, but also by the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Thus, being convicted by criminal order does not mean that the procedure is over. In fact, the administrative authorities may still, after the conviction by the criminal authority, withdraw the driving license .

1. A violation of the Federal Road Traffic Act is committed.
2. A criminal sanction may be pronounced.
3. Even if this is not the case, the administrative authorities can initiate an administrative procedure. However, the latter is in principle only bound by the facts as established by the prosecuting authority. For example, it is possible that a driver may not be convicted of a criminal offence, but may still be subject to administrative action.
4. If the administrative authority decides to initiate proceedings against the driver, it issues a notice of initiation of proceedings and informs the driver of the action it intends to take (including an ordinary withdrawal of the driver’s license).
5. In this notice, the authority will give the driver a period of time to be heard and to make representations.
6. Following the driver’s determinations, the authority renders a formal decision as to the administrative measure it pronounces and indicates its duration. There is also a time limit for the driver to file his or her driver’s license. The authority also warns the driver that if he or she does not return the license by a certain date, the administrative measure will be executed automatically.

   In this regard, it is important to specify that it is not until the driver’s license is filed (or from the date set by the authority) that the driver is no longer allowed to drive. Thus, until that date, the driver is allowed to drive.

7. Within 30 days of notification of the administrative authority’s decision, the driver may file a complaint with the administrative authority that issued the decision. This claim must be in writing, with a brief explanation and the original handwritten signature of the driver (or his representative).

   The driver’s attention is drawn to the fact that holidays do not apply to the claim procedure.

8. The administrative authority then issues a decision on the complaint, which may be appealed to the Cantonal Court (in the canton of Vaud, the appeal must be addressed to the Court of Administrative and Public Law of the Cantonal Court) within 30 days of notification of the decision on the complaint.

   The notice of appeal must be signed and state the conclusions and grounds of appeal. The decision on the complaint must also be attached to the appeal.

The duration of the withdrawal of the driving license depends to a large extent on the discretion of the administrative authorities which are only bound by the minimums and maximum of each withdrawal. However, the system requires that a gradation be put in place according to the consequences of violating the legal provisions. Thus, only if no offence has been committed during the previous two years, the authorities can issue a warning.

Therefore, if an administrative measure of any kind has been pronounced in the two preceding years, the administrative authority will no longer be able to pronounce a warning, but only a withdrawal of the driver’s license because of the cascade system put in place.

The more often a driver re-offends, the more severe the penalties for violating the Federal Road Traffic Act will be.

In addition, the length of time a driver’s licence is revoked depends on the nature of the offence (i.e., minor, moderate or serious). Thus, in case of speeding, the administrative measure taken depends on the number of kilometers exceeding the maximum speed limit. The solution can be summarized as follows when there is no history.

Speeding – no prior record	Kilometers over the speed limit	Administrative measure
Minor offence	Between 16 and 20 km	Warning
Moderately serious offence	Between 21 and 24 km	Minimum one month withdrawal
Serious offence	From 25 km	Minimum 3 months withdrawal

More generally, that is for all other situations The length of the withdrawal period varies according to the driver’s history, including when an accident occurs. In concrete terms, we will examine whether this is the first time the person has violated the Federal Road Traffic Act or whether he or she has already committed one or more offences in the past, depending on the cascade system in place.

Thus, in these situations, it is appropriate to first examine the first offence committed, before legally qualifying the second offence committed, to know how long the driver’s licence will be withdrawn.

The different situations can then be summarized as follows:

First offense	New minor infraction	New moderately serious offence	New serious offence
Minor offence: warning	Minimum one month withdrawal (unless another minor misconduct was committed less than 10 years ago, but more than 2 years ago)	Minimum one month withdrawal	Minimum 3 months withdrawal
Moderately serious offence: minimum withdrawal of one month	Minimum one month withdrawal	Minimum 4 month withdrawal (unless one or two moderately serious offences were committed less than 5 years ago, but more than 2 years ago)	Minimum 6 months withdrawal (unless one or two serious offences were committed less than 10 years ago but more than 5 years ago).
Serious offence: minimum 3 months withdrawal	Minimum one month withdrawal	Minimum 4 month withdrawal (unless one or two moderately serious offences were committed less than 10 years ago but more than 5 years ago)	Minimum 12-month withdrawal (unless a serious offence was committed less than 10 years ago but more than 5 years ago).

Withdrawal of driver’s license is not recorded in the criminal record but in the traffic admission information system, called SIAC-Mesures.

Entries in this register are automatically deleted after 5 years for warnings and 10 years for withdrawals.

Oui, contre le prononcé du retrait du permis de conduire une réclamation peut être formée dans un délai de 30 jours dès la notification de la décision du retrait.

Consequences of a first withdrawal

As a preliminary matter, it is important to understand that when a driver passes the road test, a probationary licence is issued. This license is given for a probationary period of 3 years. If, within this 3-year period, the driver commits a first offence against the Federal Road Traffic Act which is sanctioned by a withdrawal of the licence, then the probationary period is extended by one year.

The driver can then hope to obtain his or her full driver’s license at the earliest four years after obtaining his or her trial driver’s license (and having also validated the necessary related courses).

Consequence of a second withdrawal

When a driver with a probationary license commits a second violation of the Federal Road Traffic Act, and a withdrawal of the driver’s license should be pronounced, the authority cannot pronounce a second withdrawal because the driver’s license becomes null and void.

As a result, the driver will have to wait a year and undergo a psychological expertise before being able to recommend the procedure for obtaining a driver’s license.

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