An amendment to three laws is intended to pave the way for the testing and commercial operation of driverless cars. The deadline for its implementation is tight.
Slovakia has a legal framework for the operation of fully automated vehicles on the table. The government’s proposed amendments to three laws—on road traffic, road transport, and vehicle operation—passed their first reading on June 3, 2026. The committee deadlines are September 11 and 14; the fall session begins on September 15. The proposed effective date is November 1, 2026.
The bill does not establish a Slovak approval process for levels of autonomy; this is approved by the European Union under Regulation 2022/1426. It addresses the subsequent operational layer: who, where, and under what conditions an automated vehicle may be operated.
The process consists of five stages. Testing off public roads is followed by trial operations on designated sections, an operator’s license from the Ministry of Transportation with a binding opinion from the police, approval for commercial transport operations, and finally, authorization from the transportation regulatory authority.
Nine new terms are being added to the law, including “operational area of use,” “minimum safe condition,” “control center,” and “supervisory operator.” Supervision may be conducted exclusively from within Slovakia and from the control center, and the operator must be employed by the license holder.
The timeline is tight. There are roughly six weeks between potential approval at the fall session and the proposed effective date. Added to this is the time needed for the implementing regulation, the draft of which currently contains only section headings without any substantive content. Therefore, the first license can realistically be expected no sooner than 2027. The text may still be amended by committee proposals. SEVA is monitoring the process and will provide ongoing updates.
Source: Parliamentary Press Release No. 1329, National Council of the Slovak Republic; SEVA analysis