CPR Training to Become Mandatory for Driving License Applicants
November 4, 2025
Finally, we’re there: cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is now a “mandatory subject” in the driver’s license exam.
The European Council has given the green light (published in the EU Official Journal on October 24) to the text of the new European directive on driver’s licenses. From 2026, candidates will have to demonstrate knowledge of basic first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) techniques.
The goal is ambitious: to turn every driver into a potential rescuer, an essential link in the chain of survival. The measure is part of the European Union’s “Vision Zero” strategy, which aims to eliminate road deaths by 2050.
Every year, more than 400,000 Europeans and about 60,000 Italians suffer cardiac arrest. Prompt intervention in the first few minutes can double or triple the chances of survival: spreading knowledge of life-saving techniques as widely as possible is the best way to save more lives. For this reason, learning them becomes a requirement for driving.
The directive establishes new minimum requirements for driving tests. In particular, the document introduces the obligation to test first aid knowledge during the theory test for all categories of driving licenses. Candidates must know the “general rules specifying how a driver should behave in the event of an accident… and the measures that a driver can take to assist road accident victims where necessary, including basic first aid knowledge, in particular CPR.”
The most significant change is the possibility for Member States to replace the theory questions with certified practical training. The directive provides that candidates may be exempted from the theory questions if they have “completed certified practical first aid training, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), at any time prior to the practical driving test.” This paves the way for specific training courses, which could be organized by driving schools in collaboration with certified organizations, providing future drivers with not only theoretical knowledge but also essential practical skills.
For drivers of heavy goods vehicles and passenger transport vehicles (categories C, D, and related extensions), the directive imposes even stricter requirements. In addition to knowledge of first aid procedures, professional drivers will have to demonstrate during the practical test that they know how to check and use the vehicle’s safety equipment, including “first aid kits, fire extinguishers, and other safety equipment.”
Behind this legislative innovation is intense awareness-raising and advocacy work by organizations such as the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) and the European Driving Schools Association (EFA). Their joint campaign, “Learn to Drive, Learn CPR,” launched in 2022, played a crucial role in bringing the need for mandatory first aid training for new drivers to the attention of European institutions.
