How do I get a severe disability card?
Forget "50 percent" — that stopped applying in September 2025. This is the most important change, and most articles online have not caught up with it. Under Act 447/2008, severe disability was defined as an impairment with a degree of functional impairment of at least 50%, with the percentages for individual conditions set out in an annex to the Act. From 1 September 2025 the percentage-based determination was abolished. Recognition is decided by the office of labour, social affairs and family, which produces an integrated assessment within 60 days of the application. Functional impairment means a deficit of physical, sensory or mental capacity expected to last longer than 12 months.
📋 The rules
- The framework is Act 447/2008
- Until 31 Aug 2025 the degree of impairment decided
- The threshold was at least 50%
- From 1 Sep 2025 percentage determination is abolished
- The labour office assesses within 60 days
🔓 Exceptions
- The functional impairment must be expected to last over 12 months
- The assessment is produced by the office of labour, social affairs and family
- A European disability card is also being prepared
⚠️ Penalties & fines
The internet is full of out-of-date guides. If you are reading that you need "at least 50% functional impairment" and hunting for your diagnosis in a table of percentages, you are reading the position as it stood until 31 August 2025. From 1 September 2025 the percentage-based determination was abolished. What holds now: you apply to the office of labour, social affairs and family, which produces an integrated assessment within 60 days. Assemble your medical records — the assessment rests on them. And what is coming: the ministry is preparing a European disability card and a European parking card, valid across the EU. The national card remains valid — the European one merely supplements it.
📎 Official sources
- Slov-Lex · Act 447/2008 →
- Central Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family →
- Ministry of Labour of the Slovak Republic →
❓ Frequently asked
Does the 50% threshold still apply?
No. Until 31 August 2025, severe disability was defined as an impairment with a degree of functional impairment of at least 50%. From 1 September 2025 the percentage-based determination was abolished.
How long does the assessment take?
The office of labour, social affairs and family produces an integrated assessment within 60 days of the application. The period is statutory, though in practice it also depends on how complete your records are.
What is functional impairment?
A deficit of physical, sensory or mental capacity which, given the expected course of the condition, will last longer than 12 months. Short-term states do not qualify.
Where do I apply?
At the office of labour, social affairs and family. Assemble your complete medical documentation — the integrated assessment rests on it, and incomplete papers will draw the process out.
What is the European card?
A disability card valid across the EU that is being prepared, together with a European parking card. The national severe disability card remains valid — the European one is to supplement it.
🔎 Common searches
What people search to land here:
- “disability card slovakia conditions 2026”
- “degree of functional impairment 50 percent abolished”
- “integrated assessment 60 days slovakia”
- “how to get a disability card slovakia”
- “european disability card”
- “list of qualifying conditions slovakia”