Concerning the original post, I remember when I first moved here from Germany, my German licence allowed me to drive vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes in weight, which was quite useful as I did my own removal with a 5.5 tonne van. I wonder if the additional categories on the OP's licence aren't the result of the conversion from the German licence with its different weight categories?
I've just had the 01 (need for glasses) removed from my driving licence, as I had a cataract operation and no longer need glasses to drive. Cost 40 CHF but a neighbour who's a border guard and has to deal with police stuff advised me to get the change on the grounds that it would suffice to have to deal with an over-zealous policeman to end up with a problem.
Not just Germany, but all (I think) EU countries use the same categories and there's always been a conversion issue to Swiss ones, with a "vehicles over 3.5T" being added as as not-quite equivalent of one of the EU categories. But as for the OP, this requires a regular medical, so most folks I know just get it removed from the licence for an easy life.
Not only do I have an 01 on the back, my photo shows me wearing glasses.
I’m having my cataracts done in a few weeks and understand I won’t need glasses anymore. Is it relatively easy to have the 01 removed? I’ll give them a new photo too ...
I have worn vari-focal glasses for some years even though my distance vision was relatively good, because I didn't like to carry reading glasses and keep getting them out for close work and reading small print. A relic from my working days before retirement.
Then on reaching 70 I needed a driving licence medical and the doctor marked me for needing glasses because I was wearing them at the time. This meant a new licence with "01" on the back. However, on all subsequent tests I always get a letter from the Strassenverkehrsamt to say my medical sight test shows I do not need glasses to drive and can apply to get my licence changed. I have never bothered and continued to drive while wearing my vario-focal glasses with only a very minimal adjustment for the distance vision, which is well within the driving licence tolerance.
Recently I have had a cataract operation and my total vision has been radically improved such that I really do not need glasses other than for reading - dioptic +2. Today was my final check and the ophthalmologist filled out the Strassenverkehrsamt form with my results to apply for a licence without the glasses requirement.
Now I see that to do so I need to apply by post, sending the form, a photograph and my old licence. Does anyone know how long this is likely to take? I shall be driving to Italy for two months in a week and cannot feel comfortable driving without my licence, especially in Italy.