OBJECTIVES: Epilepsy lays an important burden on healthcare systems and society in general. Disability adjusted life years (DALYs) have been developed to compare the burden of this disease both between conditions and between geographical boundaries. With improving data on disease incidence and prevalence in Colombia, we can refine our DALYs-based estimates. METHODS: Using different strategies, including the official healthcare provision database  (called RIPS) and death certificates, as well as extrapolation from published neuroepidemiologic studies, we estimated the incidence and prevalence by age groups, the disease duration and the attributable mortality. Base don previous studies, we assumed an average disability weight of 0.113. With this information, and using the classic methodology described by Murray & Lopez,  we calculated DALYs for the year 2012. RESULTS: