Belgium

Key points for young drivers:

• Motorway: 120 km/h; outside towns 70 km/h in Flanders, 90 km/h in Wallonia; in Brussels 30 km/h by default.
• Alcohol: 0.5 ‰ – the same for you as for experienced drivers.
• In the car: warning triangle, high-visibility vest, first-aid kit and fire extinguisher.
• No vignettes, but a car with foreign plates must be registered before entering the LEZ zones in Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent.
• You may have to pay a fine on the spot – the police can impound the car if you don’t pay.
• Where the road narrows, use zip merging, and vehicles from the right have priority.

Seat belts and child seats

Everyone wears a seat belt. Children under 135 cm travel in child seats suited to their height and weight. The only exception is short trips with children aged 3 and over in the back seat with a seat belt when a child seat won’t fit – don’t plan your trip that way.

Traffic lights

On red you stop before the stop line; on amber you stop too, unless you are already so close that you can’t brake safely.

Helmet not compulsory

• bicycle
• e-scooter, Segway, unicycle

Helmet compulsory

• motorcycle (including with a sidecar, unless it has a cab and seat belts)
• moped
• tricycles and quadricycles (without a cab)
• fast e-bike (speed pedelec) – bicycle or moped helmet

Motorcyclists and passengers must also wear gloves, a long-sleeved jacket, long trousers and boots that protect the ankles.

Compulsory equipment in the car

• warning triangle
• high-visibility vest – put it on before you get out of the car after a breakdown or accident on motorways and expressways
• first-aid kit
• fire extinguisher

Note: Your Europe (2024) lists only the warning triangle (and the vest), while the Belgian federal police list four items: first-aid kit, warning triangle, fire extinguisher and vest. To be safe, pack all four – details at politie.be.

Compulsory equipment on a bike

• white or yellow front light and red rear light
• white reflector at the front and red at the back
• working brakes

The same applies to e-scooters. When it goes faster than walking pace, an e-scooter is treated like a bicycle (max. 25 km/h).

Winter tyres and snow chains

Winter tyres are not compulsory – official sources give no such requirement.

Phone, drugs and other bans

Phone only with a hands-free kit.

Drugs: driving after THC, amphetamine, methamphetamine, MDMA, cocaine and morphine (heroin) above low detection thresholds is banned – in practice zero tolerance.

Good to know:

• Zip merging is compulsory: where the road narrows, you stay in your lane to the end and merge alternately.
• In a traffic jam on a road with at least two lanes, you form an emergency corridor.
• On cycle streets (“fietsstraat”/“rue cyclable”) you drive at max. 30 km/h and don’t overtake cyclists.
• Vehicles coming from the right have priority unless signs say otherwise.

Vignettes, tolls and low-emission zones

Motorways are free for cars – there are no vignettes. You pay for the Liefkenshoek Tunnel in Antwerp – liefkenshoektunnel.be.

Low-emission zones (LEZ) operate in Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent. A car with foreign number plates must be registered before entering – even if it meets the standards (registration in Ghent is free):

• lez.brussels
• slimnaarantwerpen.be
• stad.gent

Note: in 2026 the LEZ rules were tightened, especially in Brussels for older diesels – check before you travel at lez.brussels.

Documents and insurance

A valid EU/EEA driving licence in plastic card format is enough. Belgium recognises your third-party motor insurance from an EU country – you don’t need a Green Card.

Living and working in Belgium? You must re-register your car on Belgian plates – otherwise the police can take away your foreign plates.

What to watch out for

• Fines are high, and the police can demand payment on the spot. If you disagree, you pay a deposit (consignation/consignatie) – otherwise your car can be impounded.
• If you exceed the speed limit by more than 40 km/h (more than 30 km/h in built-up areas), the police can take away your licence.
• Lots of average-speed checks and speed cameras – and the limits differ between Flanders (70 km/h) and Wallonia (90 km/h).
• Brussels has a default limit of 30 km/h, and many other towns also have 30 zones.
• Alcohol checks are frequent, especially at weekends.

Sources

• Your Europe – Road rules: Belgium
• Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Odyseusz: Belgium (in Polish)
• Federal police – compulsory equipment
• Ghent local police – which lights to use when
• LEZ Brussels
• LEZ Antwerp – foreign vehicles
• LEZ Ghent – foreign vehicles
• Liefkenshoek Tunnel – payment
• Last updated: September 2026.