Rules of the road
Driving in Belgium
Every value below links to the official source it was checked against, with the date it was checked. What is not verified yet says so.
Quick answers about driving in Belgium
- Which side of the road do you drive on in Belgium?
- In Belgium you drive on the right.
- How old do you have to be to drive in Belgium?
- You must be at least 18 years old to drive in Belgium. The practical test itself cannot be taken before 18.
- What is the speed limit in Belgium?
- 120 km/h on motorways, 90 km/h on country roads, 50 km/h in towns and cities and 20 km/h in residential and living zones. Those are the national default limits, which apply where no sign says otherwise.
- What is the drink driving limit in Belgium?
- The legal limit in Belgium is 0.5 g/l.
Read this first
Belgium sets some driving rules regionally, not nationally. Outside towns the speed limit is 70 in Flanders and 90 in Wallonia and Brussels, and nothing at the regional border tells you the limit has changed. Watch the signs when you cross between regions. Everything else on this page applies across the whole country.
Regions with their own data on this page: Flanders.
Which side of the road
Which side of the road you drive on
Right
From the RAC's list of the European exceptions: the UK, Ireland, Cyprus and Malta drive on the left, and every other European country drives on the right.
Checked 16 Aug 2026 · official source
Speed limits
Speed limit on the motorway
120 km/h
Unless a sign says otherwise, which on the Brussels ring it often does.
Checked 16 Aug 2026 · official source
Speed limit on country roads
Varies by region90 km/h
90 in Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region. Flanders is 70 — see below.
Checked 16 Aug 2026 · official source
- Flanders 70 km/h 20 km/h lower than Wallonia and Brussels, on the same kind of road. The change is not announced at the regional border. Checked 16 Aug 2026 · official source
Speed limit in towns and cities
50 km/h
Drops to 30 near schools and in streets with cycle paths, which covers a large share of city centres.
Checked 16 Aug 2026 · official source
Speed limit in living and residential zones
20 km/h
In a residential area people may walk and children may play anywhere on the road. You must stop for them.
Checked 16 Aug 2026 · official source
Alcohol
Your licence and age
Youngest age you may drive
18 years
The practical test itself cannot be taken before 18.
Checked 16 Aug 2026 · official source
Looking to rent a car? The minimum age to drive is 18, but most car rental agencies have their own minimum rental age. Remember to check with your car rental agency before you book. We earn a commission if you book through this link, at no extra cost to you. How we make money.
What you must carry in the car
What you must carry in the car
- Warning triangle
- High-visibility vest
- Fire extinguisher
- First aid kit
Four items, which is more than most of Europe asks for. The extinguisher and the first aid kit are the ones visitors do not expect — check a hire car has both before you drive away. They go with the car's number plate rather than the driver, so they are required in a Belgian-registered car, hire cars included, and not in a car you drove in on foreign plates. One vest is required, for the driver, and must be worn if you leave the car on a motorway; vests for passengers are advised rather than required.
Checked 19 Aug 2026 · official source
Phones at the wheel
Seatbelts and children
Height below which a child needs a child seat
135 cm
The official page gives 135 cm inside its list of exceptions rather than as a plain rule: children shorter than that may travel without a child seat in a taxi or bus, or belted in the back for a short one-off journey.
Checked 16 Aug 2026 · official source
Motorbikes and scooters
Helmets on a motorbike or scooter
Required for rider and passenger
Article 36 of the traffic code. Rider and passenger must wear a helmet on a motorbike and on a moped. A rider or passenger who lives in Belgium must use a helmet with an approval mark.
Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source
Largest motorbike or scooter you may ride on a car licence
- Engine up to 50 cc
- Power up to 4 kW
- Top speed up to 45 km/h
A Belgian category B licence includes category AM automatically, and the ministry's AM page defines the class it covers (bromfiets klasse B) as a two-wheeler with an engine of at most 50 cc and a design speed of between 25 and 45 km/h; the 4 kW limit is the power of an electric motor. The same inclusion is stated on the ministry's category B page. Riding a 125 cc motorbike (category A1, up to 11 kW) on a B licence needs code 372 added to the licence: B held for at least 2 years and issued after 30 April 2011, plus 4 hours of practical lessons at an approved driving school. Code 372 is valid in Belgium only. The ministry pages do not say whether foreign car licences get the moped allowance.
Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source
Youngest age you may ride the smallest class of scooter
16 years
Category AM: the theory test can be taken from three months before the 16th birthday, the practical test from 16. A moped rider may carry a passenger only from 18. AM covers two-wheelers up to 50 cc and 45 km/h.
Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source
What a rider must wear or carry
- Gloves
- Protective jacket
- Boots
Article 36 of the traffic code. Rider and passenger of a motorbike must wear gloves, a jacket with long sleeves, long trousers or an overall, and boots or ankle boots that protect the ankles. Long trousers are also required but are not in this list. The clothing rule is for motorbikes; it does not apply to mopeds.
Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source
Riding between lanes of slow traffic
Allowed, with restrictions
Article 16.2bis of the traffic code. A motorbike may ride between two lanes or queues of stopped or slow traffic. The rider may not go faster than 50 km/h, and may not go more than 20 km/h faster than the traffic in those lanes. On motorways and on roads for motor traffic only, the rider must use the gap between the two left-hand lanes. This applies to motorbikes, not mopeds.
Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source
Smallest motorbike allowed on the motorway
- Top speed at least 70 km/h
Article 21.1 of the traffic code bans mopeds (bromfietsen) from motorways by vehicle class, and separately bans any vehicle or combination that cannot reach 70 km/h on a flat road. The article states no engine size, so 70 km/h is the only threshold written. Article 2 defines a moped as at most 50 cc, 4 kW and 45 km/h by design, so every moped also fails the speed floor; a two-wheeler that can reach 70 km/h is a motorbike and may enter. Article 21.2 then sets 70 km/h as the minimum speed to ride at.
Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source
Headlights on a motorbike in daytime
Required at all times
Article 30bis of the traffic code. Motorbikes and two-wheeled mopeds must have the dipped headlight and the red rear light on at all times, also in daylight. The main beam may not be used in daylight.
Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source
More questions about driving in Belgium
- What do you have to carry in your car in Belgium?
- You must carry a warning triangle, a high-visibility vest, a fire extinguisher and a first aid kit.
- Can you use your phone while driving in Belgium?
- No. Holding a phone while driving is against the law in Belgium. Hands-free: allowed.
- Can you ride a scooter or small motorbike on a car licence in Belgium?
- Yes, engine up to 50 cc, power up to 4 kW and top speed up to 45 km/h.
Each answer comes from the rules above, where you can also see the official source and the date it was checked.
31 rules not yet verified for Belgium
These rules exist, but no value has been checked against an official source yet. Missing beats wrong.
- Which side you overtake on
- Speed limit on a dual carriageway
- Speed limit in rain or snow
- Speed limit for drivers who passed their test recently
- Speed limit when towing a trailer or caravan
- Alcohol limit for drivers who passed their test recently
- Whether you need an International Driving Permit
- How long you may drive on your own licence
- What you should carry, but do not have to
- When you must switch your headlights on
- Headlights in tunnels
- Turning at a red light
- Who has priority at a roundabout
- Priority to traffic coming from the right
- Age below which a child needs a child seat
- Youngest age a child may sit in the front
- What the lines and painted kerbs mean
- How you pay to park
- Parking on the pavement
- Parking facing against the traffic
- How far you must park from a junction or crossing
- What happens if you park wrongly
- Winter tyres
- When winter tyre rules apply
- Snow chains
- How you pay for motorways
- Low-emission zones
- Congestion charges
- Emergency number
- Typical fines
- Whether police can fine you on the spot