France → Belgium

Driving in Belgium when you know France

Differences first, worst-to-get-wrong first. Rules that match are folded away at the bottom.

Driving to Belgium from France: what to check before you go

These are the key destination rules to check first. The comparison below shows every verified difference. Follow local signs and instructions on the road.

Which side of the road do you drive on in Belgium?: In Belgium you drive on the right.
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.
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.

Read the full driving rules in Belgium and the required car equipment in Belgium .

Looking to rent a car? Rental agencies often have there own rules on driving ages and equipment, make sure you check with them before you travel.
We earn a commission if you book through this link, at no extra cost to you. How we make money.

What's different (8)

Speed limit on the motorway

Critical

France · home130 km/h110 in rain. Lower limits are signed in tunnels and roadworks.Checked 3 Aug 2026

Belgium · destination120 km/hUnless a sign says otherwise, which on the Brussels ring it often does.Checked 16 Aug 2026 · official source

Speed limit on country roads

CriticalVaries by region

France · home80 km/hDepartments may sign 90 on some roads. Sections with two lanes in the same direction are 90 on those lanes.Checked 3 Aug 2026

Belgium · destination90 km/h90 in Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region. Flanders is 70 — see below.Checked 16 Aug 2026 · official source

Flanders70 km/h20 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

What you must carry in the car

Critical

France · home

Warning triangle
High-visibility vest

The vest must be within reach and worn if you leave a broken-down car on the road. Missing either is a 135 euro fine.Checked 3 Aug 2026

Belgium · destination

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

Youngest age you may drive

Important

France · home17 yearsLowered from 18 in January 2024. Under-18s may not drive outside France.Checked 3 Aug 2026

Belgium · destination18 yearsThe practical test itself cannot be taken before 18.Checked 16 Aug 2026 · official source

What a rider must wear or carry

Important

France · home

Gloves
High-visibility vest
Reflective stickers on the helmet

Rider and passenger must wear CE marked gloves. A hi-vis vest must be carried on the rider or the bike and worn if you stop on the road after a breakdown. The helmet must carry four reflective elements: front, back and both sides.Checked 2 Sep 2026

Belgium · destination

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

Hands-free phone calls

Good to know

France · homeAllowed, with restrictionsEarpieces, earphones and headsets are all banned while driving. Only systems built into the car are allowed.Checked 3 Aug 2026

Belgium · destinationAllowedChecked 16 Aug 2026 · official source

Youngest age you may ride the smallest class of scooter

Good to know

France · home14 yearsThe BSR (category AM) can be taken from age 14 and covers mopeds under 50 cc limited to 45 km/h. People born before 1988 need no licence for a moped.Checked 2 Sep 2026

Belgium · destination16 yearsCategory 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

Smallest motorbike allowed on the motorway

Good to know

France · home

Engine at least 50 cc
Power at least 4 kW
Top speed at least 45 km/h

The ban is by vehicle class: Code de la route article R421-2 lists cyclomoteurs among the vehicles refused access to motorways, with no figures of its own. The cited source is article R311-1, which defines a cyclomoteur as a two or three wheeler with a design speed of no more than 45 km/h, an engine of no more than 50 cc if petrol, and no more than 4 kW. A machine at exactly 45 km/h is still a cyclomoteur and stays off the motorway; one that is above ANY of the three caps is classed as a motorcycle and may enter, so a machine does not have to be above all three. Motor tricycles up to 15 kW and 550 kg unladen are also refused.Checked 2 Sep 2026

Belgium · destination

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

Known on one side only (22)

Whether you need an International Driving Permit

France · homeDepends on where your licence is fromEU and EEA licences are accepted as they are. Other licences must be in French or carried with an official translation or an International Driving Permit.Checked 3 Aug 2026

Belgium · destinationNot yet verified

Which side you overtake on

France · homeLeftOvertaking on the right is only for passing a vehicle turning left, or trams.Checked 3 Aug 2026

Belgium · destinationNot yet verified

Speed limit on a dual carriageway

France · home110 km/h100 in rain.Checked 3 Aug 2026

Belgium · destinationNot yet verified

Speed limit in living and residential zones

France · homeNot yet verified

Belgium · destination20 km/hIn 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

Speed limit in rain or snow

France · home

Motorway — 110 km/h
Dual carriageway — 100 km/h

Applies when rain or other precipitation is falling.Checked 3 Aug 2026

Belgium · destinationNot yet verified

Speed limit for drivers who passed their test recently

France · home

Motorway — 110 km/h
Dual carriageway — 100 km/h
Country roads — 80 km/h

For the probationary period: 3 years after the test, or 2 with accompanied driving. Applies whatever the weather.Checked 3 Aug 2026

Belgium · destinationNot yet verified

Alcohol limit for drivers who passed their test recently

France · home0.2 g/lFor the whole probationary period. In practice this means do not drink at all.Checked 3 Aug 2026

Belgium · destinationNot yet verified

Turning at a red light

France · homeNot allowedA complete stop is required at every red light. Cyclist exceptions are signed.Checked 3 Aug 2026

Belgium · destinationNot yet verified

Priority to traffic coming from the right

France · homeYes — traffic from the right goes first at unmarked junctionsAt an unmarked intersection, traffic from the right has priority. This catches out visitors — a car pulling out from a small road on the right may have the right of way.Checked 3 Aug 2026

Belgium · destinationNot yet verified

Age below which a child needs a child seat

France · home10 yearsA child under 10 must use a restraint suited to their size and weight.Checked 3 Aug 2026

Belgium · destinationNot yet verified

Height below which a child needs a child seat

France · homeNot yet verified

Belgium · destination135 cmThe 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

Youngest age a child may sit in the front

France · home10 yearsExceptions: a rear-facing baby seat with the airbag off, no back seats, no rear seatbelts, or the back full of other under-10s.Checked 3 Aug 2026

Belgium · destinationNot yet verified

Winter tyres

France · homeRequired where signs say soIn 34 mountain departments from 1 November to 31 March, marked zones require either four winter tyres (3PMSF marking) or snow chains on board. Zones are signed at their entrance.Checked 3 Aug 2026

Belgium · destinationNot yet verified

How you pay for motorways

France · home

Toll booths
Electronic tolls with no barriers

Most motorways are tolled. Newer free-flow sections (A13, A14, A79) have no barriers — pay online or at a tobacconist within 72 hours, or fines follow the number plate.Checked 3 Aug 2026

Belgium · destinationNot yet verified

Alcohol limit for professional drivers

France · homeNot yet verified

Belgium · destination0.2 g/lChecked 16 Aug 2026 · official source

Who has priority at a roundabout

France · homeDepends on the signsAlmost all roundabouts have give-way signs, so traffic already on the circle has priority. On the rare unsigned ones, entering traffic from the right has priority instead — Place de l'Étoile in Paris works this way.Checked 3 Aug 2026

Belgium · destinationNot yet verified

What happens if you park wrongly

France · home

A fine
Towing

Obstructive parking can mean immobilisation and the pound, not just a fine.Checked 3 Aug 2026

Belgium · destinationNot yet verified

When winter tyre rules apply

France · home1 November to 31 MarchChecked 3 Aug 2026

Belgium · destinationNot yet verified

Snow chains

France · homeRequired where signs say soChains on the drive wheels satisfy the mountain-zone rule if you do not have winter tyres. A specific sign can make chains compulsory on a given road.Checked 3 Aug 2026

Belgium · destinationNot yet verified

Emergency number

France · home112Direct lines also work: 15 medical, 17 police, 18 fire.Checked 3 Aug 2026

Belgium · destinationNot yet verified

Whether police can fine you on the spot

France · homeYes — visitors must pay at the roadsideA driver who does not live in France must generally pay the fixed fine or a deposit immediately, and the car can be held until it is paid.Checked 3 Aug 2026

Belgium · destinationNot yet verified

Typical fines

France · home

Holding a phone — fine from 135 EUR, 3 points

Checked 3 Aug 2026

Belgium · destinationNot yet verified

Same in both (9)

Which side of the road you drive on — Right official source
Speed limit in towns and cities — 50 km/h official source
How much alcohol you may have in your blood — 0.5 g/l official source
Holding a phone while driving — Not allowed official source
Who must wear a seatbelt — Everyone, in every seat official source
Helmets on a motorbike or scooter — Required for rider and passenger 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 official source
Riding between lanes of slow traffic — Allowed, with restrictions official source
Headlights on a motorbike in daytime — Required at all times official source