Before you start

Registration with your commune and a national register number
Your original foreign licence, valid and obtained before you registered in Belgium
For non-EU licences: confirmation that your country is on the FPS Mobility recognition list
A recent passport photograph and, for some categories, a medical certificate

Step-by-step

1
Check the FPS Mobility recognition list before anything else
Exchange of a non-EU licence is only possible for countries and territories Belgium recognises — the list includes Australia, Canada, the United States and many others, but it is specific and it changes. If your country is not on it, there is no exchange and you sit the Belgian theory and practical exams like a new driver.
OnlineWho: You
2
Apply at your commune, not at a regional office
The driving licence counter is municipal. Take the foreign licence, your eID or Annexe 15, and a photo. Your original licence is surrendered and sent back to the issuing authority — you do not keep both.
In personWho: YouWithin 185 days of registration
3
Watch the 185-day clock
A recognised foreign licence lets you drive here for about 185 days from the date you register as a resident. The clock runs from registration, not from arrival or from when you first drive. Miss it and the exchange route can close.
OnlineWho: You
4
Register a foreign-plated car with the low emission zone before you drive in
Vehicles registered outside Belgium must be declared online to lez.brussels before entering the region. Failing to register attracts a fine even if the vehicle is perfectly clean — a trap for anyone driving their own car over for the move.
OnlineWho: YouBefore your first trip into the region
5
Check your vehicle against the current LEZ standard
Since 1 January 2026 Euro 5 diesel and Euro 2 petrol vehicles are barred from the Brussels region, after the Constitutional Court struck down an attempted postponement. The fining regime has been repeatedly paused and redesigned while the government works out an operational framework, so check lez.brussels for what is actually being enforced this month rather than relying on a news article.
OnlineWho: You
6
Assume 30 km/h unless a sign says otherwise
Since 1 January 2021 the default limit across the Brussels region is 30 km/h, with a handful of main axes signed at 50 or 70. Enforcement is camera-heavy and the fines arrive by post. This catches drivers from Flanders and from abroad far more often than residents.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Original foreign driving licence
eID or Annexe 15
Passport
Passport photograph to Belgian specification
Proof the licence was issued before you registered in Belgium

Things most newcomers don’t know

The 185-day exchange window starts when you register, not when you arrive.

A recognised foreign licence is good for roughly 185 days from your entry in the population register. People who spend three months finding a flat, then register, then wait for the eID often think the clock started later than it did — or they discover months in that their country was never on the recognition list at all and the exchange route was never open. Check the list in week one, not in month six.

Source: FPS Mobility and Transport

A foreign-plated car must be registered with the LEZ before it enters the region, even if it is compliant.

Brussels reads number plates automatically and matches them against the Belgian vehicle register. A car registered abroad is invisible to that register, so it must be declared online in advance. The penalty for not declaring is separate from the penalty for being too polluting — meaning a brand-new petrol car can be fined purely for not having been announced. Anyone driving their own vehicle over for the move should do this before crossing the border.

Source: lez.brussels

The low emission zone is genuinely mid-reform and the news is contradictory.

The Euro 5 diesel ban was postponed, the Constitutional Court annulled the postponement on health and environmental grounds, and the ban took effect on 1 January 2026 — but enforcement has been paused, extended and redesigned since, with the fine structure itself under revision. Both 'the ban was cancelled' and 'you will be fined €350 a quarter' have been true-sounding at different points this year. Check the official calendar before buying a diesel or planning a commute.

Source: lez.brussels; Brussels regional government

Brussels and Flanders run different low emission zones with different calendars.

Antwerp and Ghent have their own Flemish LEZ, and in September 2025 the Flemish Government postponed the tightening that had been planned for 2026, leaving their existing access rules in place. So a car that is legal in Antwerp can be illegal in Brussels, and both need separate registration if foreign-plated. Anyone commuting between the two — a common Belgian pattern — has to satisfy the stricter of the two.

Source: Flemish Government; lez.brussels

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming a non-EU licence can be exchanged without checking the recognition list.
Letting the 185-day window lapse and losing the exchange route entirely.
Driving a foreign-plated car into the region without declaring it to the LEZ.
Buying a Euro 5 diesel on the strength of a headline about the ban being postponed.
Driving at 50 km/h through Brussels out of habit and collecting camera fines by post.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.