A judgment of the police court (politierechtbank / tribunal de police) is not always the end of the road. If you disagree with the decision, you can file an opposition or appeal a police court judgment. Each remedy has its own conditions and time limits, but they share one feature: if you act too late, you lose the right for good.
Opposition or appeal: the differences at a glance
| Feature | Opposition | Appeal |
|---|---|---|
| When? | Default judgment: you were neither present nor represented | Defended judgment and, as a rule, also a default judgment |
| Time limit | Fifteen days after service | Thirty days after the judgment is delivered, or after service for a default judgment |
| Who decides? | The same police court | The criminal court |
| Form | Bailiff’s writ | Declaration at the court registry and grounds of appeal form |
| Heavier sentence possible? | In principle not on your own opposition | Only if the public prosecutor also appeals |
Opposition: you were not at the hearing
If you were convicted by default because you were neither present nor represented, you can file an opposition (verzet / opposition). The case is then heard again by the same police court, this time with your defence.
- Time limit: as a rule, fifteen days after service of the judgment (Article 187 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Wetboek van strafvordering / Code d’instruction criminelle). Service is carried out by a bailiff (gerechtsdeurwaarder / huissier de justice): the date on that writ is decisive, not the date on which you read it.
- Service not made to you in person: if the judgment was not served on you personally, you may still file an opposition as regards the penalties within fifteen days after you became aware of the service (Article 187, § 1). Have this checked immediately.
- Form: as a rule, by a bailiff’s writ addressed to the public prosecutor and, where there is one, to the civil party. Your lawyer takes care of this.
- Effect: enforcement of the judgment, including the driving ban (verval van het recht tot sturen / déchéance du droit de conduire), is suspended while the opposition is pending.
- Caution: if you again fail to appear at the opposition hearing, in person or through your lawyer, the opposition is deemed not to have been made and the first judgment stands. A second opposition is then not possible; whether an appeal is still open must be checked without delay.
An opposition is not unconditional either. If you knew you had been summoned and cannot rely on force majeure or a legitimate excuse for your absence, the opposition is deemed not to have been made (Article 187, § 6, 1°). A sound explanation of your absence, backed by documents, is therefore important.
An opposition is also limited to what you yourself challenge, and the court cannot in principle increase the sentence on your own opposition. That is an important difference from an appeal. See also when you must appear in person before the police court.
How to appeal a police court judgment
Were you present or represented, but do you disagree with the judgment? A defended judgment (vonnis op tegenspraak / jugement contradictoire) can be appealed (hoger beroep / appel). The appeal is heard by the criminal court (correctionele rechtbank / tribunal correctionnel), which reviews the case afresh, but only within the limits of what is challenged.
- Time limit: thirty days after the judgment is delivered (Article 203 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). For a default judgment, the period runs from service.
- Form: a declaration of appeal at the registry of the police court that delivered the judgment. Your lawyer can make this declaration for you.
- Grounds of appeal form: within the same period, you must state precisely which points you are challenging, such as guilt, the sentence or the civil claims (Article 204). If this form (grievenformulier / formulaire de griefs) is missing, or if the grounds are not stated precisely enough, you risk your appeal being declared forfeited. In practice, this is the main pitfall.
- Effect: enforcement of the judgment is suspended while the appeal period is running and while the appeal is pending.
The risk you need to know about
The public prosecutor can also appeal. If you have lodged an appeal, the prosecutor has an additional period of ten days from the expiry of your appeal period in which to do so (Article 203, § 2).
If you alone appeal, the sentence cannot be increased. If the prosecution also appeals, the sentence is open again within the limits of its grounds of appeal, in both directions. This decision should therefore be weighed not on gut feeling, but on the basis of the case file and exactly what the first judge decided.
What happens to your driving licence in the meantime
A driving ban imposed as a penalty only takes effect on the fifth day after notification by the public prosecutor, not counting Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays (Article 40 of the Road Traffic Act, Wegverkeerswet / loi relative à la police de la circulation routière). Where the judgment was given by default, that notification states which remedies are still available, the time limits and the formalities to be observed. As long as a remedy is open or pending, you may in principle continue to drive. Always have this expressly checked in your case. For more information, read our article on the driving ban.
Driving while the ban is actually running is a separate offence (Article 48 of the Road Traffic Act). For offences committed on or after 1 September 2026, it is an offence carrying a level 2 penalty under the new Criminal Code: the court may impose, among other things, a prison sentence of six months to three years or community service (werkstraf / peine de travail), and the Road Traffic Act provides for a fine of 5,000 to 20,000 euros (actual amount, including the statutory surcharge known as opdeciemen / décimes additionnels). The court must also impose a new driving ban of at least three months and up to five years, or permanently, and a repeat offence within three years can lead to a level 3 penalty.
For offences committed before 1 September 2026, the penalty that applied at that time remains applicable, unless the new rules are more favourable (Article 2 of the Criminal Code). Read also what the new Criminal Code changes for traffic offences, and what you risk for driving without a licence or during a driving ban.
What a new hearing can achieve
A second hearing is not a repeat of the first. The file may in the meantime have been supplemented with exactly the documents that were missing: an employer’s certificate, proof of a completed training course, a settlement with the injured party, a medical certificate or a recent extract from the criminal record.
In many cases, that, more than any legal argument, makes the difference between a driving ban to be served and a suspended driving ban. A suspension of sentence (opschorting van de uitspraak / suspension du prononcé) or community service may then also come into consideration. Read more about suspension, suspended sentences and community service before the police court.
Frequently asked questions
How much time do I have to file an opposition or an appeal?
For an opposition, you have as a rule fifteen days after service of the default judgment. For an appeal, you have thirty days after the judgment is delivered, or after service in the case of a default judgment. The grounds of appeal form must be filed within the same thirty days.
Can my sentence be increased on appeal?
Only if the public prosecutor also appeals. On your appeal alone, the court cannot increase the sentence.
Can I take the case further after the appeal?
Only by lodging an appeal in cassation with the Court of Cassation. That court rules only on points of law and does not re-examine the facts. The time limits are short and the formal requirements strict.
Sources
- Code of Criminal Procedure: Article 187 (opposition) and Articles 203 and 204 (appeal and grounds of appeal form).
- Road Traffic Act (coordinated laws of 16 March 1968), consolidated text on Justel, Articles 40 and 48
- Criminal Code, Book I (Act of 29 February 2024), Articles 2 and 36
- Belgian courts and tribunals: the police courts
Novex Advocaten can help you
Have you received a judgment or been served by a bailiff? Do not let the time limit run out: fifteen or thirty days pass quickly, and after that the judgment is final. Send us the document showing the date of service, and you will know the same day what options you have.
Mr Mohamed Asfour, lawyer, assists you before the police court and, on appeal, before the criminal court. Find out more about our approach on the page traffic lawyer in Brussels.
Call 0484 99 22 72 or email asfour@novexadvocaten.be.
More about our approach: traffic lawyer in Brussels.