Drink driving limit in Belgium: which limit applies to you?

The question sounds simple — how much can you drink and still drive? — but the answer depends on who you are and what you are driving. The drink driving limit in Belgium consists of two legal thresholds, and the law recognises two different offences that are often confused. Below you will find which limit applies to you, what you risk since 1 September 2026 and where an alcohol case can be challenged.

The drink driving limit in Belgium: two legal thresholds

• 0.22 mg/l of exhaled alveolar air, or 0.5 per mille (g/l) in the blood. This is the general limit for every driver.
• 0.09 mg/l, or 0.2 per mille. This stricter limit applies to anyone driving a vehicle that requires a C1, C, C1+E, C+E, D1, D, D1+E or D+E licence, and to anyone carrying passengers in a vehicle subject to the same medical standards (Article 34 of the Road Traffic Act, Wegverkeerswet / loi relative à la police de la circulation routière). In practice, this means lorry and bus drivers, as well as taxis and other passenger transport.

There is no separate alcohol limit for novice drivers: they fall under the general limit of 0.5 per mille. Stricter rules do apply to their sentence, however. Anyone who has held a category B licence for less than two years and is convicted of an offence committed with a motor vehicle that can lead to a driving ban (verval van het recht tot sturen / déchéance du droit de conduire), other than, among others, a second-degree offence, must be given a driving ban and must pass at least the theory or practical test (Article 38 § 5).

What do you risk above the limit?

Since 1 September 2026, the Road Traffic Act states new base amounts, which are multiplied by 1.25 to account for the statutory surcharges (opdeciemen / décimes additionnels). A fine of €1,600 in the statute therefore costs you €2,000, not counting legal costs. A level 1 penalty under the new Criminal Code rules out imprisonment: instead of a fine, however, the court may impose community service of 20 to 120 hours, a probation sentence or a conviction by declaration of guilt. Where there are mitigating circumstances, the court may also impose only the driving ban.

Anyone who, within three years of a conviction for alcohol intoxication from 0.35 mg/l, commits such an offence again faces a level 2 penalty (Article 36): a fine of €4,000 to €50,000, and imprisonment then also becomes an option. Drunkenness and driving under the influence of drugs also count towards this repeat offence. For repeat offenders, an alcohol interlock is in principle already mandatory from 0.50 mg/l (1.2 per mille).

For offences committed before 1 September 2026, the rules in force at the time apply, unless the new rules are more favourable (Article 2 of the Criminal Code). For alcohol intoxication from 0.35 mg/l, the fine was then €1,600 to €16,000 for offences up to 31 January 2026, and €2,000 to €20,000 for offences from 1 February 2026. A full overview is available in our article on drink driving penalties.

Temporary driving ban and immediate withdrawal of your licence

Since 1 July 2026, anyone who blows above the limit is always given a temporary twelve-hour driving ban (Article 60), separate from any later sentence. In addition, the public prosecutor may have your licence withdrawn immediately (onmiddellijke intrekking / retrait immédiat) for fifteen days. By law, this is possible from 0.35 mg/l (Article 55 of the Road Traffic Act).

Under a circular issued by the Minister of Justice, public prosecutors throughout the country now apply a threshold of 0.35 mg/l (previously, as a rule, 0.50 mg/l). At the prosecutor’s request, the police court (politierechtbank / tribunal de police) may extend the withdrawal by up to three months (Article 55bis).

Alcohol intoxication is not the same as drunkenness

This is the most common misunderstanding in practice: these are two separate offences, each proven in its own way.

Alcohol intoxication (Article 34) is established by a measurement: the breath analysis or blood test produces a figure, and that figure determines the offence.

Drunkenness (Article 35), by contrast, is a condition established on the basis of outward signs — speech, gait, coordination, behaviour — for which no reading at all is required. There is therefore no per mille threshold above which you are “drunk” in the legal sense.

The distinction is not academic. In the case of drunkenness, the court must impose a driving ban of at least one month and up to five years, or permanently. For alcohol intoxication, a ban is possible for a first offence but, as a rule, not mandatory. Someone who blows barely above the limit but behaves conspicuously can therefore be punished more severely than someone with a higher reading.

What if you refuse to blow?

Anyone who intentionally refuses to take the breath test or breath analysis commits a separate offence (Article 34 § 2, 3°). The penalty is the same as for driving with at least 0.35 mg/l (0.8 per mille): a fine of €2,000 to €20,000 and a possible driving ban. Refusing is therefore no way out. If you cannot blow for medical reasons, a blood test may be required instead (Article 63 § 1 of the Road Traffic Act).

How many drinks is that?

There is no reliable rule of thumb. A standard drink, such as a glass of beer, a glass of wine or a shot of spirits, contains roughly ten grams of alcohol each time. What that means for your blood alcohol level depends on your weight, your sex, what you have eaten and the time between drinks.

Some people are already above 0.5 per mille after two drinks, others only later. If you intend to drive, do not rely on a chart or an app: the only safe choice is not to drink.

The morning after

The body breaks down alcohol slowly, on average about 0.1 to 0.15 per mille per hour. Coffee, a cold shower or a hearty breakfast do not speed that up. Anyone who drank late into the night after a party may still be over the limit the next morning. Early-morning checks therefore regularly produce cases involving drivers who thought they had “slept it off”.

The measurement: where things can go wrong

The roadside breath test is an initial screening. The evidence comes from the breath analysis with an approved device, or from a blood test. At your request, a second analysis is carried out immediately, and a third if the difference is too great (Article 59 § 3). Ask for it explicitly: it is a right, not a favour.

The police report (proces-verbaal / procès-verbal) must state the devices used, the times and the results. An analysis with a device whose calibration has not been established, or a procedure that was not followed, can undermine the value of the measurement. Checking this is the first step in every drink driving case.

Not every irregularity renders the evidence null and void: the court examines, among other things, whether the error affected the reliability of the measurement. See also your rights during a roadside police check.

Questions about your own case?

Send us your police report or summons (dagvaarding / citation). Novex Advocaten pleads before the police courts of Brussels, Halle, Vilvoorde, Leuven and Aalst, in Dutch and French. Consultations are also possible in English or Arabic. Read more about our approach on the page drink driving lawyer.

Call 0484 99 22 72 or email asfour@novexadvocaten.be.