Drink driving lawyer in Brussels: what you risk and how we defend you

A positive breath test can lead to an immediate fixed penalty, an out-of-court settlement or a summons to appear before the police court (politierechtbank / tribunal de police). Since 1 September 2026, penalties have also been expressed as penalty levels under the new Criminal Code. As a drink driving lawyer in Brussels, Novex Advocaten defends you before the police courts of Brussels, Halle, Vilvoorde, Leuven and Aalst, from the immediate withdrawal of your driving licence through to the judgment and the reinstatement tests. Drink driving cases are a core part of our practice as a traffic law lawyer in Brussels.

Alcohol limits in Belgium

The legal limit is 0.22 mg/l of exhaled alveolar air (0.5 g/l of blood) for ordinary drivers and 0.09 mg/l (0.2 g/l) for professional drivers. This stricter limit does not apply to novice drivers: they fall under the ordinary limit, but face a stricter regime when it comes to reinstatement tests. Find out more in our article on the drink driving limit in Belgium.

Between 0.22 and 0.35 mg/l, driving is an offence under Article 34 § 1 of the Road Traffic Act (Wegverkeerswet / loi relative à la police de la circulation routière). From 0.35 mg/l (0.8 g/l), the law speaks of alcohol intoxication (alcoholintoxicatie / intoxication alcoolique), which carries heavier penalties (Article 34 § 2). Drunkenness (dronkenschap / ivresse) is a separate offence (Article 35) that is established from observations of your behaviour and condition, not from a reading.

Drink driving penalties since 1 September 2026

Under the new Criminal Code, the penalties of the Road Traffic Act have been converted into penalty levels (Article 36 of the Criminal Code). A level 1 penalty is never imprisonment: the court chooses between a fine, community service (20 to 120 hours), a probation sentence (6 to 12 months), confiscation or a conviction by declaration of guilt. Level 2 does allow imprisonment (6 months to 3 years), alongside, among others, an electronic monitoring sentence (1 month to 1 year), community service of more than 120 up to 300 hours or a probation sentence of more than 12 up to 24 months. Where there are mitigating circumstances, the court may impose a level 1 penalty for a level 2 offence.

The fines in the table are the actual amounts, including surcharges (opdeciemen / décimes additionnels). For more on the reform, read our article on the new Criminal Code and traffic offences.

On top of this comes the alcohol interlock (alcoholslot / éthylotest antidémarrage): in principle mandatory from 1.8 g/l (0.78 mg/l) and, for reoffenders, from as low as 1.2 g/l (0.50 mg/l). The programme costs 3,600 to 4,000 euros. Driving without the interlock that was ordered is a level 2 offence (5,000 to 20,000 euros). Read more in our article on the alcohol interlock in Belgium.

For offences committed before 1 September 2026, the old penalties apply. For alcohol intoxication from 0.35 mg/l and for drunkenness, this was a fine of 200 to 2,000 euros, increased by the surcharges: × 8 for offences up to 31 January 2026 (1,600 to 16,000 euros) and × 10 for offences from 1 February 2026 (2,000 to 20,000 euros), together with a discretionary or mandatory driving ban. For reoffending within three years, the old law also provided for imprisonment of one month to two years. Where the law changed between the offence and the judgment, the court applies the most lenient criminal law (Article 2 of the Criminal Code); we check this calculation in every case.

How does the procedure work?

1. Roadside check and temporary driving prohibition. After a positive test, the police impose a temporary driving prohibition (tijdelijk rijverbod / interdiction temporaire de conduire); since 1 July 2026 it always lasts 12 hours.
2. Immediate withdrawal of the driving licence. From 0.35 mg/l, the public prosecutor’s office can have your licence withdrawn immediately for 15 days (Article 55 of the Road Traffic Act); the police court can extend this period by no more than three months (Article 55bis). 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). Read our article on the immediate withdrawal of a driving licence.
3. Immediate fixed penalty or out-of-court settlement. Between 0.22 and 0.35 mg/l (0.5 to 0.8 g/l), the police can offer an immediate fixed penalty (onmiddellijke inning / perception immédiate) of 197 euros; from 0.35 mg/l (0.8 g/l) it amounts to 462 euros and from 0.44 mg/l to 636 euros (amounts since 1 July 2026, in each case plus an administrative surcharge of 10.67 euros). From 0.50 mg/l the Royal Decree of 19 April 2014 no longer provides for an immediate fixed penalty. If you do not pay, an out-of-court settlement (minnelijke schikking / transaction) may follow, then a payment order from the Crown Prosecutor, increased by 35 per cent, which you can challenge before the police court within 30 days. See also out-of-court settlements in traffic cases: pay or contest?
4. Summons. For higher readings, drunkenness or reoffending, the prosecutor summonses you (dagvaarding / citation) to appear before the police court. Your lawyer can appear on your behalf: in most cases you do not need to attend in person, unless the court orders you to appear personally. See also received a summons to the police court: what now? and appearing in person before the police court.

How we defend you as a drink driving lawyer

We request the criminal case file from the court registry and check the measurement: the device, the second measurement at your request, the blood test and the notification of your rights. An irregularity does not automatically lead to an acquittal, but it can undermine the evidential value of the measurement.

On sentencing, we argue for the lowest possible penalty: a fine that takes your means into account and can fall below the minimum if your financial situation is precarious (Article 52 § 2 of the Criminal Code), community service (to which you can also consent through your lawyer), suspension of the pronouncement of sentence (opschorting / suspension du prononcé) or a suspended sentence (uitstel / sursis). Where there are mitigating circumstances, the court may even impose only the driving ban for a level 1 offence. That ban should be as short as possible, may be suspended (Article 65 of the Criminal Code; at least eight days must, however, actually be served, Article 41 of the Road Traffic Act) and is, where possible, limited to weekends and public holidays (Article 38 § 2bis of the Road Traffic Act; not possible where reinstatement tests, a training course or an alcohol interlock are imposed).

We oppose non-mandatory reinstatement tests and the alcohol interlock where the law allows. Where useful, we ask for a specific training course as a condition for reinstatement, which since 1 January 2026 can supplement or replace the tests. See also suspension and suspended sentences in traffic law and drink driving: penalties, driving ban and alcohol interlock.

In practice

The summons usually arrives a few weeks before the hearing. At the hearing, the police court judge deals with dozens of cases; your lawyer pleads your case in Dutch or French depending on the court, and judgment is usually delivered at a later date. If you would like your case to be dealt with in another language, read about changing the language of proceedings before the police court.

An appeal against the judgment can be lodged within thirty days of its pronouncement, or an objection (verzet / opposition) within fifteen days of service of a default judgment. See also objection and appeal against a police court judgment.

Which police courts do we appear before?

Novex Advocaten pleads before the Brussels police court (Dutch-speaking and French-speaking), the Halle police court, the Vilvoorde police court, the Leuven police court and the Aalst police court (East Flanders police court, Aalst division).

Contact

Summonsed, licence withdrawn or received an out-of-court settlement offer? Call 0484 99 22 72, email asfour@novexadvocaten.be or use the contact form. You may also want to read beforehand what a traffic law lawyer costs.