Living abroad and summoned to court in Belgium: what now?

You live in the Netherlands, France, Morocco or elsewhere, and you receive a letter from a Belgian public prosecutor’s office, or you are summoned to court in Belgium before a Belgian police court (politierechtbank / tribunal de police). Ignoring it is tempting: the court is far away and the case seems minor. Yet that is almost always the most expensive choice. This article explains what happens when you live abroad and are prosecuted in Belgium, and how to deal with the case without having to travel to Belgium each time.

Why can you be summoned to court in Belgium?

Belgian courts have jurisdiction over traffic offences committed in Belgium, both minor and serious, whatever your nationality or place of residence. Where an offence is recorded without the driver being stopped, for example by a speed camera or a red-light camera, the registered keeper of the vehicle is traced, even abroad. Within the European Union, Member States exchange vehicle registration data for this purpose for the main road traffic offences, such as speeding, running a red light and driving under the influence (European Directive 2015/413). A foreign number plate therefore does not protect you.

At the roadside: on-the-spot payment or deposit

Anyone who has no domicile or fixed residence in Belgium and is stopped for an offence will, for many offences, be offered an on-the-spot payment (immediate collection, onmiddellijke inning / perception immédiate). If you do not pay immediately, or if the offence does not qualify for an on-the-spot payment, you must deposit a sum (consignatie / consignation): a kind of security that serves as a guarantee for the later fine. If you neither pay nor deposit the sum, your vehicle may be held until the sum has been paid.

The detailed rules are set out in the Road Traffic Act (Wegverkeerswet / loi relative à la police de la circulation routière) and in the Royal Decree of 19 April 2014 on the collection and deposit of a sum. The system exists because it is harder for the Belgian authorities to collect a fine abroad.

Summoned to court in Belgium: how does the summons reach you?

If you are summoned, the public prosecution service has the summons (dagvaarding / citation) served by a bailiff (gerechtsdeurwaarder / huissier de justice). If you live abroad, service follows the rules for service abroad, for example by registered post or through the channels provided for in international conventions (Article 40 of the Judicial Code). If your address is not known, service may be made on the public prosecutor (procureur des Konings / procureur du Roi); you may then only find out much later that a case was pending.

The summons states the facts, the court, and the date and time of the hearing. Check that date immediately: the time between service and the hearing is often shorter than you think, especially when the post is slow. If there is too little time to prepare your defence, your lawyer can ask the court for an adjournment. Read also what to do when you receive a summons to the police court.

Do you have to come to Belgium?

Usually not: you may be represented by a lawyer, both before the police court and before the criminal court (correctionele rechtbank / tribunal correctionnel), under Article 185 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Wetboek van strafvordering / Code d’instruction criminelle). Your lawyer can plead the case, request a suspension of the pronouncement of sentence or a suspended sentence, consent to a community service sentence if you so wish, and inform you of the decision. Only if the court orders you to appear in person do you have to attend yourself. Read more about appearing in person before the police court.

If you do not speak the language of the court, you can in some cases request a change of language, and you are in any event entitled to an interpreter.

What if you do nothing?

The court may then convict you by default, solely on the basis of the prosecution file. In practice, the penalty is then often heavier and a driving ban (verval van het recht tot sturen / déchéance du droit de conduire) is imposed more often, because nobody explains your personal circumstances.

You can lodge an objection (verzet / opposition) against a judgment by default, as a rule within fifteen days of service of the judgment (Article 187 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). An appeal can be lodged within thirty days of the judgment being delivered; for a judgment by default, that period runs from service (Article 203). Once those deadlines have passed, very few options remain. Read more about objection and appeal.

What happens to the fine?

A Belgian fine follows you to your country of residence. Within the European Union, Member States recognise each other’s final financial penalties and can have them enforced in the country of residence (Framework Decision 2005/214/JHA). If you return to Belgium later, you may also be confronted with an unpaid fine or an unserved sentence. Even a conviction by default may be entered in the Belgian criminal record.

Was there an accident?

In that case, the criminal case is accompanied by a civil claim: the damage suffered by the other parties involved. For an accident in Belgium involving a vehicle registered abroad, claims are handled through the Green Card system. The Belgian Motor Insurers’ Bureau (Bureau belge des assureurs automobiles) then handles the claim on behalf of the foreign insurer, often through a correspondent in Belgium. The police court can also deal with this civil claim, and there too you may be represented.

And your driving licence?

A driving ban imposed by a Belgian court applies to driving a motor vehicle in Belgium, even with a foreign driving licence. The ban only takes effect once the judgment is final and you have been notified by the public prosecution service (Article 40 of the Road Traffic Act). If the court has made the restoration of your right to drive conditional on reinstatement exams (herstelexamens / examens de réintégration), you may only drive in Belgium again after passing them. Whether your country of residence also applies the Belgian ban depends on the law of that country.

Driving in Belgium while the ban is in force is a serious 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 then impose, among other penalties, imprisonment of six months to three years or a community service sentence; the fine provided for by the Road Traffic Act ranges from 5,000 to 20,000 euros (actual amount, including the statutory surcharges). A repeat offence may lead to a level 3 penalty.

For offences committed before 1 September 2026, the former penalties of the Road Traffic Act still apply, unless the new rules are more lenient (Article 2 of the Criminal Code). Read more about the new Criminal Code and road traffic.

In practice: how to handle it

1. Read the letter or the summons immediately and note the hearing date or the payment deadline.
2. If it concerns an on-the-spot payment or a settlement and you do not dispute the facts, pay on time. Read more about the settlement (minnelijke schikking / transaction).
3. If it concerns a summons, contact a Belgian lawyer immediately and send them the summons, your identity details and the documents relating to your situation.
4. Keep your address up to date with the Belgian authorities you are in contact with, so that later letters reach you.

Frequently asked questions

I live outside the European Union. Can Belgium still reach me?

Enforcement abroad is then more difficult, but the conviction remains. At a later check or on your return to Belgium, it may still catch up with you, for example when the police find that a fine or sentence is still outstanding.

I was not the driver. Do I have to pay?

If the vehicle is registered in your name and the driver was not identified on the spot, you are presumed to have committed the offence (Article 67bis of the Road Traffic Act). You can rebut that presumption by any means. So reply within the deadline stated in the letter and, if in doubt, seek advice first.

The car is registered to my employer. What now?

The company then receives the letter and must identify the driver (Article 67ter of the Road Traffic Act), within the deadline stated in the letter. If it fails to do so, or does so incorrectly, the company itself or the person representing it risks prosecution. So work with your employer on a correct and timely reply.

I received a payment order. What now?

The public prosecutor issues a payment order (bevel tot betalen / ordre de paiement) when you have left both an on-the-spot payment and the subsequent settlement unpaid. The amount is then increased by 35%. You must pay within thirty days of receiving the order or, within the same period, lodge an appeal with the police court (Article 65/1 of the Road Traffic Act). If you do nothing, the amount may be enforced.

Novex Advocaten can help

We assist clients living abroad before the police courts of Brussels, Halle, Vilvoorde, Leuven and Aalst, and we communicate with you in Dutch, French, English or Arabic. In most cases you do not need to come to Belgium: we handle the case remotely and keep you informed. Read also what a lawyer before the police court costs.

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