New drivers in Belgium: stricter rules after a traffic offence

Have you held your category B driving licence for less than two years? Then the law treats you as a new driver, and a stricter rule applies if you are convicted: the police court judge must impose a driving ban (verval van het recht tot sturen / déchéance du droit de conduire) and make the return of your licence conditional on passing at least a theory or practical test. This rule is set out in Article 38 § 5 of the Road Traffic Act (Wegverkeerswet) and applies to every offence committed with a motor vehicle that can lead to a driving ban, subject to a few exceptions.

Who counts as a new driver?

The law uses a simple test: you have held a category B driving licence for less than two years. What matters is the date on which your licence for category B (car) was issued, not your age.

Since 1 September 2026, Article 38 § 5 also refers, alongside the category B licence, to the holder of “a document valid as such”. The statutory text does not specify which documents this covers. If you are still driving on a provisional licence, it is best to have your situation reviewed individually.

How exactly the two-year period should be calculated can be a point of argument in a case. We therefore always compare the date on your licence with the date of the offence and the date of the hearing.

New driver driving ban: what does Article 38 § 5 say?

For an experienced driver, a driving ban is, for most offences, only an option: the judge may impose it but is not obliged to. For a new driver, the ban becomes mandatory as soon as two conditions are met. You are convicted of an offence committed with a motor vehicle, and that offence can, under the law, lead to a driving ban.

In addition, the judge must make the restoration of your right to drive conditional on passing at least the theory test or the practical test. The judge may go further and impose additional reinstatement tests (herstelexamens), such as a medical or psychological examination. Since 1 January 2026, the judge may also impose a specific training course, in addition to or instead of the theory and practical tests.

Article 38 § 5 itself does not set a minimum duration. The judge sets the duration within the ordinary framework of Article 38 § 1, which as a rule ranges from eight days to five years. Read more about how the driving ban (verval van het recht tot sturen) works.

Two exceptions

The obligation does not apply to second-degree offences within the meaning of Article 29 § 1 of the Road Traffic Act. Nor does it apply to a conviction for harm to physical integrity in road traffic (Article 218 of the Criminal Code). If you are also convicted of another offence, for example driving under the influence, the rule may still apply through that other offence.

Which offences lead to a mandatory driving ban?

The table below compares the consequences for an ordinary driver and for a new driver in a number of common situations.

Even a first-degree offence can lead to a driving ban if you have already been convicted three times of a traffic offence in the preceding three years (Art. 38 § 1, 4°). For speeding, see our article on speeding offences and fines.

What penalty do you face on top of the driving ban?

The mandatory ban comes on top of the ordinary penalty. For offences committed on or after 1 September 2026, the new Criminal Code works with penalty levels (strafniveaus). Most traffic offences fall under penalty level 1: the judge then chooses, for example, a fine, community service of 20 to 120 hours or a probation sentence of 6 to 12 months, but not imprisonment.

• Speeding. A fine of 100 to 5,000 euros, depending on the excess.
• Alcohol between 0.22 and 0.35 mg/l. A fine of 250 to 5,000 euros.
• Alcohol from 0.35 mg/l, drugs or hit-and-run. A fine of 2,000 to 20,000 euros.
• Driving while banned. Penalty level 2 and a fine of 5,000 to 20,000 euros.

For offences committed before 1 September 2026, the old penalty system continues to apply, unless the new law is more lenient (Art. 2 of the Criminal Code). We explain this in our article on the new Criminal Code and road traffic.

Please note: until you have passed the test imposed, you will not get your licence back, even if the period of the ban has already expired. How this works in practice is explained in our article on the reinstatement test procedure.

Alcohol: no stricter limit for new drivers

A persistent misconception is that new drivers have a lower alcohol limit. That is not correct. The ordinary limit of 0.5 g/l of blood (0.22 mg/l of exhaled alveolar air) applies to you as well. The stricter limit of 0.2 g/l (0.09 mg/l) applies only to professional drivers.

The difference lies in the consequences. If you are convicted of drink-driving as a new driver, the judge must impose a driving ban and a test, even for a first offence just over the limit. Read more about the thresholds in our article on the alcohol limit in Belgium.

Article 38 § 5 does, however, require a conviction. If your case is settled by an immediate payment (onmiddellijke inning) or a settlement (minnelijke schikking), there is no judgment and therefore no mandatory ban under that provision.

Provisional licence and accompanied driving: rules per region

Since the sixth state reform, driver training and driving tests have been the responsibility of the regions. Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia therefore each have their own rules for the provisional licence. The penalties and driving bans under the Road Traffic Act remain federal and apply throughout Belgium.

• Flanders. The theory test can be taken from the age of 17. With a provisional licence with a supervisor (valid for 36 months), you drive with at least one of your maximum of two supervisors. Driving without a supervisor is only possible from the age of 18, after 20 hours of driving lessons. The practical test follows after at least 5 months of practice.
• The Flemish follow-up session (terugkommoment). Anyone who lives in Flanders and obtained their category B licence there attends a compulsory 4-hour training session 6 to 9 months after the licence is issued. Anyone who lets that period lapse receives a reminder and may subsequently face a police report.
• Brussels. The Brussels-Capital Region offers four routes, including free-track training with at least 9 months of accompanied driving and a combined route with at least 14 hours at a driving school and 6 months of accompanied driving.
• Wallonia. The Walloon Region also has its own conditions for training and the provisional licence.

What should you do?

1. Check your date. Look at your licence to see when category B was issued and compare that date with the date of the offence.
2. Read the police report carefully. Do not sign in haste and have any inaccurate or incomplete findings recorded.
3. Weigh up any payment proposal. An immediate payment or settlement avoids a judgment. Seek advice before paying or refusing, as the deadlines are short.
4. Respond immediately to a summons. Read what to do in our article on a summons (dagvaarding) to the police court and prepare your case in good time.
5. Ask for an appropriate measure. With a suspension of sentence (opschorting van de uitspraak), the judge imposes no penalty. A suspended penalty (uitstel) is also possible in some cases; see our article on suspended penalties and suspension of sentence.
6. Prepare for the test. Start preparing straight after the judgment, so that you are not left without a licence for longer than necessary after the ban.

How Novex Advocaten can help you

Our firm assists drivers before the police court (politierechtbank / tribunal de police) every day, including young drivers who are dealing with the justice system for the first time. We check whether Article 38 § 5 actually applies, whether the facts are proven and which measure is realistic. In this way, we aim to keep the length of the ban and its impact on your studies or work as limited as possible.

More information can be found on our page about the driving ban and about reinstatement tests. We plead before the police courts in Dutch or French. You can contact us in Dutch, French, English or Arabic.

We agree on our fees clearly in advance. Legal expenses insurance often covers the costs; read more in our article on legal expenses insurance.