Immediate driving licence withdrawal in Belgium: how to get your licence back

In Belgium, an immediate driving licence withdrawal (onmiddellijke intrekking / retrait immédiat) is not a penalty. It is a provisional measure, usually ordered by the public prosecutor’s office, before any judge has looked at your case. This means two things: you have not been convicted, and you can take concrete steps to get your licence back sooner.

Below you will find when an immediate withdrawal is possible, how long it lasts, how to request the return of your licence and what to do in the first few days.

When does an immediate driving licence withdrawal apply?

Article 55 of the Road Traffic Act (Wegverkeerswet / loi relative à la police de la circulation routière) lists the cases. The most important ones in practice:

• alcohol intoxication from the statutory threshold, drunkenness, and cases of drug driving;
• a driver who flees to avoid the police findings (hit-and-run, known as vluchtmisdrijf / délit de fuite);
• a traffic accident causing death or an infringement of physical integrity of the second or third degree (integriteitsaantasting / atteinte à l’intégrité), clearly due to a serious lack of foresight or caution;
• driving while disqualified from driving (verval van het recht tot sturen / déchéance du droit de conduire);
• serious speeding: more than 20 km/h over the limit in a built-up area, a 30 zone, a school zone, a shared zone or home zone, or more than 30 km/h over the limit elsewhere;
• driving a vehicle without the alcohol interlock (alcoholslot / éthylotest antidémarrage) you were ordered to use.

For alcohol, withdrawal is legally possible from 0.35 mg/l of exhaled alveolar air, which corresponds to 0.8 g/l in the blood. 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 more about the thresholds in our article on the alcohol limit for drivers.

The withdrawal is ordered by the public prosecutor (procureur des Konings / procureur du Roi). In cases of serious speeding and in the cases referred to in Articles 60(3) and 61ter(1), a judicial police officer may also order it. He or she must then inform you immediately that you can request the return of your licence (Article 55(2)).

Immediate withdrawal, temporary driving prohibition or disqualification: what is the difference?

Three measures are often confused. The temporary driving prohibition (tijdelijk rijverbod / interdiction temporaire de conduire) is imposed by the police on the spot, for example after a positive breath or saliva test; since 1 July 2026 it always lasts twelve hours. The immediate withdrawal is a provisional measure of fifteen days, which the police court (politierechtbank / tribunal de police) can extend.

Disqualification from driving, often loosely called a “driving ban”, is something else: it is a penalty that only a judge can impose. How disqualification works and how you get your licence back afterwards is explained in our article on disqualification from driving.

How long does the withdrawal last?

Fifteen days. After that, the public prosecutor’s office must return the licence, unless the police court has extended the withdrawal (Article 56).

The prosecutor applies to the police court for that extension, which may not exceed three months; the prosecutor may then apply for a renewal of the extension for up to three more months (Article 55bis, § 5). You are summoned to appear (dagvaarding / citation), with at least seven days between the summons and the hearing, and the court rules in a public hearing within fifteen days of the withdrawal decision (Article 55bis).

That hearing is your first real opportunity to be heard – and it is often left unused. If you appear with a certificate from your employer, a medical file or a concrete travel schedule, you increase the chance that the extension will be refused or limited.

How do you request the return of your licence?

No heavy formalities apply. The public prosecutor’s office can return the licence of its own motion or at the request of the holder (Article 56).

The request is a reasoned letter to the public prosecutor, stating the case reference number (notitienummer / numéro de notice), why you need your licence and the documents that prove it. In urgent cases – a professional activity grinding to a halt, a medical necessity – such a request has a real chance of success, especially if you have a clean record.

If the case is meanwhile brought before the police court, the debate shifts to that hearing. Even then, it is worth expressly asking for the return of your licence: nothing prevents the court from refusing the extension.

Is the withdrawal deducted from a later disqualification?

Yes. If you later receive a temporary disqualification from driving, the time during which your licence was withdrawn is credited against the length of that disqualification (Article 57). Those days are therefore not lost. Do check that the credit is applied correctly: in practice, this does not always happen automatically.

Driving during the withdrawal: a separate offence

Anyone who still drives a motor vehicle during the immediate withdrawal commits a separate and serious offence (Article 30(3) of the Road Traffic Act). The same applies if the police court has extended the withdrawal.

For offences committed on or after 1 September 2026, this is a level 2 offence under the new Criminal Code (strafniveau / niveau de peine). The judge then chooses, among other options, between imprisonment of six months to three years, electronic monitoring, community service (werkstraf / peine de travail) or a probation sentence. You also risk a fine of 2,000 to 20,000 euros (surcharges known as opdeciemen / décimes additionnels included), and the judge must impose a disqualification from driving of three months to five years or for life.

For offences committed before 1 September 2026, the rules in force at that time continue to apply, unless the new rules are more favourable (Article 2 of the Criminal Code). What the reform changes in practice is explained in our article on the new Criminal Code and traffic offences.

However understandable the practical need may be, driving during the withdrawal is the quickest way to turn a manageable file into a serious case. See also our article on driving without a licence or while disqualified.

The first few days: what to do

1. Keep the document you received when your licence was withdrawn. It states the date, the time and who ordered the withdrawal.
2. Stop driving, even “just” to get to work. Driving during the withdrawal is a separate and serious offence.
3. Gather the documents showing why you need your licence: a certificate from your employer, a schedule with early or late shifts, the distance to work, caring for children or a family member, medical appointments.
4. Contact a lawyer within the week. The request for return and the preparation of any hearing on the extension must be handled quickly.

What should a request for return contain?

A good request to the public prosecutor is short and concrete:

• your identity, the case reference number and the date of the withdrawal;
• a brief, accurate account of the facts, without already arguing the merits of the case;
• the concrete reason why you need your licence, supported by documents;
• your personal situation: a clean criminal record, long driving experience without incidents;
• where relevant to your case, your willingness to follow a training course or treatment.

A request that merely says you “need your car” has little chance. A request showing that you will lose your job without a licence does.

Frequently asked questions

Can I still ride a bicycle?

Yes. An ordinary bicycle requires no licence. A speed pedelec or a moped, however, as a rule does require a licence: you may not ride one during the withdrawal.

Will the withdrawal appear on my criminal record?

No. It is a provisional measure, not a conviction. What appears on your criminal record depends on the judge’s later decision.

Will my employer be informed?

Not by the public prosecutor’s office. However, you will have to inform your employer yourself if you drive for work. A certificate from your employer may then actually be an argument for a faster return of your licence.

Do I need a lawyer to request the return of my licence?

No, you can submit the request yourself. A lawyer does know which documents make the difference and can prepare the hearing on a possible extension at the same time. If your case later comes before the police court, your lawyer already knows the file.

What if the police court extends the withdrawal?

The withdrawal is then extended by no more than three months, and that period too is later credited against any disqualification (Article 57). The debate on the sentence – suspension of the pronouncement (opschorting / suspension du prononcé), a suspended sentence, a weekend-only disqualification or a restriction to certain vehicle categories – only takes place at the hearing on the merits. Read more about how to limit a driving ban and about suspension, suspended sentences and community service.

Sources

• Road Traffic Act (Law on the road traffic police), coordinated on 16 March 1968 (Justel)
• Law of 29 February 2024 introducing Book I of the Criminal Code (Justel)

Novex Advocaten can help

Has your driving licence been withdrawn with immediate effect? Contact us the same week. Time limits are short, and the hearing on the extension often takes place within fifteen days.

Learn more about our approach on our page driving ban lawyer in Brussels.

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