Refusing a breath test, breath analysis or blood test in Belgium: what are the risks?

Refusing a breath test may look like a way out, but in Belgium the refusal is punished as severely as a breath analysis of at least 0.35 mg/l. For offences committed from 1 September 2026, you risk a level 1 penalty with an actual fine of EUR 2,000 to 20,000, a 12-hour driving ban, a possible immediate withdrawal of your driving licence and a possible disqualification from driving. Below we explain what you risk and how you can defend yourself.

Breath test, breath analysis and blood test: what is the difference?

The Belgian Road Traffic Act (Wegverkeerswet, WVW) provides for three steps to establish alcohol in a driver.

• Breath test (ademtest). A quick screening with a handheld device. The result is an indication, not evidence. If the breath test shows at least 0.22 mg/l of exhaled alveolar air, a breath analysis follows (art. 60 § 1 WVW).
• Breath analysis (ademanalyse). The measurement with an approved device, which does serve as evidence. The police may also impose a breath analysis straight away, without a prior breath test (art. 59 § 2 WVW). At your request, a second analysis is carried out immediately and, if the difference is too large, a third; the lowest result counts (art. 59 § 3 WVW).
• Blood test (bloedproef). A blood sample taken by a doctor called in for that purpose, in particular when a breath analysis cannot be carried out (art. 63 § 1 WVW). If the breath analysis measures at least 0.35 mg/l, you may yourself request a blood test as a counter-test (art. 63 § 3 WVW).

Drugs are subject to a separate regime: see our article on a positive saliva test.

When may the police require a breath test?

Article 59 § 1 WVW sets out to whom the police may administer a breath test. There are three groups:

• After an accident. The presumed perpetrator of a road traffic accident and anyone who may have caused it, even if that person is also a victim.
• While driving. Anyone driving a vehicle in a public place or accompanying a learner driver for training purposes.
• Just before driving. Anyone about to set off or to accompany a learner driver.

No specific suspicion of drinking is required: the police may also carry out preventive and random checks.

What do you risk if you refuse?

Article 34 § 2, 3° WVW penalises anyone who intentionally refuses to undergo the breath test or the breath analysis. Anyone who, without a legitimate reason, intentionally refuses a blood test in the cases referred to in article 63 § 1, 1° and 2° WVW also falls under this provision. The law places that refusal on the same level as a breath analysis of at least 0.35 mg/l.

For offences committed from 1 September 2026, this is a level 1 penalty (strafniveau). The Act states a fine of EUR 1,600 to 16,000; with the surcharge multiplier (opdeciemen, × 1.25), you actually pay EUR 2,000 to 20,000. A level 1 penalty no longer includes imprisonment. Instead, the court may impose, among other things, community service of 20 to 120 hours or a probation sentence of 6 to 12 months.

In addition, the police court judge may impose a disqualification from driving (verval van het recht tot sturen) of at least 8 days up to 5 years (art. 38 § 1 WVW) and make reinstatement conditional on reinstatement exams. An alcohol interlock (alcoholslot) is also among the options (art. 37/1 WVW).

If you reoffend within three years of an earlier conviction, the court must in principle also impose a disqualification of at least 3 months and make reinstatement conditional on the four reinstatement exams (art. 38 § 6 WVW). For offences committed before 1 September 2026, the old penalty regime still applies, but the court always applies the most lenient criminal law (art. 2 of the Criminal Code). Find out more in our article on the new Criminal Code and road traffic.

Temporary driving ban and immediate withdrawal

If you refuse, a 12-hour driving ban (rijverbod) applies immediately, counted from the moment of the finding (art. 60 § 3, 3° WVW). This duration has applied since 1 July 2026, following the Act of 25 May 2026. Before you may drive again, the police will impose a new breath test or breath analysis. If you refuse again or the result is at least 0.22 mg/l, the ban is extended by 12 hours (art. 60 § 5 WVW).

During the driving ban you must hand over your licence on request. If that is not possible, your vehicle may be held at your own cost and risk (art. 61 WVW). Anyone who drives during the ban or fails to hand over the licence commits a separate offence carrying the same penalty as the refusal (art. 34 § 2, 2° and 4° WVW).

Your licence may also be withdrawn immediately (art. 55 WVW). In the case of a refusal, that withdrawal may be ordered not only by the public prosecutor (procureur des Konings), but also by a judicial police officer. The withdrawal lasts 15 days, unless the police court (politierechtbank) extends it at the prosecutor’s request, each time by no more than 3 months (art. 55bis WVW). Read more about the immediate withdrawal of a driving licence.

What if you cannot blow for medical reasons?

Not everyone is able to blow hard enough, for instance because of a serious respiratory condition or injuries after an accident. Someone who genuinely cannot do so is not refusing. The law then provides an alternative: if the breath analysis cannot be carried out, the police will have a blood sample taken by a doctor called in for that purpose (art. 63 § 1 WVW).

If the breath test and breath analysis cannot take place for a reason other than refusal and you show clear signs of alcohol consumption, a 12-hour driving ban still applies (art. 60 § 4 WVW). Refusing a blood test without a legitimate reason remains a criminal offence (art. 34 § 2, 3° WVW).

So report a medical problem to the police immediately and clearly, ask for it to be recorded in the official report (proces-verbaal) and have it confirmed afterwards by a doctor. Anyone who deliberately blows too weakly or sabotages the measurement runs the risk that the police will record it as a refusal.

How can you defend yourself?

Every police report deserves a thorough review. Among other things, we examine:

• Was there really a refusal? Since 1 September 2026 the law expressly refers to an intentional refusal. A misunderstanding, for example due to a language barrier, or a medical inability may provide a defence.
• Scope. Were you driving in a public place or about to drive? Did you fall within one of the groups in article 59 § 1 WVW?
• Procedure. Was your request for a second analysis granted? Was the device approved (art. 59 § 4 WVW)? Was a blood test arranged in the event of a medical problem?
• Limitation period. Prosecution for offences under the Road Traffic Act is in principle time-barred after three years (art. 68 WVW).
• Sentencing. Even if the facts are established, a suspended pronouncement of sentence (art. 64 of the Criminal Code), a suspended sentence (art. 65 of the Criminal Code), including for the disqualification, or community service may be possible. Read more about suspended sentences and suspended pronouncements.

Since 1 January 2026, the court may also impose a specific training course as a condition for reinstatement of the right to drive (art. 38 § 3, 5° WVW).

What should you do?

1. Stay calm and cooperate. Refusing a breath test rarely brings any advantage: the penalty is the same as for 0.35 mg/l or more.
2. Ask for a second analysis. After a breath analysis you are entitled to a second measurement and, from 0.35 mg/l, to a blood test as a counter-test.
3. Report medical problems. Mention breathing difficulties or injuries immediately and ask for a blood test to be taken.
4. Read the police report. Do not sign anything you do not understand and have your comments recorded.
5. Keep all documents. Bring all papers from the police and the public prosecutor to your lawyer.
6. Contact us quickly. Especially in the case of an immediate withdrawal, every day counts. If you have already received a summons, also read what to do after a summons to the police court.

How Novex Advocaten can help

Our firm assists drivers in alcohol and breath-test refusal cases before the police courts of, among others, Brussels, Halle, Vilvoorde, Leuven and Aalst. We analyse the police report, request the return of your licence where possible and defend you at the hearing. More information is available on our page drink-driving lawyer and on our page road traffic lawyer.

You can contact us in Dutch, French, English or Arabic; before the police court, proceedings are conducted in Dutch or French. We agree on clear fee arrangements in advance, and your legal expenses insurance often covers the costs.