Driving without a licence or while banned in Belgium: penalties and defence

In Belgium, “driving without a licence” covers four different situations in practice, with very different penalties: never having obtained a licence, driving outside the category or conditions of your licence, driving after the public prosecutor (parket / parquet) has had your licence withdrawn with immediate effect, and driving despite a driving ban imposed by the court. The last of these is punished most severely. Below you will find the penalties for offences committed from 1 September 2026, which court has jurisdiction and which defences are available.

1. Driving without a licence or outside your category

Anyone who drives a motor vehicle without holding the required driving licence faces a level 2 penalty (strafniveau / niveau de peine) under the new Criminal Code — including a prison sentence of six months to three years or community service (werkstraf / peine de travail) of more than 120 up to 300 hours — together with a fine of €2,000 to €20,000 (Article 30 § 1 of the Road Traffic Act, Wegverkeerswet / loi relative à la police de la circulation routière). Where there are mitigating circumstances, the court may fall back on a level 1 penalty, which does not include imprisonment. The same penalty applies to anyone who fails to comply with the conditions or restrictions on their licence, such as the codes requiring glasses or an adapted vehicle.

The amounts in this article are the actual amounts payable, to which court costs are added. Since 1 September 2026, the Road Traffic Act has stated new base amounts (here €1,600 to €16,000), which are multiplied by 1.25 through the statutory surcharge (opdeciemen / décimes additionnels). This matches what already applied to offences committed between 1 February and 31 August 2026; for offences committed before 1 February 2026, the multiplier was 8. For offences committed before 1 September 2026, the former penal provision continues to apply unless the new rules are more favourable (Article 2 of the Criminal Code); see our article on the new Criminal Code and road traffic.

A driving ban (verval van het recht tot sturen / déchéance du droit de conduire) is possible here, but not mandatory (Article 38 § 1, 5° of the Road Traffic Act). For a repeat offence within three years of a previous final conviction under Article 30 § 1 or § 3, the fine is doubled (Article 30 § 4).

2. Driving during an immediate licence withdrawal

If the public prosecutor has had your licence withdrawn with immediate effect (onmiddellijke intrekking / retrait immédiat) — for example after drink driving, a hit-and-run (vluchtmisdrijf / délit de fuite) or a serious speeding offence — and you drive anyway, that is a separate offence. You face a level 2 penalty — including a prison sentence of six months to three years —, a fine of €2,000 to €20,000 and a mandatory driving ban of three months to five years or for life (Article 30 § 3). The same applies where the police court (politierechtbank / tribunal de police) has extended the withdrawal (Article 55bis). To find out how to get a withdrawn licence back, read our article on immediate licence withdrawal.

This should not be confused with the temporary driving prohibition (tijdelijk rijverbod / interdiction temporaire de conduire) that the police impose on the spot, for example after a positive breath test (Article 60), which since 1 July 2026 always lasts 12 hours. Anyone who drives during that prohibition faces a level 1 penalty with a fine of €2,000 to €20,000 (Article 34 § 2).

3. Driving despite a court-imposed driving ban

Anyone who drives while a driving ban imposed by the court is in force faces a level 2 penalty — including a prison sentence of six months to three years —, a fine of €5,000 to €20,000 and a further, mandatory driving ban of three months to five years or permanently (Article 48). For a repeat offence within three years, a level 3 penalty may follow: a prison sentence of more than three up to five years, with a fine of €10,000 to €40,000. In practice, this is the type of case in which an actual prison sentence comes closest: the court does not see it as a traffic mistake, but as disregard for its own judgment.

Anyone who knowingly lets a person who has been banned from driving use their car is also committing an offence: a level 1 penalty with a fine of €1,000 to €10,000 (Article 49). Failing to hand in your licence after being sentenced to a driving ban is likewise a separate offence: a level 1 penalty with a fine of €2,000 to €20,000 (Article 49/1). To understand what a driving ban involves and how to get your licence back, read our article on the driving ban.

4. Which court?

These offences are set out in the Road Traffic Act and are heard by the police court, not by the criminal court (correctionele rechtbank / tribunal correctionnel) — even though the law provides for prison sentences. Only where the case is connected with offences outside the police court’s jurisdiction is it moved to another court (Article 138 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). For how a case proceeds, see our explanation of how the police court works.

Driving without a licence and your insurance

Driving without a valid licence also affects your position under civil law. If you cause an accident, the insurer compensates the injured party, but it may then exercise its right of recovery against the driver who did not meet the legal requirements to drive. Where there are personal injuries, the sums involved quickly far exceed the criminal penalty. If you are in this situation, it is best to have the criminal case and the insurance side assessed together.

Where is there room for a defence?

• The characterisation of the facts. Was your licence genuinely invalid, or did you simply not have it with you? Had it expired and been renewed in the meantime? Was it a foreign licence that remains valid in Belgium or that should have been exchanged? That distinction determines whether there is an offence at all.
• Knowledge of the driving ban. For Article 48, it must be established that the ban was in force at the time of the facts and that you knew it. Was the judgment properly served? Had the ban already started, given the deadline for handing in the licence?
• Necessity. A medical emergency can, if properly substantiated, be a ground of justification. The courts are strict, but such a defence is not unheard of.
• The sentence. Suspension of the pronouncement (opschorting van de uitspraak / suspension du prononcé), a suspended sentence (uitstel / sursis) that can also cover part of the driving ban (at least eight days must still be served, Article 41 of the Road Traffic Act), community service or a probation sentence remain possible here too (Articles 64 and 65 of the Criminal Code). Depending on the charge, the court may also limit the driving ban to weekends and public holidays (Article 38 § 2bis) or to certain vehicle categories (Article 45 of the Road Traffic Act). Your chances improve with a clean criminal record and a demonstrable professional need; see also lighter penalties before the police court.

Novex Advocaten can assist you

If you have been summoned (dagvaarding / citation) for driving without a licence or during a driving ban, do not wait until the hearing. Those who appear well prepared in these cases — with proof of a licence obtained in the meantime, of a completed training course or of their professional situation — stand a noticeably better chance of a lighter sentence.

More about our approach: driving without a licence lawyer in Brussels. Already received a summons? Also read what to do after a summons to the police court.

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