{"id":22219,"date":"2026-05-24T11:07:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T09:07:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novexadvocaten.be\/alcoholslot-belgie-procedure-kosten-rijverbod\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T20:40:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T18:40:40","slug":"alcohol-lock-belgium-procedure-cost-driving-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novexadvocaten.be\/en\/alcohol-lock-belgium-procedure-cost-driving-ban\/","title":{"rendered":"The alcohol interlock in Belgium: procedure, costs and alternatives to driving ban"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Het alcoholslot is een technisch systeem dat wordt ingebouwd in uw voertuig en dat u verplicht om in het mondstuk te blazen v\u00f3\u00f3r u de motor kunt starten. Pas als uw ademanalyse een negatief resultaat geeft, start de motor. In Belgi\u00eb kan de politierechter het alcoholslot opleggen als alternatief voor een volledig rijverbod. In dit artikel legt Novex Advocaten uit wanneer het alcoholslot wordt opgelegd, hoe de procedure verloopt en wat de kosten zijn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When is the alcohol interlock imposed?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Het alcoholslot bestaat sinds 2010. De politierechter kan het alcoholslotprogramma opleggen in geval van rijden met een alcoholpromillage van 1,2\u2030 of meer in het bloed (of 0,50 mg\/l of meer in de adem). Het alcoholslot kan ook worden opgelegd bij recidive of in combinatie met een rijverbod. Belangrijk: die regeling werd grondig hervormd door de wet van 6 maart 2018, in werking sinds 1 juli 2018. Sindsdien geldt in de zwaarste gevallen geen vrije beoordeling meer. Bij een zeer hoge alcoholconcentratie, en bij herhaling binnen een korte periode, moet de politierechter het alcoholslot in beginsel opleggen. Hij kan daarvan enkel afwijken wanneer hij uitdrukkelijk motiveert waarom de maatregel in dat concrete geval niet aangewezen is. Buiten die gevallen behoudt hij wel zijn beoordelingsvrijheid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How does the alcohol interlock procedure work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the judge imposes the alcohol interlock, the procedure is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Verdict:<\/strong> the police judge pronounces the alcohol interlock in the sentence, along with the duration of the programme (minimum 1 year).<\/li><li><strong>Medical and psychological examination:<\/strong> you must consult a licensed physician and psychologist who will assess your fitness to drive with the alcohol interlock.<\/li><li><strong>Installation:<\/strong> a licensed installer will install the alcohol interlock in your vehicle. This is at your expense.<\/li><li><strong>Driving with the alcohol interlock:<\/strong> during the programme, you will only drive the vehicle equipped with the alcohol interlock. Any attempted fraud or circumvention will be recorded electronically.<\/li><li><strong>Follow-up:<\/strong> alcolock data is read and evaluated periodically.<\/li><li><strong>End of programme:<\/strong> after the established period and upon positive evaluation, the alcohol interlock may be removed.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is the cost of the alcohol interlock?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The cost of the alcohol interlock programme is significant and falls entirely on the individual. Count on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Totale kostprijs van het alcoholslotprogramma: \u00b1 3.600 tot 4.000 euro;<\/li><li>Dat bedrag omvat de plaatsing van het toestel, de huur gedurende de volledige opgelegde periode, de periodieke kalibratie en het verplichte omkaderingsprogramma;<\/li><li>Readout and follow-up costs;<\/li><li>Cost of medical and psychological examination.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over a two-year programme, this can add up to more than 5,000 euros.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Is the alcohol interlock better than a complete driving ban?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For many people involved - especially those who depend on their licences professionally - the alcohol interlock is preferable to a complete driving ban. After all, you remain licensed to drive, albeit under strict conditions. A lawyer can advocate for you to impose the alcohol interlock as an alternative, or just argue why the circumstances of your case warrant a different measure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Need assistance with an alcohol interlock procedure?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Novex Advocaten has extensive experience in traffic law cases before the Brussels police court and advises you on the choice between driving ban and alcohol interlock, the possibilities for contesting and the practical steps after the verdict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Also read:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/novexadvocaten.be\/en\/lawyer-traffic-law-brussels-driving-ban-police-court\/\">Lawyer traffic law Brussels: driving ban and police court<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/novexadvocaten.be\/en\/driving-under-the-influence-drugs-consequences-penalty-belgium\/\">Driving under the influence of drugs in Belgium<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Het alcoholslot is een technisch systeem dat wordt ingebouwd in uw voertuig en dat u verplicht om in het mondstuk te blazen v\u00f3\u00f3r u de motor kunt starten. Pas als uw ademanalyse een negatief resultaat geeft, start de motor. In Belgi\u00eb kan de politierechter het alcoholslot opleggen als alternatief voor een volledig rijverbod. In dit [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[88],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-verkeersrecht"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/novexadvocaten.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/novexadvocaten.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/novexadvocaten.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novexadvocaten.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novexadvocaten.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22219"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/novexadvocaten.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22219\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22779,"href":"https:\/\/novexadvocaten.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22219\/revisions\/22779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/novexadvocaten.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novexadvocaten.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novexadvocaten.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}