A Step-by-Step Guide to Belgian Driving License

Asha MenonCommunity desk

Brussels · Belgium · 5 July 2024 · 3 min read

Illustration generated with AI. It sets the scene — it is not a photograph of anything described here.

Your Indian licence is worth something in Wallonia, nothing in Flanders, and nothing in Brussels since February 2023. Which region you are registered in decides how much of this process you actually have to do — so start there, before you book anything.

At a glance

3 steps

Theory, provisional, practical

41/50

To pass the theory test

3 years

Theory pass stays valid

3 regions

Three different sets of rules

Check your region first

This is the single fact that determines your route, and it is decided by the commune you are registered in — not where you work, and not where you take lessons. Getting this wrong means preparing for the wrong process entirely.

The regional rules

Region	Indian licence	What you must do
Wallonia	Still accepted	Get an equivalence from the Indian Embassy; a direct practical exam is possible once training requirements are met
Brussels	Exemption ended Feb 2023	Standard route: 30 hours at a driving school, or 20 hours plus 3 months driving yourself, or 9 months with a guide
Flanders	Not recognised since Sept 2021	20 hours of driving classes and the Risk Perception Test

Step 1: the theory test

Everybody sits it, whatever licence you already hold. From age 17, with unlimited attempts.

Pass mark: 41 of 50. Questions on serious driving offences must all be right — each wrong one costs 5 points.
Language: the exam runs in Dutch and French. In Flanders and Brussels an English translation is available by headset; elsewhere you may bring an accredited translator.
Validity: three years once passed.
If you fail twice: 12 hours of theory lessons at a recognised school before you may sit it again.

Practice tests are widely available online — Driving License Belgium, Permis de Conduire Online, Mijn Rijbewijs and Rijbewijs Online all drill the same question bank. Do several hundred questions; the phrasing is the hard part, not the driving.

Step 2: the provisional licence

Passing theory gets you a certificate, which you take to your commune for a provisional licence. Two routes, and they differ in length:

Without a supervisor — 20 hours of lessons at a recognised school and a certificate of competence. Provisional licence valid 18 months.
With supervisors — apply directly and register two of them. Valid 36 months.

Pick the route by how much time you have, not by cost. The supervised route is cheaper and gives you three years; the school route costs more and gives you eighteen months. If you are likely to be busy, the longer window is worth more than the saving — a provisional licence that expires before you take the practical means starting again.

Step 3: the practical test

Booked once you have completed your region’s training requirement. It covers manoeuvres off-road and then driving in traffic with an examiner. Take the test in the area you have practised in if you can; examiners use fixed routes, and familiarity genuinely helps.

The categories, briefly

This guide is Category B — cars. The others you may see: A3 for scooters and mopeds, A for motorcycles, G for agricultural vehicles.

Written in 2024. Regional rules here have changed twice in recent years — Flanders in 2021, Brussels in 2023 — so confirm the current position with your commune before you commit to a route. Once you have the licence, buying a car is the next piece.

From our desk, not official advice

Written by the Namaste Community desk under our standing byline, from the questions this community asks most often — not a single person's own account. Rules change and offices differ — check anything that matters with the people who decide it.

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