The Vehicle Registration Service (DIV) is responsible for the registration of cars, motorbikes and trailers over 750 kg. It keeps a databank for numerous organisations such as the police, the Finance FOD, insurance companies and so on. When you register with the DIV, you receive a certificate of registration and a license plate.
You will be penalised if you do not follow the regulations for vehicle registration.
If you reside in Belgium, you are obliged to register your vehicle.
The only exceptions to this general rule apply when:
- You hire a vehicle registered abroad, for a maximum of 48 hours.
- You work for a foreign employer and your vehicle is registered abroad in the name of your employer.
- You work as a civil servant for an international institution in another EU Member State and your vehicle is registered abroad. In this circumstance, you have to keep an accreditation card from the employer in the vehicle.
If you do not live in Belgium and you are staying for a short period in Belgium, then you may drive your vehicle if it complies with the following conditions:
- The vehicle is registered in an EU member state or in a state that is a signatory to international road traffic conventions.
- The vehicle carries the number plate required by law in the country where it is registered.
- The back of the vehicle displays the country code of the state in which it is registered.
It is also possible for your vehicle to be temporarily registered in Belgium if you do not reside in Belgium. This can be the case if, for example, your vehicle is intended for:
- export
- registrations for DC (diplomatic corps), Shape (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe) and NATO
- persons who are registered on the waiting list of a Belgian municipality
- persons in the process of regularising their resident’s permit.
To register your vehicle you should use the pink form with the heading ‘registration application’. Complete this form carefully and correctly and then send it back to the DIV. You will receive a certificate of registration when you return this information to the DIV.
If you wish to take your vehicle off the road (scrap your license plate), you must send back your number plate. If you have made the decision to scrap your vehicle, you should do this quickly as you will continue to pay your road tax until your license plate is cancelled.
You can return your official license plate (stamped on the back) in three ways:
- You can go to a post-office where you will get an attest for cancellation of your number plate
- You can deposit your number plate in the box provided at the office counter or annex of the DIV
- From a foreign country, you can send your plate by post to : DIV – cancellation service, B-1099 Brussels.
You can find more information about the DIV at the FPS Mobility website (in French or Dutch) and at the Belgian highway code website (in French or Dutch).
You can e-mail questions about registration of vehicles to: help.div@mobilit.fgov.be.