Drink driving in Belgium: from the roadside check to the judgment

If you fail a breath test at a roadside alcohol check in Belgium, a lot happens to you in a very short time: a driving prohibition on the spot, sometimes an immediate withdrawal of your driving licence, an out-of-court settlement (transaction pénale) or a summons (citation) to appear before the police court (tribunal de police). Driving under the influence of alcohol remains one of the most frequently prosecuted traffic offences in Belgium. And the rules have become noticeably stricter in recent years.

In this article, we explain how things unfold, from the roadside check right through to the judgment: from what level you are committing an offence, whom the police may test, how the breath test and the evidential breath analysis work, what happens immediately after the check and which penalties the police court judge can impose. We finish with the lines of defence that can make a real difference in practice.

From what level are you committing an offence?

The basic rule is set out in Article 34 of the Road Traffic Act (loi relative à la police de la circulation routière). Whether you are criminally liable depends on the alcohol concentration measured and on the type of driver you are.

For an ordinary driver, the offence starts at a breath analysis result of 0.22 milligrams per litre of exhaled alveolar air (mg/l AAE). For a blood test, the threshold is 0.5 grams per litre of blood, which is 0.5 per mille.

For a professional driver, such as a lorry, bus or taxi driver, the limit is much lower: 0.09 mg/l AAE or 0.2 per mille. In practice, this amounts to zero tolerance. What this means for your job and for a possible alcohol interlock is explained in our article on the alcohol interlock for professional drivers.

Breath analysis (mg/l AAE)	Blood (per mille)	What it means
0.09	0.2	Offence for professional drivers
0.22	0.5	Offence for all drivers
0.35	0.8	More serious category (Article 34, §2), immediate withdrawal possible
0.78	1.8	Alcohol interlock compulsory in principle

Your body gets rid of alcohol more slowly than you think

A healthy liver breaks down about 7 grams of alcohol per hour. A standard drink, whether beer, wine or spirits, contains about 10 grams of pure alcohol. A strong beer contains twice as much. So allow around an hour and a half per standard drink and three hours per strong beer.

How quickly alcohol passes into your blood depends, among other things, on what you have eaten, your weight, your sex and your health. The elimination itself cannot be sped up in any way. Coffee, water, fresh air or a “miracle cure” change nothing about what the device measures.

Whom can the police test, and where?

Article 59, §1 of the Road Traffic Act determines who must submit to a breath test. That group is wider than many people think.

• Anyone who has caused a traffic accident or may have contributed to causing it, even if they are themselves a victim. This can also be a pedestrian who made a moped rider fall, or a passenger who distracted the bus driver so much that the bus left the road.
• Anyone driving a vehicle or riding an animal in a public place. Anyone accompanying a learner driver is also covered: the parent sitting next to the holder of a provisional licence, or the driving instructor.
• Anyone about to drive or to accompany a learner. This must be apparent from visible actions, and it is often disputed in practice. Someone sitting behind the wheel with the engine running who claims they had only switched on the heating will have to convince the judge.

The check can take place in a public place (Article 28 of the Road Traffic Act). This means not just the public road, but also land accessible to the public or to a certain number of people, such as a recycling centre or a hospital car park. The defence “it was private land” therefore does not succeed in those cases.

To carry out a check, the police do not need any indication that you have been drinking. Any driver stopped for any reason can be tested, as can every person involved in an accident and every driver at an organised alcohol check.

How an alcohol check works

A check has at most four stages. Not all of them are always needed. You will find a detailed explanation in our article on the breath test and the evidential breath analysis.

1. The screening test

With the “sniffer”, the police measure, without a mouthpiece, whether there is alcohol in your breath. This test is not compulsory and refusing it is not an offence. A green screen means you may drive on. A red screen or a refusal leads to a breath test.

2. The breath test

The breath test gives an indication: safe, alarm or positive. If the result is alarm or positive, an evidential breath analysis follows.

Until recently, you could ask for a 15-minute waiting period to rule out a result distorted by alcohol still present in your mouth. That waiting period was abolished by the Royal Decree of 19 April 2024, in force since 1 May 2024.

3. The evidential breath analysis

The breath analysis gives a figure in mg/l AAE and counts as legal evidence. The officer must show you the result and read it out loud. The printed ticket is attached to the police report (procès-verbal).

You have the right to ask immediately for a second analysis (Article 59, §3 of the Road Traffic Act). If both results fall within the legal margin of accuracy, the lower one counts. If the difference is too large, a third analysis follows. If, even then, two results are not close enough, the breath analysis is treated as not having been carried out and a blood test follows. The officer must explain this right to you.

4. The blood test

A blood test takes place in particular when the breath analysis cannot be carried out, for example because of hyperventilation or a lung condition, or when you refuse a breath test or a breath analysis. You can also ask for a blood test yourself as a counter-analysis, when the final result of at least two breath analyses reaches 0.35 mg/l AAE or more.

The sample is taken by a doctor called in by the police. You may be assisted by your own doctor, but the procedure does not wait for them to arrive.

Alcohol intoxication or drunkenness?

Belgian law makes an important distinction between two offences.

Alcohol intoxication (imprégnation alcoolique, Article 34) is an objective state: the measured concentration exceeds the legal limit. Drunkenness (ivresse, Article 35) is something else: losing permanent control over your actions because of alcohol. Having drunk too much does not, therefore, yet mean being drunk in the legal sense.

This distinction has major consequences. Drunkenness is punished more severely, with a compulsory driving ban of at least one month. It also matters in your relationship with your insurer, which may, after an accident, claim back from you the compensation it has paid. The police record the signs of drunkenness in the police report: an unsteady gait, slurred speech, poor orientation in time and space. The more incomplete or general those findings are, the more room there is to challenge the drunkenness. To find out more, read our article on drunkenness and alcohol intoxication.

What happens immediately after the check?

Even before there is any question of a penalty, the police or the public prosecutor (parquet) can take safety measures. They are meant to stop you from getting straight back behind the wheel.

Temporary 12-hour driving prohibition

Since 1 July 2026, every positive finding leads to a temporary driving prohibition of 12 hours (Act of 25 May 2026). The old system of 2, 3, 6 or 12 hours depending on the concentration has been abolished. You must hand in your driving licence. If that is not possible, your vehicle may be immobilised at your own cost and risk (Article 61 of the Road Traffic Act).

Immediate withdrawal of your driving licence

In more serious cases, the public prosecutor immediately withdraws your driving licence, in principle for 15 days (Article 55 of the Road Traffic Act). This is the case in particular where there is:

• an alcohol concentration of 0.35 mg/l AAE (0.8 per mille) or more. Since February 2026, prosecutors have applied this threshold throughout the country, whereas previously withdrawal generally only followed from 0.50, or even 0.65 mg/l;
• a refusal, without legitimate reason, of the breath test, the breath analysis or the blood test;
• drunkenness, or obvious signs of alcohol consumption where no test was possible for another reason;
• hit-and-run combined with alcohol or drunkenness.

The public prosecutor can ask the police court to extend the withdrawal to up to three months (Article 55bis). Everything about time limits, getting your licence back and what you can do in the meantime is in our article on immediate withdrawal of your driving licence.

Out-of-court settlement or summons?

Not every case ends up before the judge. Prosecution policy is set out in circular COL 8/2006 of the Board of Prosecutors General, revised several times since, most recently in 2026.

For a lower concentration without aggravating circumstances, the public prosecutor often offers an out-of-court settlement: you pay a sum of money and the case is closed. These amounts have gone up by 10% since 1 July 2026.

A summons to the police court generally follows for a higher concentration, drunkenness, a refusal, an accident, a repeat offence, or if you did not pay an earlier settlement offer. If you have received a summons, it is worth having your case reviewed in good time. A great deal can often still happen between the summons and the hearing.

How immediate payment (perception immédiate), the out-of-court settlement and the payment order (ordre de paiement) fit together is explained in our overview of traffic offences, their degrees and the procedure.

Foreign drivers

Special rules apply to drivers who have neither a domicile nor a residence in Belgium. Because they cannot always be summoned later, a sum is collected on the spot or deposited: an amount paid as a guarantee. Anyone who does not pay risks having their vehicle immobilised.

Since early 2025, this regime has been stricter. Immediate payment is now only possible for foreign drivers with a concentration below 0.50 mg/l AAE. Previously, a foreign driver could still pay an immediate payment between 0.50 and 0.65 mg/l. From 0.50 mg/l, a deposit now follows and the case is handled by the public prosecutor, as for drivers who live in Belgium.

What do you face before the police court?

The penalties are set out in Articles 34 to 38 of the Road Traffic Act. Since 1 September 2026, the new Criminal Code has also been in force. It reorganises the penalty scales across the whole of criminal law. The principles below remain valid, but the actual penalty depends heavily on your case.

Fine and driving ban

The law distinguishes between a concentration of 0.22 to 0.35 mg/l AAE and a concentration from 0.35 mg/l AAE. The latter category is punished more severely. In addition to a fine, the judge can impose a driving ban of at least eight days up to five years, and in the most serious cases even a permanent one (Article 38).

The judge can also make the return of your licence conditional on reinstatement exams: a theory test and a practical test, a medical examination and a psychological examination. If you need your car for work, a weekend driving ban can be a solution. That option disappears if the judge also imposes an alcohol interlock or reinstatement exams. How the medical and psychological examinations work is explained in our article on reinstatement exams.

Repeat offending weighs heavily

Anyone convicted again within three years falls under a much stricter regime (Article 38, §6). The judge must then impose a ban of at least three months, at least six months for a second repeat offence and at least nine months for a third. On top of that, all four reinstatement exams are compulsory. To find out more, read our article on repeat drink or drug driving.

Novice driver: always a driving ban

Have you held your category B licence for less than two years? Then the rule is stricter. If you are convicted of driving under the influence with a motor vehicle, the judge must impose a driving ban. You only get your licence back after passing at least a theory or practical test again (Article 38, §5 of the Road Traffic Act). The judge can also impose a training course, in addition to those tests or instead of them. An immediate payment or a paid out-of-court settlement is not a conviction: this rule does not apply in that case.

Driving during the 12-hour prohibition or not handing in your licence

After a positive test, you may not drive for 12 hours. Anyone who ignores that prohibition is punished as severely as someone driving with 0.35 mg/l AAE or more. The same applies if you do not hand in your licence when the police ask you to, or if you drive a vehicle the police have immobilised (Article 34, §2, 2° and 4° of the Road Traffic Act).

Letting someone drive under the influence

Even without driving yourself, you can commit an offence. Anyone who deliberately encourages a person who has obviously drunk too much or is drunk to drive, or who lends them their vehicle, faces a level 1 penalty and a driving ban (Article 37 of the Road Traffic Act). Think of the owner who, after a party, hands their car keys to a friend who is clearly no longer fit to drive.

An accident with injuries or deaths

If you cause an accident while under the influence, stricter minimum penalties apply (Article 38, §2 of the Road Traffic Act):

Situation	Minimum driving ban	Reinstatement
Fatal accident and driving under the influence or drunkenness	3 months	Four exams
Fatal accident and repeat driving under the influence	1 year	Four exams
Accident with injuries and repeat driving under the influence	6 months	Four exams

The four exams are a theory test and a practical test, a medical examination and a psychological examination. For the criminal side, read our article on homicide in the context of road traffic.

The alcohol interlock

The alcohol interlock is a device that prevents your car from starting: you blow into it before setting off, and the engine only starts below 0.09 mg/l AAE. For a long time it was rarely imposed, but since the Act of 6 March 2018 it has appeared far more often in case law (Article 37/1 of the Road Traffic Act).

• Optionally, the judge can impose it for drunkenness, a refusal, from 0.8 per mille and for repeat offences with lower concentrations.
• In principle compulsory, it applies from 1.8 per mille (0.78 mg/l AAE). The judge can only depart from this by giving express reasons, based on concrete elements of your case.
• Always compulsory, it applies to a repeat offence within three years where you had at least 1.2 per mille (0.50 mg/l AAE) each time. The judge then has no choice.

The alcohol interlock applies for at least one year, comes with a compulsory supervision programme and involves significant costs. The judge can deduct all or part of those costs from the fine, but only does so if you ask. In our article on the alcohol interlock, you will read how it works, what it costs and when an exception may be possible.

Unfitness to drive: Article 42

Regardless of the penalty, the judge can declare you unfit to drive if they find that you are not physically or mentally fit to drive, for example because of an alcohol problem (Article 42 of the Road Traffic Act). This is not a penalty but a safety measure. The ban lasts until you prove that you are fit again.

Two points matter. The measure takes effect immediately where the judgment is given after both parties have been heard, and an appeal does not suspend it. If you run that risk, it is better not to drive to the hearing. In addition, the judge cannot combine this measure with an alcohol interlock. How to prove you are fit to drive again is explained in our article on unfitness to drive.

What defence is possible?

A good defence starts with the criminal case file. We look at three avenues.

Procedural errors

The check, the devices and the police report are subject to strict rules. Was the mouthpiece properly unwrapped in your presence? Were you told about your right to a second analysis? Is the ticket in the file? Is the device correctly calibrated? Is the police report signed and drawn up in the correct language?

Stay realistic, though. An irregularity does not automatically lead to an acquittal. Since the so-called Antigoon case law, now laid down in Article 32 of the Preliminary Title of the Code of Criminal Procedure, evidence is only excluded if a formality is prescribed on pain of nullity, if the irregularity undermines the reliability of the evidence or if using it jeopardises the right to a fair trial. The Court of Cassation thus held that failure to observe the former 15-minute waiting period does not automatically lead to the evidence being excluded (Cass. 6 September 2016, P.15.1105.N). To learn more about the consequences of errors, read our article on errors in the police report.

Challenging the classification

Has drunkenness really been proven, or does the police report only show alcohol intoxication? Were you really “about to” drive? Were you actually the driver? These questions determine the possible penalties. What you say about them in a first interview stays in the file. Read our article on your rights during a police interview first.

Working on the penalty

In many cases, the biggest difference is made on the penalty. A clean record, an isolated incident that you can demonstrate through blood values or a hair analysis, a course of support you have followed or the professional importance of your licence are all factors the judge takes into account. Faced with a possible alcohol interlock from 1.8 per mille, these documents are often decisive. The most convincing tests are presented in our article on the PEth test, hair analysis and blood values.

Conclusion

A positive breath test sets off a chain of consequences that go well beyond the evening itself: a driving prohibition on the spot, often a 15-day withdrawal, then a settlement or a summons. Before the police court, the outcome depends on the precise findings, the classification and the evidence you put forward.

Have you been summoned to appear, or has your licence been withdrawn? Our lawyers review your case and tell you honestly what is possible. Contact us or find out about our approach to drink and drug driving. We also have a separate article on driving under the influence of drugs.

Frequently asked questions