Serious speeding in Belgium: summons and driving ban

If you drive well over the limit, you no longer simply receive a fine in your letterbox. In the case of serious speeding, the public prosecutor (parquet) sends you a summons (citation) to appear before the police court (tribunal de police). The judge then in principle imposes a driving ban (déchéance du droit de conduire), and in some cases also exams before you can get back behind the wheel.

For many people, that driving ban is the biggest problem. Yet a well-prepared defence often has room for manoeuvre on the penalty. In this article you will read when speeding counts as serious, what you risk and how to prepare. It is part of our guide to speeding fines in Belgium.

When is speeding serious?

The threshold is set out in Article 29, § 3, of the Road Traffic Act (loi relative à la police de la circulation routière). It is always the corrected speed that counts, meaning the speed after deduction of the measuring margin (6 km/h up to 100 km/h, 6% above that).

Location	Limit	Serious from (corrected speed)
30 zone or school surroundings	30 km/h	61 km/h
Built-up area	50 km/h	81 km/h
Shared zone or residential area	20 km/h	51 km/h
Road outside built-up areas	70 km/h	111 km/h
Road outside built-up areas	90 km/h	131 km/h
Motorway	120 km/h	161 km/h

In Brussels, the default limit in built-up areas is 30 km/h. The threshold there is therefore 61 km/h.

A summons instead of a fine

For serious speeding, the police do not offer an immediate payment. The public prosecutor summons you to appear before the police court. A police interview sometimes comes before the summons. You have the right to consult a lawyer before that interview.

Since the reform of 1 September 2026, the penalty is a level 1 penalty. The judge takes into account how many km/h you were over the limit. The bigger the excess, the heavier the penalty and the longer the driving ban.

The driving ban

The law attaches to serious speeding a driving ban of at least eight days and at most five years. If the judge does not impose a ban, he or she must expressly give reasons. In practice, this is rare.

The judge can make the restoration of your right to drive conditional on a theory or practical exam and, if there is doubt about your fitness to drive, also on a medical or psychological examination. See our article on the reinstatement exams.

The ban only starts once the judgment is final and the public prosecutor invites you to hand in your licence. How this works is explained in our article on serving a driving ban and handing in your licence. You will find a general overview in our article on the driving ban in Belgium.

Immediate withdrawal

In the case of serious speeding, the public prosecutor can have your licence withdrawn immediately, often right after a check in which you were stopped. You then normally lose your licence for 15 days. At the request of the public prosecutor, the police court can extend this to three months. Those days are then deducted from the driving ban. See our article on immediate licence withdrawal.

New drivers: less than two years with a licence

If you have held your category B licence for less than two years, the judge must impose a driving ban when convicting you of an offence committed with a motor vehicle that can lead to a ban (Article 38, § 5, of the Road Traffic Act). You only get your licence back after passing a theory or practical exam.

On 12 December 2024, the Namur police court (Dinant division) pointed out that a suspension of the pronouncement cannot be used to let a new driver escape this measure. A well-prepared defence therefore focuses instead on the length of the ban and how it is to be served.

Repeat offences: the cross-recidivism rule

Article 38, § 6, of the Road Traffic Act lists a series of serious traffic offences. Serious speeding is one of them. It does not matter whether the earlier conviction concerned speeding: a judgment for driving under the influence, hit-and-run or driving without a licence, for example, also counts.

Earlier conviction (less than 3 years ago)	Minimum driving ban	Reinstatement exams
For an offence on the list	3 months	Theory, practical, medical and psychological
In which the 3-month rule was already applied	6 months	The same four
In which the 6-month rule was already applied	9 months	The same four

The three-year period runs from the earlier conviction becoming final. See our article on repeat offences.

In the event of an accident: road homicide with aggravating circumstances

If you cause a fatal accident while driving far too fast, since 1 September 2026 you are prosecuted for homicide dans le cadre de la circulation avec circonstances aggravantes (homicide in the context of traffic with aggravating circumstances, Article 107/1 of the Criminal Code), often called aggravated road homicide. This carries a level 4 penalty. See our article on road homicide in Belgium.

Which penalty? The defence on sentencing

The speed is often established. The debate then turns on the penalty. Police court judges take into account, among other things:

• the size of the excess and the location, for example near a school;
• your criminal record and any earlier lenient measures;
• the circumstances: an empty motorway at night does not weigh the same as a residential street during the day;
• your job and your family situation, if you back them up with documents;
• your attitude: do you admit the facts, and have you taken steps, such as following a course?

Judges are strict. In the Dinant judgment, the judge held that personal, family or professional reasons do not on their own justify a suspension of the pronouncement (a finding of guilt without a penalty). For serious speeding, a suspension remains exceptional.

The judge can, on the other hand, make the driving ban suspended, in whole or in part, or limit it to certain vehicle categories or to weekends. See our articles on the suspended driving ban and on the weekend driving ban and vehicle categories. These options do not exist for every offence and require a well-supported request.

Do you doubt the measurement itself? Read our article on how to contest a speed camera fine.

Frequently asked questions

Have your case reviewed

Have you been summoned to court for serious speeding? We examine the measurement, your situation and the options for a limited or suspended driving ban, and prepare the hearing with you. Contact us.

Law as at 30 September 2026. We update this article when the rules change.