Handing in your licence after a driving ban in Belgium

The police court (tribunal de police) judge has imposed a driving ban (déchéance du droit de conduire) on you. Many people think they can no longer drive from the day of the judgment, or that they only hand in their licence if someone asks them to. Both are wrong. Serving a driving ban follows fixed steps, with short deadlines. If you miss one, you risk a longer ban and new proceedings.

In this article, you will find out when your ban starts, where and when to hand in your licence, what happens if you are late and how to get your licence back at the end. The general rules on the driving ban are set out in our overview of the driving ban.

When does a driving ban start?

A driving ban imposed as a penalty does not start on the day it is pronounced. The judgment must first be final. This means that no objection or appeal is possible any longer, or that the appeal court has ruled.

Next, the public prosecution service (the parquet) sends you a notice. This is a letter telling you that you must serve a driving ban and where to hand in your licence. The ban takes effect on the fifth day after that notice (Article 40 of the Road Traffic Act). Until then, you may still drive, unless another measure is in place, such as an immediate withdrawal.

There is one exception: the ban for unfitness to drive (Article 42). It takes effect as soon as it is pronounced, even if you appeal. See our article on unfitness to drive.

“I never received the letter”

This argument is weak. On 18 November 2025, the Court of Cassation held that the notice can be proven by any lawful means, including a screenshot of the public prosecutor’s IT system. If nothing happens after a final judgment, contact the public prosecutor yourself.

Where and when do you hand in your licence?

You hand in your licence at the registry of the court that imposed the driving ban. If you had a provisional licence, that is the one you hand in.

The deadline is short: you have four days, starting from the day after the notice. Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays do not count (Article 67 of the Royal Decree of 23 March 1998 on the driving licence). In practice, this therefore means four working days.

Always ask for a dated proof of deposit. If you have to take reinstatement exams, you choose at the registry the exam centre or body where you want to take them.

Step	Deadline	What do you do?
The judgment becomes final	After the objection or appeal period	You may still drive
Notice from the public prosecutor	Date of the letter	Read the letter carefully
Handing in your licence	Within 4 working days	At the registry, ask for proof
The ban takes effect	5th day after the notice	You no longer drive

What if you do not hand in your licence on time?

There are two consequences, which can apply together.

Your ban gets longer. If you hand in your licence too late, the ban is automatically extended by the period between the fifth day after the notice and the day you actually hand in your licence (Article 40, second paragraph). If you are three weeks late, you will therefore be without a licence for three weeks longer.

You commit a new offence. Not handing in your licence is an offence under Article 49/1 of the Road Traffic Act. Since 1 September 2026, it carries a level 1 penalty. The judge can also impose a new driving ban for it.

On 2 February 2023, the Constitutional Court held that there should be no difference between deliberately not handing in your licence and simply forgetting to. Forgetting is therefore also an offence. The judge can, however, take the circumstances into account when choosing the penalty. A credible explanation and quickly putting things right therefore remain useful.

Is an immediate withdrawal deducted?

Yes. If your licence was already immediately withdrawn by the public prosecutor after the facts, that period is deducted from the driving ban. If you have already been without a licence for 15 days and receive a two-month ban, you therefore have about a month and a half left to serve. Keep the documents showing when you handed in and got back your licence. See also our article on immediate withdrawal of your driving licence.

Several driving bans

If you have been given a driving ban in several different judgments, the public prosecutor can have those bans served one after the other (Article 40, third paragraph). They do not then run at the same time.

Weekend ban or ban for certain vehicles

Even with a weekend driving ban or a ban limited to certain vehicle categories, you hand in your licence. With the certificate from the registry, you ask your municipality for a licence of limited validity. To find out more, read our article on the weekend driving ban and bans for certain vehicle categories.

How do you get your licence back?

You collect your licence from the registry when:

the ban has ended and the judge did not impose reinstatement exams; or
the ban has ended and you have passed all the reinstatement exams imposed.

The exam centres and the bodies approved for medical and psychological examinations send their results to you, to the registry and to the public prosecutor.

Note: on 18 November 2025, the Court of Cassation held that the court clerk returning your licence creates no presumption that you have passed the reinstatement exams. If your licence is returned to you by mistake when you have not taken all the exams, you still may not drive. If you do so anyway, you risk prosecution for driving during a driving ban. So keep the certificates for all the exams you have passed. How these exams work is explained in our article on reinstatement exams.

Foreign licence

A licence issued in another EU country is in principle also handed in at the registry. If you are not eligible for a Belgian licence, the reinstatement exams do not apply. Have your situation checked beforehand.

Frequently asked questions

How many days do I have to hand in my licence after a driving ban?

After the notice from the public prosecutor, you have four days to hand in your licence. Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays do not count. You hand it in at the registry of the court that imposed the driving ban. Always ask for a dated proof of deposit, so that you can later show you were on time.

Can I still drive between the judgment and the letter from the public prosecutor?

In principle, yes. A driving ban imposed as a penalty only takes effect on the fifth day after the notice from the public prosecutor, and that notice only arrives once the judgment is final. The exceptions are an immediate withdrawal still in progress and a ban for unfitness to drive under Article 42, which takes effect as soon as it is pronounced. If in doubt, check before getting behind the wheel.

What happens if I hand in my licence too late?

Your driving ban is automatically extended by the number of days you were late. In addition, the public prosecutor can prosecute you for not handing in your licence (Article 49/1 of the Road Traffic Act). This is a separate offence, for which the judge can impose a new penalty and a new driving ban. Even simply forgetting is an offence.

Can I choose when my driving ban starts?

Not really. The public prosecutor decides when to send the notice, and the ban takes effect five days later. You can, however, send the public prosecutor a reasoned request, for example asking them to take your work into account. The public prosecutor is not obliged to agree. In any case, do not just sit and wait for a letter if you know that your judgment is final.

Can I drive if the registry gives me back my licence?

Only if the driving ban has ended and you have passed all the reinstatement exams set out in the judgment. According to the Court of Cassation, the registry returning your licence does not prove that you have passed them. If you drive without all the exams being in order, you are legally driving during a driving ban, with a new compulsory ban of at least three months.

Have your case checked

Have you received a notice from the public prosecutor, or are you late in handing in your licence? We look at what you should do now and assist you if new proceedings follow. Contact us.

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

Serving a driving ban: when and where do you hand in your licence?