Traffic offences in Belgium: degrees, fines and procedure explained

A speed camera photo in your letterbox, a police officer waving you over, a letter from the public prosecutor or the municipality: a traffic offence can cross your path in several ways. What happens next depends on how serious the offence is, who recorded it and how you respond. Speeding by a few kilometres per hour usually ends with a payment. A serious offence takes you before the police court judge, with the risk of a driving ban (déchéance du droit de conduire).

Many people do not know which letter means what, what happens if they do not pay, or when it is better to pay or not. That is a pity, because each step has its own deadlines and its own options.

In this article we take stock of the system: the four degrees of offence, the path from immediate payment to a court summons, the municipal administrative fine (SAC), and the moments when it is worth calling in a lawyer.

The four degrees of traffic offence

Offences against the Highway Code (Code de la route) are classified in four degrees by royal decree. This classification determines the penalty, but also how the case is handled.

Degree	Examples	Usual handling
First degree	Not wearing a seatbelt, not using your indicator, most minor offences	Immediate payment or out-of-court settlement
Second degree	Going through an amber light, overtaking improperly, driving onto a level crossing when traffic on it is at a standstill	Immediate payment or out-of-court settlement
Third degree	Going through a red light, using a mobile phone without a holder, driving on the hard shoulder	Immediate payment or out-of-court settlement, possibly a summons
Fourth degree	Making a U-turn on the motorway, driving onto a level crossing when the barriers are closing, certain seriously dangerous manoeuvres	Always a summons before the police court

The immediate payment amounts per degree are set by royal decree. Since 1 July 2026 they have been increased by 10%, and an administrative surcharge is added on top.

Speeding and alcohol have their own regime, with amounts that rise with the excess speed or the concentration. How the amounts are calculated is explained in our article on the amount of a traffic fine and the surcharge. For speed, see our overview of speeding; for alcohol, our overview of drink driving.

How is an offence recorded?

An offence is recorded in a police report (procès-verbal). This can happen:

• through an officer on the spot who stops you;
• through a camera with an operator, handled by an officer;
• through an automatic camera without an operator, such as a fixed speed camera, a red-light camera or an average speed check.

A royal decree sets the list of offences that can be recorded by automatic devices. That list was extended in 2019, in particular to no-overtaking rules, driving the wrong way, entering a junction in a way that blocks traffic, and lane restrictions for heavy goods vehicles.

In traffic matters, the police report has special evidential value: what the reporting officer recorded stands until proven otherwise. Since 1 July 2026, the copy must be sent within 30 days from the moment the offender, the owner or the usual driver is identified. See our article on errors in the police report.

If you were not stopped on the spot, you will first receive, as the holder of the number plate, a request for information. If you were not driving yourself, you must identify the driver. See our article on identifying the driver.

Step 1: the immediate payment

For most offences of the first to third degree, the police or the public prosecutor (parquet) first offers an immediate payment. This is a fixed amount that you pay on the spot or after receiving a letter, often via the amendesroutieres.be platform.

• You pay. The prosecution ends. There is no trial, and the payment is not a conviction. It does not count for the legal rules on repeat offences.
• You do not pay. You usually receive a reminder, then an offer of an out-of-court settlement.

An immediate payment is not possible for a fourth-degree offence, except for drivers who do not live in Belgium. Nor is it possible for serious speeding or higher alcohol concentrations. The public prosecutor then decides on a summons.

Step 2: the out-of-court settlement

If you do not pay the immediate payment, or if the public prosecutor considers it inappropriate, the public prosecutor (procureur du Roi) can offer an out-of-court settlement: an offer to end the prosecution in return for paying a sum of money. Here too, whoever pays closes the case without a conviction.

Step 3: the payment order

If you do not pay the out-of-court settlement either, the public prosecutor can issue a payment order. The amount is then increased and an administrative surcharge is added. The order becomes enforceable if you do not respond.

You can appeal to the police court against the payment order, by application within 30 days of receiving it. Pay attention to how that period is calculated. The law presumes that you received the order on the tenth working day after the date shown on it, even if the letter reached your letterbox later. To rebut that presumption, you must put forward serious arguments (Cass. 4 March 2026, P.25.0774.F). If your appeal is admissible, the order is treated as void and the judge examines the case afresh. In the meantime, the limitation period is suspended, from the day of your application until the final judgment.

If you appeal, be aware that the judge can impose a heavier penalty than the amount of the order, and possibly a driving ban. An appeal therefore mainly makes sense if you genuinely dispute the offence or have a serious defence. The deadlines and risks are covered in detail in our article on appealing against a payment order. If you neither pay an order nor appeal, the public prosecutor can ultimately also have your licence suspended. See our article on a suspended licence after an unpaid fine.

Step 4: the summons before the police court

In several cases, the public prosecutor goes straight to a summons (citation):

• fourth-degree offences;
• serious speeding: according to the police, more than 30 km/h over the limit in built-up areas and more than 40 km/h outside them;
• driving under the influence above the threshold for an immediate payment, drunkenness or drugs;
• serious offences such as driving without a licence, driving without insurance or hit-and-run;
• accidents with injuries or deaths; since 1 September 2026, the Criminal Code has provided a separate offence for this, homicide dans le cadre de la circulation (road homicide);
• repeat offences.

Before the police court judge, you can defend yourself, alone or with a lawyer. You can inspect the criminal file in advance. The judge can impose a fine, a driving ban and reinstatement exams (examens de réintégration), but also a suspension of the pronouncement of sentence (suspension du prononcé) or a community service sentence.

The driving ban

For many offences, the judge can impose a driving ban. For certain serious offences and for repeat offences, it is mandatory. Anyone who has held a category B licence for less than two years also risks, for a serious offence, a ban with reinstatement exams.

For certain offences, the public prosecutor can have your licence withdrawn immediately, for example for serious speeding, alcohol, drugs or hit-and-run. See our article on immediate licence withdrawal.

The municipal administrative fine (SAC)

Alongside the criminal route, there is for certain minor offences a municipal administrative sanction (sanction administrative communale, SAC). In that case it is the municipality that imposes the fine, not the public prosecutor.

• Stopping and parking. Municipalities can impose an SAC fine for breaches of the parking rules and of certain road signs.
• Minor speeding in Flanders. Since 1 February 2021, Flemish municipalities can also impose administrative penalties for minor speeding, under strict conditions: a limit of 30 or 50 km/h, an excess of no more than 20 km/h, detection by automatic devices fully funded by the municipality, and an adult offender with no other simultaneous offence.

Against an SAC fine, you can first submit a written defence to the municipality, within 30 days. Against the decision, you can appeal to the police court within one month. On the disputed funding of average speed checks, read our article on average speed checks and administrative fines.

The limitation period

Since 1 July 2026, all offences under the Road Traffic Act (loi relative à la police de la circulation routière) become time-barred after three years, counting from the day of the facts. The limitation period can no longer be interrupted, but it stops running as soon as the case is pending before the police court. See our article on the limitation period for traffic offences.

The new Public Road Code

The current Highway Code dates from 1975 and has been amended more than a hundred times. It will be replaced by a new Public Road Code (Code de la voie publique), supplemented by Flemish, Brussels and Walloon traffic regulations. Its entry into force has been postponed to 1 June 2027. Until then, the current rules continue to apply. See our article on the new Public Road Code.

When should you call in a lawyer?

For a minor offence that you do not dispute, paying is usually the simplest solution. A lawyer is useful when:

• you are summoned to appear before the police court;
• you risk a driving ban, for example for serious speeding or as a new driver;
• you dispute the offence, for example because you were not the driver or because the measurement or the finding is wrong;
• you receive a payment order and are considering an appeal;
• you are a repeat offender.

Our lawyers go through the file, the deadlines and the options with you, and tell you honestly whether a defence makes sense. You can contact us.

Frequently asked questions