Driver's license in Brussels: changes in 2018

Theoretical and practical license in Brussels: 2018 news

At the beginning of April, the Brussels government validated a new reform concerning the obtaining of the theoretical and practical license. This reform was introduced by the Secretary of State for Road Safety, Bianca Debaets.

This reform will change the conditions for obtaining the theoretical and practical license. Here are the big changes:

Theoretical license: from April 30

The reform will introduce a distinction between serious and minor offenses. This distinction has already been introduced in Wallonia and Flanders. A serious fault will result in a withdrawal of 5 points and a minor fault will result in a withdrawal of 1 point.

There will always be 50 questions and the candidate must get at least 41/50 to succeed. The candidate will be able to make only maximum 9 minor faults, or 1 serious fault and 4 minor. From 2 serious mistakes, the candidate will be defeated.

Practical license: from November 1st

With this new reform, the possibilities to learn to drive go from 2 to 4. Here are the two big news:
- Possibility to pass his practical license directly after 30h of driving school
- Possibility to take the option "mixed", the learner can follow 14 hours of driving school to reduce the time of the free sector, which will increase from 9 to 6 months

For future drivers in Brussels, they always have the opportunity to follow the 20h driving school followed by a minimum of 3 months training without guide but under cover of a provisional license. Or pass through the free channel but this sector will last at least 9 months and the future driver must be accompanied by a guide.

Note that these 4 options all have a maximum duration of 18 months. If the driver does not pass his license after this period, he will have to start all over again ...

The last things to know before you pass your license:

You should know that anyone wishing to take a theoretical exam in Brussels will have to take a first-aid course to learn the first steps to take in the event of a road accident.

There is also a test concerning the perception of risks during the practical examination. This is a computer test that is done before the test on the public road. The purpose of this test is to check if the candidate can recognize potential hazards in time and evaluate them to avoid an accident.

If you intend to spend your theoretical or practical license in Brussels, good luck to you and be careful!

Source: COGA