Vehicle registration plates of Belgium

Number plates in Belgium are driver specific. If you trade in your old car for a new one, you keep your old number plate.

The rear license plate is state supplied, while the front license plate is owner supplied. This has its influence on the look of the front license plate which can be identical to the rear one or similar to European license plates with a blue EU flag in it. The rear license plate is usually mounted to another plate which contains the "B" letter and usually an advertisement for the car dealer.

Types

tandard

The number plate has a white background with red numbers and letters. Standard Belgium plates are 325mm by 105mm - smaller than most other European countries. More recently, non-standard (for Belgium) sizes have become more popular for the front plate - in part due to influence from rest of Europe and in part due to plates carrying additional information such as the Euro flag.

Belgian plates are usually a three-letter combination followed by a three number combination: "AAA 111". There are still many "old" number plates in use (from the 1951-1973 system): one letter/four numbers or two letters/three numbers in various combinations.

Starting on 25 June 2008 a new layout is used: three numbers followed by three letters, as all previous series have been issued up to the Y-series (Z-series being reserved for dealer use). Last Y-series plates are still issued at the same time as the first ones of the new layout, which was reserved in a first time for registration requests made through Internet.

Motor cycles with a capacity of more than 50 cc have black letters on a yellow background and begin with the letter "M". These plates have a square design, with the three letters on the first row and the three numbers on the second. Motor cycles with a capacity less than 50 cc have no license plate.

Sometimes the 1st letter has a special meaning:
* CD: Diplomats
* M or W: is used for motor cycles
* O: can be used on vintage vehicles which are more than 25 years old ("Oldtimers") and with some restrictions (cannot be driven at night or at more than 25 km from the home of the owner, except to go to vehicle meetings)
* TX: Taxi
* U or Q: Trailer Plates (see below)
* Z: Dealer Plate

History

* 1899-1911: First plates used black letters on white plate.
* 1911-1919: White numbers on black plate. Like currently, only rear plate was provided by the state.
* 1919-1925: White numbers on blue plate.
* 1925-1928: White characters: one letter followed by numbers.
* 1928-1951: Red numbers on white plate.

Plates still in use, red on white

* 1951-1961: 1 letter, 4 numbers
* 1962-1971: 2 letters, 3 numbers
* 1971-1973: 3 letters, 2 numbers
* 1973-2008: 3 letters + 3 numbers
* 2008-current: 3 numbers + 3 letters

Diplomats

The initial letters (CD) are printed in green, followed by a dot "." and 1 letter + 3 numbers printed in red. Older license plates have only three numbers and no letter.

Members of the Royal Family

The license plate consists of numbers only, following the standard colouring scheme. Cars used by the king and queen only have one number (1 to 9). Cars used by other members of the royal family have two numbers.

Officials

The license plate consists of 1 letter followed by 1 to 3 numbers.cite web |url=http://www.licenseplatemania.com/landenpaginas/belgie.htm |title=Belgium |publisher=licenseplatemania.com |accessdate=2007-03-26] Roughly speaking, the initial letter is either "A" for Ministers (including regional executives) and Ministers of State (an honorific title for distinguished politicians), or "P" for members of Parliament (including regional parliament), or "E" for members and services of the regional executives. The prime minister has the license plate "A1".

Military

White plate with black numbers and a Belgian flag on the left.

The NATO Headquarters formerly used a red plate with the white letters SB followed by a number.

Trailer plates

The new trailer plates have black letters/numbers on a white background and they begin with "Q" or "U". Furthermore they include the European flag on the left side of the plate. However, the older version (same as the standard plates) are still on several trailers.

Plates for people working for international bodies

Plates given out to persons working for the international bodies in Belgium, including EU staff. "International" plates can be time-limited ( according to the work contract) or of unlimited validity. An eventual time limitation is displayed in the European circle of stars.

European Institutions

Staff of the institutions of the European Union located in Belgium "may" request a specialized number plate. These plates are blue and display the letters "EUR" in a circle of yellow stars on the left hand side. These plates are increasingly less favoured than the "international" plates as the owner runs the risk of vandalism (because many Belgians erroneously believe that the car owner is not subject to the Belgian car tax).

EUROCONTROL

Employees at EUROCONTROL can get a blue number plate displaying the word "EURO".

Dealer plate

A dealer plate has green letters and numbers on a white background (a "green plate"). Furthermore it has the European flag on the left side. Plates for test drives usually begin with "ZZ".Until a couple of years ago, dealer plates were cheap. Dealers had a lot of them lying around, and they were also used extensively as "normal plates" by friends or relatives of dealers, because these plates are not subject to the normal taxes on cars. The law was changed, a "green plate" became a lot more expensive and more controls happened by Belgian police forces. As a result, dealers kept less plates in their shops, and abuse has diminished.

References