To begin the validation procedure for category-L vehicles, you must contact the Conformity Department of the Evere (Schaerbeek) technical inspection centre. On the day of the inspection, you must present the registration certificate of the Member State from which the vehicle originates.
Presentation of any other official document proving that the vehicle, its components, systems and technical elements comply with Belgian or European regulations is recommended but not compulsory.
Documents from foreign Technical Services (test laboratories) are of no value in Belgium in absolute terms, unless these Technical Services are approved in Belgium. Consequently, the information contained in these documents is never used for certification purposes, but can be used as a guide when reviewing your file.
During the inspection at the technical inspection centre, your vehicle is inspected on the following points:
- Inspection of the general condition
- Weight: for this purpose, all liquid and fuel tanks must be filled beforehand, and the vehicle must be presented empty of all personal belongings, additional equipment and travel accessories such as top cases and other non-original panniers
- Sound level test
- Checking the data present on the vehicle compared with the registration certificate and related documents
At the end of the inspection, if the Conformity Department of the technical inspection centre considers your request to be admissible, it forwards a complete file to the Brussels Mobility Vehicle Expertise Department for review. You will then be required to pay the fee for the vehicle inspection carried out by the technical inspection centre, as well as the administrative processing fee on site.
Your file is analysed based on the findings about the vehicle and its documents regarding the Royal Decree of 10 October 1974, pursuant to the Law of 21 December 1985.
If it considers it necessary, the Vehicle Expertise Department may request additional documents in order to continue processing your request. Payment of the fee to the inspection centre and the processing fee does not guarantee that a certificate will be issued. Consequently, a request for validation can always be refused for non-compliance of all or part of the vehicle, its components, systems or technical entities with Belgian or European regulations.
Certification, refusal, notification and processing times
If the validation is refused, you will be notified of the reason(s) for refusal by post as soon as possible. You will then have time to put the non-compliant elements back in order, and have the vehicle re-inspected at the technical inspection centre where the request was originally submitted. If necessary, you can be redirected to a full Individual Approval. In the event of a definitive refusal and closure of your file, the fees incurred remain payable.
If your file is complete and the vehicle complies with Belgian or European regulations, the Brussels Mobility Vehicle Expertise Department sends the validation certificate to the technical inspection centre where the request was originally submitted. The Conformity Department of the inspection centre will then call you back to affix a new identification sticker to the vehicle and send you the validation certificate and the documents required for registration.
With the foreign registration certificate, the validation certificate and the registration request form, you can either go to your insurer or directly to a Vehicle Registration Service (DIV) counter to apply for registration.
A validation file is definitively closed when the validation certificate has been issued, when the vehicle's re-presentation deadline has passed or when certification has been definitively refused. There is no extra charge for administration fees in the event of the vehicle's re-presentation following a finding of non-compliance.
Important to know:
- In accordance with Directive 1999/37/EC on the harmonisation of registration certificate data within the European Economic Area (excluding Switzerland), certain information is not required to be included, but is nevertheless necessary in view of the different taxes and low-emission zones in Belgium. For example, the power must appear on the validation certificate before the Vehicle Registration Service (DIV) can register your vehicle. If this information is not included on the foreign vehicle registration certificate, you must present a power certificate issued exclusively by the manufacturer, via its mandatory or importer, at the time of the technical inspection. For other technical information, if this is not included on the foreign registration certificate, it will not be included on the validation certificate or on the Belgian registration certificate. If we take the example of the Euro Norm and CO2 level, the absence of this information does not prevent the validation and registration of the vehicle in Belgium, but it may result in additional taxation and a ban on driving in low-emission zones. Another example is if your vehicle is equipped with a towing device, but no towable weights are available, a validation certificate can be issued without towable weights. So, administratively speaking, the vehicle cannot tow a trailer.
- Vehicles originating from a market outside the European Economic Area must meet the Euro Norms applicable at the time of their first registration in order to be admitted to European territory. The competent regional authority may still refuse a vehicle on its territory if compliance with the applicable Euro Norm cannot be proven. Where applicable, a certificate of conformity with Directive 2002/51/EC of 19 July 2002 on the reduction of the level of pollutant emissions, issued exclusively by the manufacturer via its mandatory or importer, is required.
- No changes will be made to the validation certificate after an approved request has been closed, unless it is accepted that the competent regional authority has made an error. Requests for modifications of technical information must be subject to Individual Approval.