UK Drivers in Belgium 2026: Keep Right, Yield to the Right

Two things change the moment you roll off the shuttle or the ferry into Belgium, and neither is the licence. The first is the side of the road; the second is a junction rule Britain does not use.

Your licence and papers

GOV.UK says a UK photocard licence can be used in Belgium for up to six months without an IDP. If you are driving your own car, also carry the registration document, insurance papers and MOT certificate, plus passports for you and your passengers. The driving permit checker covers the rest of the route.

Keep right, and give way to the right

Belgium drives on the right, and the risky moments come early: leaving a petrol station, joining a roundabout, a reflex glance the wrong way at a junction. On top of that, article 12.3.1 of the road code says you give way to traffic coming from your right, unless you are on a roundabout or a give-way or stop sign faces you. On unmarked urban junctions, a car emerging from a side street on your right has priority, and locals use it.

Speeds by region

Motorways are 120 km/h everywhere. Built-up areas are 50 km/h in Flanders and Wallonia but 30 km/h in the Brussels region. Outside built-up areas, ordinary roads are 70 km/h in Flanders and Brussels and 90 km/h in Wallonia, unless signs say otherwise. GOV.UK warns of speed traps, cameras and unmarked police cars, and speeding can mean an on-the-spot fine; the speeding fine calculator gives a rough idea.

Alcohol, kit and low-emission zones

Belgium’s limit is 0.05%, against 0.08% in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; treat it as zero. Article 81.2 of the road code lists a warning triangle, a fire extinguisher and a first-aid kit as accessories on board. Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent run low-emission zones that require foreign vehicles to be registered in advance on each city’s website. Emergencies: 112. If a camera ticket follows a hire car home, who pays driving fines abroad explains the process, and the Belgium driving guide has the rest.

Sources

• GOV.UK, international driving permit table (Belgium: UK photocard licence up to six months without an IDP): gov.uk
• GOV.UK foreign travel advice, Belgium safety and security (documents to carry; speed traps; on-the-spot fines; LEZ registration in Brussels, Ghent and Antwerp): gov.uk
• Belgian road code (royal decree of 1 December 1975), art. 12.3.1 (priority to the right) and art. 81.2 (triangle, extinguisher, first-aid kit): codedelaroute.be
• Belgian federal road safety site, speed limits by region: codedelaroute.be
• WHO Global status report on road safety 2023, Belgium profile (0.05 g/dl): who.int
• GOV.UK, the drink drive limit (England, Wales and Northern Ireland 80 mg per 100 ml; Scotland 50): gov.uk