Special purpose vehicles
#Periodic inspection
Special purpose vehicles are subject to a technical inspection every 6 months from the time they are registered. In addition to a basic inspection, checks are carried out on the specific fit-out of the vehicle.
Ambulances, taxis, driving school vehicles, hire vehicles with driver, hearses, minibuses other than private ones.
#Re-inspection/additional visit
If your vehicle has been given a technical inspection certificate with a limited validity, a re-inspection must be carried out at the same centre to check that the defects noted have been repaired.
IMPORTANT
Please present your vehicle within the period stated on your technical inspection certificate. If this period is exceeded by 2 months or more, you will require another full inspection.
#Inspection for the purpose of selling
Before being registered in the name of a new owner, the vehicle must be presented for a ‘used vehicle’ technical inspection. In addition to a basic inspection, a further 33-point inspection is carried out. On completion of this inspection, you will be issued with various documents:
Provided your vehicle passes the inspection, you will be issued with a technical inspection certificate that is valid for 6 months (1 year for hearses).
This report covers the results of 33 additional inspection points, thereby informing the potential buyer of the general condition of the vehicle not affecting safety directly.
Did your vehicle undergo a full inspection less than 2 months ago?
On completion of this inspection, did you receive a technical inspection certificate with a normal validity period?
If you meet these two conditions, you can then benefit from a simplified inspection, which consists of a visual inspection and a braking test. On completion of the inspection, a ‘Visual inspection of the vehicle’ document, with a validity of 6 months (1 year for hearses), will be issued to you.
An official stamp will also be placed on your most recent technical inspection certificate. If during the visual inspection your vehicle presents a defect, a full inspection will have to be carried out.
On favourable completion of the inspection (either a visual or full inspection), a ‘Visual inspection of the vehicle’ document, with a validity of 1 year, will be issued to you. An official stamp will also be placed on your most recent technical inspection certificate.
This has a validity of 2 months from the date of inspection.
The Car-Pass provides traceability and guarantee of the mileage.
#Transfer inspection
It is possible to carry out the transfer of a vehicle and its registration plate between spouses or legal cohabitees, or from a parent to a child.
To do this, we invite you to make an appointment with your insurance company, taking the following documents with you (which can be obtained, where necessary, from your local council):
• the vehicle’s registration certificate
• a copy of the marriage certificate (spouses) or proof of legal cohabitation (legal cohabitees)
• a copy of the birth certificate in the event of a transfer to a child
• a letter from the owner, confirming the disposal
If the person disposing of the vehicle is deceased, you must have the documents for the vehicle, as well as a copy of the death certificate.
In the event of a death, the vehicle must be re-registered within 4 months. Once this period has expired, a used vehicle inspection must be carried out.
The ‘paper’ version of the registration application, completed, signed and accompanied by any annexes, must be submitted directly to a Vehicle Registration Department (DIV) office or via bpost.
It is not possible to transfer registration plates in the old format (5 or 6 characters).
If this is the case, as in the case of the transfer of a vehicle but not its plates, you will need to obtain a registration application from an inspection centre. This will merely involve a simple administrative visit.
Please bring the following documents with you:
• The registration certificate
• The certificate of conformity
• The most recent technical inspection certificate
• A copy of the marriage certificate (spouses) or proof of legal cohabitation (legal cohabitees)
• A copy of the birth certificate in the event of a transfer to a child (can be obtained from your local council)
• A letter from the owner, confirming the disposal or a copy of the death certificate.
Then go to your insurance company, taking the following documents with you:
• The registration application
• The registration certificate for the vehicle
• A copy of the marriage certificate (spouses) or proof of legal cohabitation (legal cohabitees)
• A copy of the birth certificate in the event of a transfer to a child (can be obtained from your local council)
• A letter from the owner, confirming the disposal or a copy of the death certificate.
In the event of a death, the vehicle must be re-registered within 4 months. Once this period has expired, a used vehicle inspection must be carried out.
#LPG/CNG inspections
Is your vehicle powered by LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) or CNG (compressed natural gas)? In which case, don’t forget that, in addition to the basic technical inspection, it is subject to a specific LPG/CNG inspection.
Factory-fitted
Where the installation has been fitted at the factory or is new, the installation will be inspected at the time of the first technical inspection.
Not factory-fitted
If you retrofit your vehicle with an LPG/CNG installation, it must be presented again for a partial inspection.
IMPORTANT
Installations of LPG/CNG equipment must be carried out in an authorised workshop, by an authorised installer.
On completion of the inspection, and provided your installation complies with the installation safety standards, a label will be affixed to the windscreen of your vehicle.
An inspection of the removal must be carried out, as well as an administrative regularisation so that the Federal Public Service Finance can be notified.
IMPORTANT
If one or more defects are reported in terms of the LPG/CNG equipment under the heading of ‘repair’ or ‘regularisation with new inspection’, you will not be able to use your vehicle until the repair has been carried out; this is the case even if, overall, the vehicle is in good condition and, in the meantime, it is powered by petrol alone.
#Tow hook inspection
Have you just fitted a towing device to your vehicle? Don’t forget that this device must also be inspected:
As soon as the device is placed in service
Factory-fitted or when the vehicle is new
Where the device has been fitted at the factory or when the vehicle is new, the installation will be inspected at the time of the first technical inspection.
If you have a towing device fitted after registration, it will be up to the installer or you to present your vehicle spontaneously for inspection.
If you never tow more than 750 kg, a partial inspection will be carried out, consisting of a check on the towing device and the way it is attached. This inspection will not affect the validity of the technical inspection certificate.
If you tow more than 750 kg, even occasionally, a full inspection (basic inspection + checks on the towing device and the way it has been attached + weighing) will be carried out. You will be given a technical inspection certificate with the wording ‘vehicle for towing trailer’, as well as the maximum masses that may be towed. In this case, the validity is for 6 months (1 year for hearses).
IMPORTANT
A full towing device, installed and attached, is mandatory during the periodic inspection, otherwise a red certificate with validity limited to 15 days will be issued to you.
Removal of a towing device requires you to present the vehicle for administrative regularisation at an inspection centre. Given the individual cases likely to be encountered, we suggest that you contact our customer service department on 087/57.20.30 for more information.
#Alteration (tuning)
As soon as any modifications or conversions are made to your vehicle, you must present it for a technical inspection to check whether you can drive around in it safely.
#Importing a vehicle
The 705 label from the customs office has been replaced since February 4, 2019, by an electronic information called ‘e-705’. The latter is sent to the Vehicle Registration Department office (DIV) directly. The registration application form, however, can only be obtained from an inspection centre.
Since 1 April 2019, it is possible to register vehicles imported from the EU via WebDIV.
This procedure is only possible if all following conditions are met:
1. Your vehicle has to be a category M, N or O.
M: cars and buses
N: (light) trucks
O: (semi)trailers
Categories T, C, R and S (agricultural tractors, tracked vehicles and agricultural trailers) are excluded.
2. Your chassis number must contain 17 characters.
3. Your vehicle needs to clear customs. Go to the nearest customs office with the documents of the vehicle and the purchase invoice.
4. You need to pre-register your vehicle. Visit the website for FPS Mobility and Transport and have your electronic identity card ready.
If all these steps are carried out in this order, the registration can directly be made by the insurer.
For vehicles already registered in another Member State of the European Union and that have a European approval number, the European certificate of conformity (COC) is not required. This means that these vehicles are exempt from the approval inspection and may be presented directly for a used vehicle inspection in any of our centres.
All other vehicles must have a Belgian or European certificate of conformity. Where applicable, you can obtain this certificate from the official importer for the make of vehicle, or on completion of a special approval inspection at an inspection centre with authority to carry out such inspections.
For more information about this type of inspection, we advise you to contact our customer service department on 087/57.20.30.
To make an appointment (which is compulsory for this procedure), call 087/39.39.49.
When there is a change of owner, a used vehicle inspection must be carried out. For this type of inspection, we very much recommend making an appointment by calling our customer service department on 087/39.39.49. Making appointments online is not possible for vehicles coming from aboard. If, despite everything, you wish to present the vehicle without an appointment, you should talk to the inspection centre manager, who will decide whether to accept the vehicle, depending on how busy the centre is at the time.
Provided your vehicle passes the technical inspection, a label will be issued and placed on the registration application form. Your insurer can then affix its official stamp and lodge your registration application with the Department of Vehicle Registrations (DIV).
To register a new vehicle or for re-registrations in the name of the same owner, a used vehicle inspection is not necessary. All processes will then be carried out with your insurer. We would draw your attention to the fact that special purpose vehicles are subject to a technical inspection every 6 months.
#Inspection post-accident - cars, light trucks, camping-cars, vehicle with a special use
If your vehicle has been in an accident, it may be submitted, on the decision of a loss-adjuster, to a post-accident inspection. The aim of this inspection is to check whether your vehicle can be put back on the road without endangering the safety of its passengers, as well as that of other road users.
In addition to a basic inspection, specific measurements will be taken of the geometry of the wheels and the chassis. The assessment will be made based on the dimensional data supplier by the manufacturer.
On completion of this inspection, you will receive a technical inspection certificate indicating any defects, as well as the report for the geometric measurements.
IMPORTANT
A post-accident inspection in no way modifies the reference date for the periodic inspection and hence at the most grants validity until the next periodic inspection. This inspection may take the place of the periodic inspection if it is carried out within a period of 1 month prior to the reference date (2 months for hearses).