European driving license

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It is no longer a requirement for drivers with licenses from other European countries to report to the Belgian administration where they live and exchange their national license for a Belgian license.

There are advantages to this change in procedure but there are also some disadvantages you must be aware of.

For example, what do you do if your license expires or is lost or stolen?  You will have to wait until your holidays or some other opportunity to go back home to have the license replaced or renewed.

However, there is a problem with this solution.  In Belgium, there is no way you can operate a motor vehicle without a valid license.  It is the law.

What To Do?

First of all, it is still recommended that you exchange your national driving license for a Belgian driving license.  If you don’t want to do that, then it is strongly suggested that you make a visit to the town hall where you are living and deposit with the Registrar a copy of your driving license.  They will keep it on file for you.  If your license is lost or stolen, you will be able to take a copy of the police report to the town hall and, based on the information contained on the copy they have of your national driving license, they will be able to issue you a replacement Belgian driving license valid until your tour at SHAPE is completed.