Taxi sector

Operators of taxis, vehicles for special forms of regular transport, shared vehicles (free-floating/bike sharing), (prospective) drivers, etc. In short, all passenger transport professionals in Brussels can manage their files online on a regional platform (management of drivers, vehicles, vignettes, licences, etc.).

• External linkAccess for citizens (prospective drivers, drivers)
• External linkAccess for businesses (business managers, directors, etc.)

Would you like to become a taxi driver?

Then you must submit an application for a certificate of competence via External linkthe regional platform. Once you have logged in, click on the my applications button and then create an application with the title Issuing of a certificate of competence (taxi).

The application for a certificate of competence is based on the following documents:

• An extract from the criminal record that is less than three months old. You can request this extract via External linkIRISbox (irisnet.be) if you are domiciled in one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region. Once you have logged into your IRISbox profile, select the option “Extract from the criminal record” from the “Quick download” list and click on “Request another extract”. Then select the type of extract “596.1-28 Taxi driver”. You can also contact your local council to obtain the criminal record extract 596.1-28 taxi driver.
• A document proving a minimum knowledge of French and/or Dutch, which must be at least level A2 of the Common European Framework of Reference (examples of valid documents: External linkcertificate of a successful language test from Werkenvoor.be, certificate from Bruxelles Formation, equivalent diploma, primary education certificate, secondary education diploma, university diploma) .
• A copy of the definitive Belgian or European driving licence entitling the candidate driver to drive a category B vehicle in Belgium and which he has held for at least two years at the time of application. The provisional driving licence does not count towards the two-year period.
• A valid medical certificate in accordance with the applicable federal regulations, unless this is already stated on your driving licence.
• If you are a foreign national: the document that allows you to work in Belgium.
• A passport photo (on a white background).
• Payment of the fee: €75 per application for a certificate of competence. You must make the payment when completing the application on the regional platform. It is therefore not necessary to transfer this amount in advance.

Periodic refresher training

Every 5 years from the date of receipt of your certificate of competence, you must, on your own initiative, provide the following to the board:

• An extract from the criminal record (model 596.1.28)
• A certificate of medical fitness (or show the update on your driving licence)
• A recent colour photograph with a white background, in ID card format. Your entire head must be visible, centred in the photograph.

Foreign nationals must also include their permit to work in Belgium.

Send all documents in a single email to taxi@gob.brussels with the subject line “renewal of certificate of competence”.

In order to operate in Brussels (pick up and drop off a customer in the Brussels-Capital Region), a taxi must have a licence that allows it to operate one or more vehicles depending on the number of vignettes authorised.

Vehicles registered in another region may pick up a customer in Brussels if the following conditions are met:

1. the journey has been booked
2. except for ceremonial taxi services, the vehicle is not located in the Brussels-Capital Region when the operator agrees to carry out the journey
3. except for ceremonial taxi services, the arrival point of the journey is not located in the Brussels-Capital Region

Applying for a licence

To apply for a licence – and therefore vignettes – you must complete External linkthis form. You can use this form for both applications for new licences and applications to increase the number of vehicles in operation.

As the numerus clausus has been reached, complete applications are placed in a queue. Your place in the queue is determined by the date and time at which the application is complete. It is therefore essential that you include all the required documents with your application.

Who is the holder of the vignette?

Only a natural person can obtain a licence. The licence is registered in the name of the holder and is therefore not the property of the company.

Only one licence may be issued per operator. It must state how many identification vignettes have been allocated to the operator.

The operator of a licensed taxi service may be a legal entity, provided that the licence holder is the driver responsible for the day-to-day management of that legal entity. The natural person and legal entity are responsible for complying with the conditions attached to this operating licence.

How long is a licence valid for?

The licence is valid for seven years and is renewable.

Tax

Holders of a licence to operate a taxi service must pay an annual tax. Brussels Taxation will send the tax assessment notice for these taxes.

Continuation of a licence to operate a taxi service

Fill in External linkthis form if you are the holder of a licence to operate a taxi service that you operate as a natural person and you want the operation to be taken over by a legal entity. You must also use this same form if you have already continued the operation and if you:

• wish to change the legal entity that currently operates the taxi service;
• wish to operate the taxi service again as a natural person.

Amendment of the articles of association:

• The amendments to the articles of association relate both to operators who are legal entities and who hold a taxi rank licence (originally issued under the former regulations) and to operators who are natural persons and who hold a street or taxi rank licence, and whose licence operation is co-managed by a legal entity.
• In the event of a change within the company, such as the appointment or resignation of a director, it is important to submit a request to amend the articles of association to the board. The natural person who holds a licence to operate a street or taxi rank taxi service must remain the director responsible for the day-to-day management of the operating legal entity. In the event of dismissal, this legal entity will no longer be able to operate the licence.

To amend the articles of association, you must use External linkthis form.

Transfer of the licence

If you hold a licence to operate a taxi rank service that was issued under certain conditions on the basis of the decree of 27 April 1995, you can submit a transfer request using this form.

What are the conditions?

1. For the transferor:

The transferor must, for at least the last ten years without interruption:

a) have complied with all the obligations of the regulations concerning taxi services;

b) have been the holder of the identification stickers that are the subject of the transfer application.

These conditions do not apply if the transfer application is part of a court-ordered judicial reorganisation or bankruptcy proceedings.

2. For the transferee:

The transferee must:

a) either already hold an operating licence;

b) or meet the conditions for the issue of an operating licence, i.e. good conduct, professional qualifications and solvency.

3. Favourable opinion of the transfer committee:

Every transfer application must receive a favourable opinion from the transfer committee.

Journey sheets for taxi ranks

The Passenger Transport Directorate no longer issues paper journey sheets. From now on, you must enter the name of the operator (+ CBE number) in digital journey sheets, print them and number them. You must save these digital journey sheets as PDF files.

Driver registration

You can use External linkthis form to easily register a driver (Dimona IN), change the driver's information or terminate the Dimona link with your company (Dimona OUT).

A booking intermediary is any natural or legal person who, in any way whatsoever, intervenes in the provision of taxi services on the market in return for remuneration, promotes taxi services on the market or provides services enabling taxi service operators and customers/users to come into contact with each other.

The intermediary must first obtain accreditation as a booking intermediary.

Accreditation is personal and non-transferable. No later than the day before the first day on which its booking platform is available to the public, the applicant must have an establishment in Belgium.

Accreditation is granted after verification of the moral conduct of the managers and the company.

To obtain the extract from the company's criminal record, you can submit an External linkapplication to the FPS Justice.

The applicant must also provide proof of their solvency and professional qualifications. To this end, the applicant must provide a certificate from the RSZ and/or a certificate from the social insurance fund for self-employed persons, which is less than three months old and shows that they have no social security debts.

The professional qualification is demonstrated by the mention, in the articles of association or at the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (CBE), of the activity code for land transport services (code 52.210).

The government or its representative may suspend or withdraw the authorisation for a certain period of time in the event of a violation of the provisions of the ordinance, its implementing decrees or the conditions for the recognition in question, or if the booking agent fails to respond to a summons or a request for information from the administration despite a reminder sent by a means of communication that allows a precise date to be given for the receipt of the letter, as well as in the event of a complete cessation of the management of the platform for a period of one year.

To apply for accreditation, you must complete External linkthis form.

Each year, booking agents must pay a tax of 20 euros per vehicle registered by the latter. To this end, the booking agent must inform the board annually, between 1 and 31 January, of the vehicles registered with the booking agent during the previous calendar year using External linkthis form.

From the date of signing the decision to grant the vignette, you have six months to register a vehicle that meets the criteria of the relevant subcategory. After this period, the vignette expires and you lose it.

To register your vehicle, you must use External linkthis form. You can use the same form if you wish to change the vehicle already listed on your vignette. The regional platform will ask you to make an initial payment of 50 euros to open the file, and another 50 euros for the issue of the vignette.

To change your registration from TL to TX, you can email taxi@gob.brussels directly, attaching the following documents: the registration certificate, the insurance policy, the certificate of paid passenger transport and the inspection certificate with the TX number plate information.

However, if you wish to increase the number of vignettes on your licence, you must use External linkthis form.

Request to use a replacement vehicle

You may only use a replacement vehicle after you have notified the administration by email to taxi@sprb.brussels. To speed up the processing of your request, please state “use of a replacement vehicle” in the subject line of your email.

The notification must contain the following:

• the reason for the unavailability of the normally used vehicle (certificate from a garage owner)
• the expected duration of the unavailability (certificate from a garage owner)
• the location where the unavailable vehicle is parked during the period of unavailability

We recommend that you always keep a copy of the document you have sent to the administration on board the vehicle.

A replacement vehicle may only be used in place of a vehicle registered in the operating licence that is temporarily unavailable following an accident, a major mechanical breakdown, a fire or theft, and only during this period of unavailability.

Request for the use of a replacement vehicle

The operator must notify the administration of the use of a replacement vehicle before using it by email to taxi@sprb.brussels

The request must state the following:

• the reason for the unavailability of the registered vehicle (certificate from a garage owner)
• the expected duration of the unavailability (certificate from a garage owner)
• the number of the registration sticker of the vehicle that is unavailable
• the location of the unavailable vehicle during the period of unavailability, if known
• registration certificate (front/back), insurance, technical inspection of the authorised vehicle (defective vehicle)
• registration certificate (front and back), insurance, technical inspection and certificate of conformity of the replacement vehicle
• rental contract for the replacement vehicle
• for taxi ranks, the processing certificate for the replacement vehicle (date of the day in question) stating the rates applied by the taximeter
• proof of payment of €100 to account number BE91 0972 3108 1076 with the reference ‘999809 RV + name of the company’

In all cases, reserve and replacement vehicles must meet the following conditions:

• be equipped to provide a taxi service under the same conditions as the temporarily unavailable vehicle, including the indicator light of the base vehicle, if applicable
• carry on board the licence documents relating to their use, in addition to the documents required for the base vehicle
• display on the outside the identification sticker of the base vehicle (front right) and an identification sticker issued by the administration as a reserve or replacement taxi (front left); be insured as a taxi at the time of use

The taxi sector is subject to:

1. Opens in new windowDe ordonnantie van 9 juni 2022 betreffende taxidiensten
2. Opens in new windowBesluit van 6 oktober 2022 van de Brusselse Hoofdstedelijke Regering betreffende de taxidiensten
3. Opens in new windowHet besluit van 6 oktober 2022 van de Brusselse Hoofdstedelijke Regering betreffende de subcategorieën van taxidiensten en de quota en tarieven die erop van toepassing zijn
4. Opens in new windowHet besluit van de Brusselse Hoofdstedelijke Regering tot wijziging van het besluit van de Brusselse Hoofdstedelijke Regering van 6 oktober 2022 betreffende de taxidiensten

Brussels Mobility sends a monthly newsletter to all taxi drivers in Brussels. If you would like to receive it, please enter External linkyour email address here.

The counters operate exclusively digitally. Procedures (including payments) are mainly handled remotely and by post.

We ask that you only come to the counter by appointment to drop off materials (indicator lights, etc.). For all questions, please contact us at taxi@gob.brussels. We will respond as soon as possible. You can also make an appointment via the Smart Self Kiosk on the ground floor of the Iris Tower.

If you wish to consult your file or contact us, there are several communication channels available:

• Via our regional platform. You can post a comment in your file and your file manager will reply to you.
• By email to taxi@gob.brussels
• By telephone (02/204 14 04) during our office hours:
  • Monday from 9.30 am to 11.30 am
  • Wednesday from 2 pm to 4 pm
  • Friday from 9.30 am to 11.30 am