Key takeaways
- The obligation to prove basic management knowledge is abolished in all three Regions.
- Timeline: Flanders on 1 September 2018, Brussels in January 2024, Wallonia on 1 October 2025.
- You can therefore set up as self-employed without a management diploma, except for still-regulated professions.
- In Wallonia and Brussels, some regulated trades still require a professional competence.
For decades, setting up as self-employed in Belgium meant proving basic management knowledge: accounting, law, commercial management, through a diploma, experience or an exam. This prerequisite has now disappeared, region by region. Access to the profession in Belgium has been substantially eased, but unevenly, and a few trades remain regulated. This article gives a clear picture of what has changed, when, and what remains in 2026.
What was basic management knowledge?
Until its abolition, basic management knowledge was the general condition to register as self-employed. You had to demonstrate notions of accounting, law and commercial management, in three possible ways: a diploma, sufficient professional experience, or passing an exam before the central jury.
This requirement was contested. Its effectiveness, notably in preventing bankruptcies, had never been established, and it was easy to circumvent. The Regions, competent in this matter, therefore progressively abandoned it.
The abolition, region by region
Access to the profession is a regional competence: the abolition did not happen everywhere at the same time. Here is the timeline.
| Region | Basic management abolished | |
|---|---|---|
| Flanders | 1 September 2018 | |
| Brussels | January 2024 | |
| Wallonia | 1 October 2025 |
Since 1 October 2025, the last step with Wallonia, no Belgian Region imposes this general management proof. A project owner can therefore, in principle, set up as self-employed without a management diploma or exam.
What remains: the regulated professions
The end of basic management does not mean the end of every requirement. You must distinguish general management competence, now abolished, from the professional competences specific to certain trades.
In other words, a consultant or a shopkeeper can now start without any proof of competence, while a regulated trade may still require one, depending on the Region. The boundary is checked at the time of registration.
In practice, how to register today
The entry point remains the same: the accredited business one-stop shop. It is the one that checks any applicable access-to-profession conditions and carries out the registration.
The registration steps
Check whether your activity is regulated
Most activities no longer are; some trades, notably in construction, may still be depending on the Region.
Go through an accredited business one-stop shop
It checks the access conditions and assigns the enterprise number at the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises.
Affiliate and activate VAT
Affiliation to a social insurance fund and VAT registration complete the launch.
For the full launch path, beyond access to the profession, see our guide to becoming self-employed in Belgium. And for construction trades, still partly regulated, our article on setting up a construction company details the conditions.
Launch your self-employed activity
Checking access to the profession, CBE registration and social affiliation: Monsiegesocial sets up your activity and secures the starting steps.
Going further
- Becoming self-employed in Belgium, the full launch path.
- Setting up a construction company in Belgium, a sector still partly regulated.
- Creating a company in Belgium: the steps, if you opt for a company.
