Becoming an Uber driver in Belgium: status, licence and steps

Key takeaways

• Driving for Uber in Belgium requires a self-employed status: you are not an employee of the platform.
• The paid transport of passengers is regulated by the Regions, so you need an authorisation in Brussels, Flanders or Wallonia.
• Self-employed as a natural person or through a company: the choice depends on the activity volume and the protection of assets.
• Net income is calculated after the Uber commission, fuel, insurance, social contributions and tax, not on the gross turnover.

In Belgium, driving for Uber is not a side gig you accept with a click: it is a self-employed activity in its own right, framed by regional regulation of the paid transport of passengers. Becoming an Uber driver in Belgium therefore requires creating a business, obtaining an authorisation from your Region and covering the vehicle with suitable insurance, before the first ride. This guide details the status to choose, the licence to apply for, the administrative steps, then what the activity actually earns once costs are deducted.

Becoming an Uber driver in Belgium requires a self-employed status

Contrary to a widespread idea, Uber does not employ its drivers in Belgium. The platform connects passengers and drivers who operate on their own account. You invoice your rides as an independent provider, you bear your costs and you are responsible for your administrative compliance.

Concretely, this means you must first register with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (CBE) via an approved enterprise counter and obtain an enterprise number. The salaried status is not an option to drive under the app. This registration precedes the licence application and the activation of the driver account.

The conditions to drive for Uber

The requirements are spread between your driver profile, your administrative situation and the condition of the vehicle. The platform sets its own criteria, which are superimposed on the regional legal conditions.

What you must gather before starting

• Valid category B driving licence

  Held for several years according to the platform's and the Region's requirements.

• Clean criminal record

  A recent extract (model intended for activities involving contact with the public) is generally required.

• Active enterprise number at the CBE

  Obtained via an approved enterprise counter before starting the activity.

• Regional passenger-transport authorisation

  Issued by the Region where you operate: Brussels-Capital, Flanders or Wallonia.

• Compliant vehicle insured for paid transport

  Number of doors, maximum age, valid roadworthiness test and adequate professional insurance.

The vehicle deserves particular attention. Platforms generally impose a four-door model, in good condition, below a certain age, with a valid roadworthiness test. Beyond these commercial criteria, it is the insurance cover that is decisive: a private car policy does not compensate a claim occurring during a paid ride.

The PHV licence, a regional competence

The paid transport of passengers (taxis and car hire with driver) is a regional competence, transferred to the Regions by the special law of 8 August 1988. There is therefore no single Belgian PHV licence: the rules, the name of the authorisation and the procedure vary depending on whether you operate in Brussels, Flanders or Wallonia.

In Brussels-Capital, the sector was overhauled by a regional ordinance that frames taxi services and prior booking. In Flanders, the decree on individual paid passenger transport entrusts the issuing of authorisations to the municipalities. In Wallonia, taxi and similar transport is governed by a specific regional decree. In all three cases, you apply for the authorisation from the competent authority of your Region before activating your driver account.

Self-employed as a natural person or through a company

Most drivers start as a natural person, the simplest and cheapest status to launch. Switching to a company (most often an SRL) becomes relevant when the activity ramps up, to protect private assets and optimise taxation. The table below sums up the trade-off.

	Self-employed natural person	Company (SRL)
Cost and speed of creation	Low, fast	Notarial deed, financial plan
Liability on private assets	Unlimited	Limited to contributions
Taxation of profits	Personal income tax (progressive)	Corporate income tax
Accounting	Simplified possible	Double-entry accounting
Suited to	Start-up, moderate volume	Established activity, several vehicles

If you are starting out alone, with one vehicle, the natural person is most often enough. As soon as you consider investing in one or more vehicles, employing other drivers or securing your assets, look into creating a company. The gap in taxation and protection may then justify the incorporation costs.

The steps to start out, step by step

The order of operations matters: the regional licence and the insurance depend on the prior existence of your business. Here is the typical sequence.

1. 1

   Choose your status

   Step 1

   Self-employed as a natural person or a company depending on the activity volume aimed for and the protection of assets.

2. 2

   Register with the CBE

   Step 2

   Go through an approved enterprise counter to obtain the enterprise number and activate the necessary capacities.

3. 3

   Affiliate with a social insurance fund

   Step 2

   Mandatory affiliation before the start of the activity, with a fund approved by NISSE.

4. 4

   Apply for the regional authorisation

   Step 3

   File the paid-passenger-transport file with the competent authority of the Region of operation.

5. 5

   Insure the vehicle for passenger transport

   Step 4

   Take out a policy covering the commercial activity, distinct from a private car insurance.

6. 6

   Activate the driver account

   Step 5

   Send the documents to Uber, pass the checks and carry out the first rides.

Allow several weeks between filing the first documents and the first ride, the timeline depending mainly on the review of the regional authorisation. The creation of the business, for its part, can be wrapped up quickly with an approved enterprise counter.

Income, commission and costs of an Uber driver

The most misunderstood point of the occupation is the gap between the displayed turnover and what is left in your pocket. Uber takes a commission on each ride, and the self-employed driver then bears all their operating and social costs.

The gross turnover depends heavily on the hours worked, the zone and the time slots: there is no official scale and no amount can be guaranteed. The platform commission, variable according to the conditions, is often mentioned around 25%. Fuel, for its part, represents a significant share of the turnover.

To these items are added professional insurance, the maintenance and repairs of the vehicle, the self-employed social contributions and income tax. As a natural person, these profits are added to your other income and taxed on the progressive scale of personal income tax. The real net income is therefore markedly below the gross turnover, which makes the management of hours and time slots decisive for profitability.

On the VAT side, passenger transport is in principle subject to the tax. The exemption scheme remains possible as long as the annual turnover stays below the threshold of 25,000 € excluding VAT, which exempts you from charging and declaring VAT, but also deprives you of the deduction on purchases. Above this threshold, normal liability applies.

Want to start out as a PHV driver?

Monsiegesocial supports you in creating your business and registering with the CBE, the first step before the licence and the activation of your driver account.

Create my businessSee our services

Advantages and limits of the occupation

Before signing up, weigh the activity clearly. The real flexibility comes at the price of full exposure to costs and market conditions.

Going further

• Secondary self-employed in Belgium: conditions and contributions: useful if you drive for Uber alongside a salaried job.
• VAT for the self-employed in Belgium: thresholds and obligations: to situate your activity relative to the exemption threshold and liability.
• Creating a business in Belgium: the statuses, the steps and the support to start out compliantly.