Setting up a transport company in Belgium: licences and steps

Key takeaways

• Paid transport requires a licence as soon as the payload exceeds 500 kg or the maximum mass exceeds 2.5 tonnes.
• Access to the profession rests on four conditions: establishment, good repute, financial standing and professional competence.
• The financial standing often applied is 9,000 € for the first vehicle and 5,000 € per additional vehicle.
• The SRL, with no minimum capital, remains the most suitable form to start a transport activity.

The Belgian road-transport sector benefits from the rise of e-commerce, but it remains one of the most regulated there is. Setting up a transport company in Belgium is not limited to registering an SRL: you need a licence, access to the haulier profession and proof of a minimum financial standing. These rules flow from European regulation 1071/2009, common to the whole Union, and are implemented by the FPS Mobility and Transport and the regional authorities. Here is the complete route, from the authorisations to the incorporation of the company.

Goods or passenger transport: choosing your activity

The first choice structures everything else: do you transport goods or passengers? Both regimes fall under the same European regulation 1071/2009 on access to the profession, but the thresholds and authorities differ.

For the transport of goods on behalf of third parties, the licence is required as soon as the vehicle exceeds certain weight thresholds (detailed below). For the transport of passengers, the access-to-the-profession regime applies to services provided with vehicles of more than 9 seats, driver included. Smaller-scale passenger transport (taxis, hire services with driver) falls under separate regional authorisations.

The transport licence: when it becomes mandatory

For the transport of goods on behalf of third parties, the licence exemption applies only if two conditions are met at the same time: a payload not exceeding 500 kg and a maximum authorised mass not exceeding 2.5 tonnes. As soon as one of these thresholds is crossed, the licence is mandatory. This double condition results from a recent evolution: it applies in the Flemish Region since April 2023, in the Brussels-Capital Region since December 2023, and in the Walloon Region since April 2024.

The licence comes in two territorial scopes. To be checked according to your market before filing the file.

	National licence	Community licence
Territory covered	Belgium only	European Union and associated countries
International transport
Original at the company's office
Certified copy per vehicle

The licence includes an original kept at the company's office and a certified copy for each vehicle in service. An annual fee per licence copy is due to the ITLB.

Access to the haulier profession: four conditions

Beyond the licence itself, European regulation 1071/2009 imposes four cumulative conditions to access the profession of road haulier. They apply to goods transport as to passenger transport.

The four conditions of access to the profession

• Stable establishment in Belgium

  An effective and stable establishment, with premises where the company's documents are kept.

• Good repute

  The transport manager and the company must not have been the subject of serious convictions rendering good repute incompatible with the profession.

• Financial standing

  Prove sufficient resources, calculated per vehicle, to guarantee the company's solvency.

• Professional competence

  Hold the certificate of professional competence, via the designated transport manager.

The professional-competence condition goes through a transport manager, a natural person who effectively directs the transport activities and holds the certificate. It may be the director or a person designated by contract.

Professional competence and financial standing: the amounts

Two conditions rest on precise figures that must be anticipated in your financing plan. Professional competence is acquired through an exam, and financial standing through proof of own funds or a guarantee.

Professional competence is proven by passing the exam organised by the Institute of Road Transport and Logistics Belgium (ITLB), which holds several sessions a year, or by demonstrating sufficient professional experience. The certificate is then recognised by the FPS Mobility and Transport.

Financial standing is demonstrated per vehicle. The frequently cited amount is 9,000 € for the first vehicle and 5,000 € for each additional vehicle, to be constituted notably by guarantee or own funds. An annual fee per licence copy is also paid to the ITLB. All these amounts must be confirmed with the competent authority at the time of your file, as they are liable to change.

Setting up your transport company: legal form and steps

Once the conditions of access to the profession are understood, it remains to give a legal structure to your activity. For a transport SME, the SRL is generally the most suitable form: it limits the partners' liability to their contribution and no longer requires a legal minimum capital. The SA is aimed at more capital-intensive projects and keeps a minimum capital requirement. To arbitrate, our comparison SRL or SA in Belgium details the choice criteria.

The incorporation steps follow the classic order of a Belgian company, to which are added the authorisations specific to transport.

1. 1

   Draft the financial plan

   A forecast of needs and resources over the first two financial years, mandatory for the SRL and the SA, and handed to the notary.

2. 2

   Execute the deed of incorporation before the notary

   The notary authenticates the articles. Designate there, or by contract, the transport manager holding the professional competence.

3. 3

   Register with the CBE

   The company receives its enterprise number via an approved enterprise counter, after filing the deed at the registry of the enterprise court.

4. 4

   Constitute the financial standing

   Gather the funds or guarantee required per vehicle to satisfy the solvency condition.

5. 5

   Apply for the transport licence

   File the application with the FPS Mobility and Transport once the access-to-the-profession conditions are met.

The company's registered office must be declared with the CBE. Many hauliers prefer a professional address distinct from their home: our SRL creation service can handle the incorporation and the office alongside your licence steps. For the detail of the incorporation, also see our guide setting up an SRL in Belgium.

Launch your transport company on solid foundations

Incorporation of the SRL, financial plan and registered office, supported end to end while you build your licence file.

Create my transport companyRegister my business address

Going further

• Setting up an SRL in Belgium: the essential steps.
• SRL or SA: which legal form to choose?.
• The financial plan of an SRL, how to use it.
• Becoming an Uber driver in Belgium, for on-demand passenger transport.