Category L Individual Approval

In Brussels, requests for Individual Approval for category L vehicles must be made by appointment with the Conformity Department of the ACT technical inspection centre in Evere (Schaerbeek).

Vehicles first registered before 1/07/2004 can be presented directly to the ACT technical inspection centre in Evere (Schaerbeek).
Vehicles first registered between 1/04/2007 and 22/03/2013 must first be subject to an approval agreement. To do so, a request for prior authorisation must be sent to the Brussels Mobility Vehicle Expertise Department by e-mail at homologation@sprb.brussels. This request for authorisation must be accompanied by the documents set out below, detailed and exhaustive photographs of the vehicle and its identification markings (including peripheral equipment) as well as your full contact details and a telephone number where you can be reached during office hours. If authorisation is granted, you will receive a postal invitation to present your vehicle at the ACT Evere (Schaerbeek) technical inspection centre.
Vehicles first registered after 22/03/2013 are not eligible for Individual Approval in Belgium.

The documents required on the day of the vehicle inspection are:

The registration certificate of the country from which the vehicle originates, and, if applicable, a retention certificate for the document by its export country
A sworn translation of the registration certificate of the country from which the vehicle originates when the document is written in a non-Latin language, and, if applicable, a sworn translation of the retention certificate for the document by its export country
An official technical data sheet issued exclusively by the manufacturer, through its mandatory or importer
A power certificate (if required)
For all vehicles imported from a country outside the European Economic Area and first registered between 01/04/2007 and 22/03/2013, a certificate of conformity to Directive 2002/51/EC of 19 July 2002 on the reduction of the level of pollutant emissions or to the applicable Euro Norm, issued exclusively by the manufacturer through its mandatory or importer

For modified/converted vehicles, the following additional documents are required:

Authorisation for conversions/modifications issued exclusively by the manufacturer through its mandatory or importer
Approvals and assembly instructions for added components or technical elements
An up-to-date CARA Certificate issued by VIAS for vehicles adapted for drivers with reduced mobility

Presentation of any other official document proving that the vehicle, its components, systems and technical elements comply with Belgian or European regulations is recommended but not compulsory.

Documents from foreign Technical Services (test laboratories) are of no value in absolute terms, unless these Technical Services are approved in Belgium. Consequently, the information contained in these documents is never used for certification purposes, but can be used as a guide when the Brussels Mobility Vehicle Expertise Department reviews your file.

During the inspection at the technical inspection centre, your vehicle is inspected on the following points:

Inspection of the general condition
Weight: for this purpose, all liquid and fuel tanks must be filled beforehand, and the vehicle must be presented empty of all personal belongings, additional equipment and travel accessories such as top cases and other non-original panniers
Checking the data present on the vehicle compared with the related documents

At the end of the inspection, if the Conformity Department of the technical inspection centre considers your request to be admissible, it forwards a complete file to the Brussels Mobility Vehicle Expertise Department for review. You will then be required to pay the fee for the vehicle inspection carried out by the technical inspection centre, as well as the processing fee.

Your file is analysed based on the findings about the vehicle and its documents regarding the Belgian (Royal Decree of 10 October 1974) and/or European (Regulation 168/2013/EC and earlier) regulations applicable to the vehicle on the date of its first registration.

If it considers it necessary, the Brussels Mobility Vehicle Expertise Department may request additional documents in order to continue processing your request. Payment of the fee to the inspection centre and the processing fee does not guarantee that a certificate will be issued. Consequently, an request for Individual Approval can always be refused for non-compliance of the vehicle, its components, systems or technical entities with Belgian or European regulations.

Certification, refusal, notification and processing times

If the Individual Approval is refused, you will be notified of the reason(s) for refusal by post as soon as possible. You will then have time to put the non-compliant elements back in order, and have the vehicle re-inspected at the technical inspection centre where the request was originally submitted. In the event of a definitive refusal and closure of your file, the fees incurred remain payable.

If your file is complete and the vehicle complies with Belgian or European regulations, the Brussels Mobility Vehicle Expertise Department sends a Single-Vehicle Individual Approval Form, which services as a certificate of conformity, to the technical inspection centre where the request was originally submitted. The Conformity Department of the inspection centre will then call you back to affix a new identification sticker to the vehicle and send you the Certificate Of Conformity and the documents required for registration.

With the foreign registration certificate, the Single-Vehicle Individual Approval Form and the registration request form, you can either go to your insurer or directly to a Vehicle Registration Service (DIV) counter to apply for registration.

An Individual Approval file is definitively closed when the Single-Vehicle Individual Approval Form has been issued, when the deadline to re-present the vehicle has passed or when certification has been definitively refused. There is no extra charge for administration fees in the event of the vehicle's re-presentation following a finding of non-compliance.

Important to know:

Quad bikes are not allowed on the roads in Brussels, which means you have to take your vehicle to the ACT inspection centre in Evere (Schaerbeek) by an alternative means
No changes will be made to the Single-Vehicle Individual Approval Form after an approved request has been closed, unless it is accepted that the competent regional authority has made an error. Requests for modifications of technical information must be subject to a new Individual Approval