Low-emission zones in Belgium: Antwerp, Ghent and Brussels

Drive into a Belgian city and you may run into a low-emission zone (LEZ). Inside such a zone the most polluting vehicles are no longer freely allowed. Cameras read your number plate and automatically check whether your vehicle is permitted, also with a foreign plate. Belgium has three of these zones: Antwerp, Ghent and Brussels. Below you can read what is allowed, what a day pass costs and how to check in advance whether your car may enter.

How a low-emission zone works

Whether you are allowed in depends on the fuel and the euro standard of your vehicle. The euro standard indicates how polluting a car is: the higher the number, the cleaner. Diesel vehicles are judged more strictly than petrol ones, and electric vehicles may enter everywhere. The rules become stricter step by step and differ per city, so always check the current situation before you set off.

Antwerp and Ghent

Antwerp and Ghent use the same Flemish criteria. The tightening announced for 2026 and 2028 was scrapped at the end of 2025: diesel cars from euro standard 5 and petrol or gas cars from euro standard 2 remain allowed for now. Older vehicles below that are in principle not welcome and must register in advance or use a day pass. With a foreign number plate you must register your vehicle online first, otherwise the system sees you as not permitted.

Brussels

Brussels is the strictest. Since 1 January 2026, diesel cars with euro standard 5 (built roughly 2011 to 2016) and petrol cars with euro standard 2 (roughly 1996 to 2001) are no longer allowed into the zone. The Brussels LEZ covers almost the entire Brussels-Capital Region, so you enter it quickly.

Day pass and fines

If you need to enter the city with a non-permitted vehicle, you can buy a day pass in each of the three cities. It costs around 35 euros and you may use a maximum of eight per year per vehicle. If you drive in without permission and without a day pass, you usually get a warning first and then a fine of around 350 euros for a new offence within three months. Amounts and thresholds can change, so check the official city website before you go.

Check in advance whether you may enter

Each city has an online checker where you enter your number plate or euro standard and immediately see whether you are allowed in. Always do this in advance, especially with a foreign or older vehicle. You will find your euro standard on your registration certificate, or you can work it out from the fuel and the year of manufacture.

Low-emission zone and road vignette are two separate things

Do not confuse them. The low-emission zone already applies today and limits which vehicles may enter the city based on how polluting they are. The road vignette is something else: from 1 May 2027 it becomes mandatory for every vehicle up to 3,500 kg to use Belgian motorways and regional roads, regardless of how clean your car is. So you can need a vignette and still be allowed into the LEZ, or the other way around.

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