Belgium: no nationwide truck driving ban. Local and route restrictions may still apply, see below.
Belgium has no general weekend or public holiday driving ban for ordinary trucks. Heavy goods vehicles, including those over 7.5 t, may drive on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, subject to EU driving and rest time rules. Fixed time bans apply only to exceptional transport (oversize or overweight convoys): a weekend ban, a public holiday ban and daily peak-hour and oversize restrictions. Exceptional transport is a regional matter, so exact hours differ between Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels.
Next 30 days
Belgium: no scheduled nationwide driving bans. Local and city restrictions are described below.
Public holidays with truck bans — Belgium 2026
| Date | Holiday | Ban time | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | No general truck ban (exceptional transport restricted) | ||
| Easter Monday | No general truck ban (exceptional transport restricted) | ||
| Labour Day | No general truck ban (exceptional transport restricted) | ||
| Ascension Day | No general truck ban (exceptional transport restricted) | ||
| Whit Monday | No general truck ban (exceptional transport restricted) | ||
| Belgian National Day | No general truck ban (exceptional transport restricted) | ||
| Assumption of Mary | No general truck ban (exceptional transport restricted) | ||
| All Saints' Day | No general truck ban (exceptional transport restricted) | ||
| Armistice Day | No general truck ban (exceptional transport restricted) | ||
| Christmas Day | No general truck ban (exceptional transport restricted) |
Exceptional and abnormal transport
Belgium reserves its fixed time bans for exceptional transport, meaning convoys that exceed standard weight or dimension limits and require a permit. The permit conditions set the driving windows. Exceptional transport may not drive from Saturday 12:00 until Sunday midnight, except cranes not exceeding 96 t or 3.00 m width. On the ten public holidays the ban runs from 16:00 on the eve until midnight of the holiday. Peak-hour driving is prohibited from 07:00 to 09:00 and from 16:00 to 18:00, except for vehicles not exceeding 60 t, 3.50 m width and 27.00 m length whose permit sets no traffic-flow conditions. Vehicles over 4.00 m wide, over 3.50 m wide on motorways with fewer than three lanes per direction, or over 30.00 m long may not drive between 06:00 and 21:00.
Regional differences: Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels
Exceptional transport is a regional competence, so the rules are no longer uniform across Belgium. Flanders and Brussels keep the federal baseline from the Royal Decree of 2 June 2010, with the weekend ban from Saturday 12:00 to Sunday midnight and the crane exemption at 96 t. Wallonia applies its own Government Decree of 21 March 2024: the weekend ban starts later, from Saturday 22:00 to Sunday midnight, and the crane exemption is raised to 108 t. Permits are issued by the region crossed, so a route through several regions must satisfy each region's conditions.
FAQ
Are trucks banned on Sundays in Belgium?
No. Belgium has no nationwide Sunday driving ban for ordinary trucks. Heavy goods vehicles may drive on Sundays year-round, subject to EU driving and rest time rules.
Is there a public holiday truck ban in Belgium?
Not for ordinary trucks. Public holidays only trigger a driving ban for exceptional transport, which runs from 16:00 on the eve of the holiday until midnight of the holiday itself.
Which vehicles do the Belgian time bans apply to?
The fixed weekend, holiday and peak-hour bans apply to exceptional transport, meaning convoys that exceed standard weight or dimension limits and need a permit. Standard trucks are not covered.
When is exceptional transport banned at the weekend?
Under the federal rules that still apply in Flanders and Brussels, exceptional transport may not drive from Saturday 12:00 until Sunday midnight. In Wallonia the weekend ban starts later, from Saturday 22:00 until Sunday midnight.
Are there daytime limits for oversize loads?
Yes. Exceptional vehicles wider than 4.00 m, or wider than 3.50 m on motorways with fewer than three lanes per direction, or longer than 30.00 m, may not drive between 06:00 and 21:00.
Who issues exceptional transport permits in Belgium?
Permits are issued by the region crossed. Flanders through the Agentschap Wegen en Verkeer, Wallonia through the Service public de Wallonie, and Brussels through Brussels Mobility.
Do Belgian cities restrict heavy trucks?
Some cities operate low-emission zones in Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent that restrict access by engine emission class rather than by day or weight, plus local weight and night limits on individual streets set by municipal signage.
Official source
- Belgium.be (Federal portal) - Exceptional transport
- Agentschap Wegen en Verkeer (Flanders) - Uitzonderlijk vervoer
- Service public de Wallonie - Transport exceptionnel
- Royal Decree of 2 June 2010 on road circulation of exceptional vehicles, Art. 30
- Walloon Government Decree of 21 March 2024 on exceptional vehicles
Rules can change on short notice. Verify with the official sources above before dispatch.