The LEZ is a health measure that applies to all visitors and inhabitants of the City of Antwerp. This measure was incorporated in the traffic code and entered into force on 1 February 2017. Every road user is deemed to know this traffic code. The LEZ is indicated by zone signs F117 and F118 and by signs announcing the LEZ. These information signs make sure that you do not accidentally drive into the LEZ.
In addition, the City of Antwerp, the Flemish Government and many mobility organisations have organised online campaigns announcing the introduction and enforcement of the LEZ.
Buy a temporary admission: Some vehicles may temporarily enter the LEZ after payment. This is a transitional measure. The rates depend on the duration of the admission and the type of vehicle.
After payment, you can apply for an admission for the following vehicles:
- Diesel vehicles – Euro 4 emissions standard;
- Vehicles 40 or more years old;
- Diesel vehicles – Euro 3 or 4 emissions standard for work in public spaces;
- Diesel vehicles – Euro 3 or 4 emissions standard for emergency services;
- Diesel vehicles – Euro 3 or 4 emissions standard for markets, fairs and market traders.
Buy an LEZ day pass: All vehicles that are not admitted to the LEZ may enter the zone up to 8 times a year with an LEZ day pass which costs 35 EUR and entitles the holder to enter the zone on the day of their choosing, until 6 AM the following morning.
The LEZ is a health measure that applies to all visitors and inhabitants of the City of Antwerp. This measure has been a part of the traffic code in Antwerp since 1 February 2017. Every road user is deemed to know this traffic code. The LEZ is indicated by zone signs F117 and F118. If you pass these zone signs, you have entered the LEZ.
Also, the last intersections before the LEZ have signs announcing the LEZ. These traffic signs indicate the last alternatives for vehicles that want to avoid the zone. These information signs make sure that you do not accidentally drive into the LEZ.
- online at https://lez.antwerpen.be/
- on-site at one of the LEZ machines
Find out here how you can register your vehicle.
If you are forced to follow a deviation that runs partly through the LEZ as a result of road works, you will not be fined if you followed this deviation correctly.
Send us the specific date and the time you followed the deviation. Also, you have to send us a map showing each street in the route which you had to follow during the deviation.
If you enter the LEZ without having registered your vehicle in time, your vehicle will be added to the list of vehicles that are not admitted during the enforcement procedure. You will then receive an administrative fine. Registration is compulsory and must be done within the required time limit. The date of registration is crucial: if you register your vehicle after being fined, you will still have to pay the fine.
Find out here how you can register your vehicle.
Since 2018, the fines have been increased for repeat offenders: 150 EUR for a first offence and up to 350 EUR as of the third offence within a 12-month period.
| FINEA vehicle that is not admitted to the LEZ but still enters the zone will be fined | as from 1 January 2018 | first offence | 150 EUR |
| second offencewithin 12 months | 250 EUR | ||
| additional offenceswithin 12 months | 350 EUR |
- the Vehicle Registration Certificate;
- the European Certificate of Conformity, if available in your country;
- specific documents depending on your situation.
The Flemish Decree of 27/11/2015 provides the following:
“Art. 8, §1. If an offence against the LEZ regulations has been committed, the Vehicle Registration Plate holder will be assumed to have committed the offence. This presumption applies until evidence to the contrary has been provided, by all legal evidentiary means.”
The vehicle owner can have the details of the actual driver who was driving the vehicle at the time of the offence amended to ensure the administrative fine is sent to the actual driver. This can be done by submitting official evidence. Both a natural person and a legal entity can ask that the information be amended.
What steps should the owner take to have this information amended?
The owner must provide us, within 10 days of the date on which the fine was sent, with sufficient official evidence via the following e-mail address: LEZbetalen@modero.be.
For a natural person (private individual) all of the following evidence must be attached to the e-mail:
- name, address and National Registration Number of the actual driver who was driving the vehicle at the time of the offence (copy of the ID card);
- a signed statement from the actual driver confirming that he/she was the actual driver at the time of the offence.
For a legal entity (company) the following evidence must be attached to the e-mail:
- rental contract for rental cars or official log data for replacement vehicles;
- name and address of the actual driver at the time of the offence;
- statement confirming the authenticity of this information by the company’s legal entity, registered in the Belgian Crossroads Bank for Enterprises as manager, or by an agent with power of attorney.
Please note: If you are unable to submit all of the above evidence within 10 days of the ‘fine notification’ being sent, you must follow the official objection procedure.
You will automatically receive a fine if you enter the LEZ without registering. Does your vehicle meet LEZ standards? For the time being you can avoid the fine by registering your vehicle within 30 days after receiving it. So register your vehicle today through the city’s registration tool.
- If you enter the LEZ without registering, you have one day to register your vehicle after entry. Please note: if your vehicle does not fulfill the conditions of admission, you must buy a paid admission no later than one day before entering the LEZ.
- It takes 10 days on average to process your application. That is why your Vehicle Registration Plate is checked 10 days after you enter the LEZ.
- Your application may be denied if you supply the wrong documents or fail to provide all the required documents. You may still be fined in that case. We therefore recommend registering in advance.
- If you register your vehicle after being fined, you will still have to pay the fine.
Since the objection was not filed by registered letter, it is inadmissible. You still have to pay the fine.
What if your vehicle meets LEZ standards, but you haven’t registered it in time? You will then be eligible for late registration after receiving an administrative fine; this will lead to the fine being cancelled. This only applies if the fine was sent after 1 January 2020.
You must pay a late registration fee of 75.00 euros within 30 calendar days after receipt of the fine. The administrative fine will then lapse.
Please note: this does not apply to vehicles for which a permit must be purchased.
To be eligible for late registration, please follow the following steps:
Step 1
Register your vehicle as soon as possible at lez.antwerpen.be/boete. The registration in the LEZ database is only valid once it has been approved, so allow ten days for the processing of your registration.
Step 2
Pay the fee of 75.00 euros with the payment details that you will find in the letter you have received.
Step 3
Send proof that your application has been approved and proof of your payment of the 75.00 euros by registered letter to the fines officer within 30 calendar days of notification of the administrative fine. To do this, use the objection form enclosed in the letter. You will also find the correct postal address on the objection form.
If you use this late registration option, you will have a permitted vehicle as stated in Articles 2.2, 4 and 5 of the LEZ regulations and your fine will lapse.
It depends.
A foreign Vehicle Registration Plate holder must also ensure that his or her vehicle meets the conditions of admission to the LEZ. You can verify this easily using this check tool.
If such a vehicle meets the conditions of admission it must be registered once only, in advance. This applies to all types of vehicles: passenger cars, campers, delivery vans and trucks, agricultural vehicles and buses (including coaches).
If the administrative fine is not paid within the above-mentioned period, the decision of the sanctioning official can be enforced. The decision can first be disputed, as mentioned above.
An appeal is only admissible if you first validly disputed the fine and received a formal rejection of your objection or a decision of non-admissibility. You can only appeal against this decision if you first submitted an objection.
The appeal must be filed with the Police Court of Antwerp (Justitiepaleis, Bolivarplaats 20, bus 3, 2000 Antwerpen, België ) within 30 days of receiving the decision of rejection or non-admissibility of the objection. The appeal must always be filed in writing. Depending on the case, the Police Court Judge will take a decision on the inadmissibility of the initial objection.
The driver is responsible for entering the correct Vehicle Registration Plate during registration, when applying for admission or when purchasing an LEZ day pass. The administrative fine is still owed in case of error.
If your vehicle meets the conditions of admission, you must register your vehicle. You can still do so the day after entering the zone. You can do so either online or using one of the LEZ machines.
If your vehicle does not meet the conditions of admission, you can still purchase an LEZ day pass on the day. It is valid until 6 AM the next day. You can buy an LEZ day pass online, at one of the touchscreen parking meters in the Antwerp city centre or at an LEZ machine.
You will receive a fine if you enter the LEZ with a vehicle that is not admitted or registered. The fine will be sent by registered letter with confirmation of receipt.
When you receive a fine, you can dispute it if you do not agree. To do so, you must use the objection form. The objection form in which you dispute the fine and all the arguments and evidence attached thereto must be sent by registered letter to the following address: Stad Antwerpen P/A Modero – Mechelsesteenweg 203 – 2018 Antwerpen – België .
The objection form must be received by the sanctioning official within a period of 30 days starting from the date on which the notification of the fine was sent.
Objections must be submitted by registered letter and must include all arguments and evidence/supporting documents, such as the Vehicle Registration Certificate, the European Certificate of Conformity or official proof of the fact that your vehicle meets a higher European emission standard. Objections that are not sent by registered letter or that are sent late will not be processed. Objections via e-mail are not accepted.
As long as a decision has not been taken, there is no need to pay the fine yet.
If you have requested a registration, a paid admission or an LEZ day pass for the day to which the fine relates, as a minimum, you have to produce the approval e-mail or the proof of purchase of the LEZ day pass. It should clearly show that the registration, purchased admission or LEZ day pass was valid at the time of the offence.
What if your vehicle meets LEZ standards, but you haven’t registered it in time? You will then be eligible for late registration after receiving an administrative fine; this will lead to the fine being cancelled. This only applies if the fine was sent after 1 January 2020.
You must pay a late registration fee of 75.00 euros within 30 calendar days after receipt of the fine. The administrative fine will then lapse.
Please note: this does not apply to vehicles for which a permit must be purchased.
To be eligible for late registration, please follow the following steps:
Step 1
Register your vehicle as soon as possible at lez.antwerpen.be/boete. The registration in the LEZ database is only valid once it has been approved, so allow ten days for the processing of your registration.
Step 2
Pay the fee of 75.00 euros with the payment details that you will find in the letter you have received.
Step 3
Send proof that your application has been approved and proof of your payment of the 75.00 euros by registered letter to the fines officer within 30 calendar days of notification of the administrative fine. To do this, use the objection form enclosed in the letter. You will also find the correct postal address on the objection form.
If you use this late registration option, you will have a permitted vehicle as stated in Articles 2.2, 4 and 5 of the LEZ regulations and your fine will lapse. You can then no longer dispute the fine.
No! Antwerp does not have these stickers.
Please note: some commercial companies (e.g. Green Zone) will offer to complete the procedures for ensuring your vehicle is authorised to enter the Antwerp Low Emission Zone against payment, and they provide a sticker for their customers. The City of Antwerp is in no way related to this service. On the website of the City of Antwerp, you can register your vehicle or purchase an admission yourself, without extra administrative costs.
You will not be required to show any physical document as proof of access to the Low Emission Zone in Antwerp. The check is performed using the Vehicle Registration Plate and is fully automated. Companies that sell so-called environmental stickers as proof do so entirely at their own initiative. These stickers have no legal value.
The website http://urbanaccessregulations.eu/ contains all the necessary information about low-emission zones in Europe.
The LEZ is a health measure that has been part of the Antwerp traffic code since 1 February 2017. Every road user is deemed to know this traffic code. In addition, the area is always indicated by zone signs and by signs announcing the LEZ.
A satnav or route planner is a navigation aid that does not exempt you from following the traffic signs on your route. A satnav or route planner does not show the area of the LEZ. We therefore recommend that you do not blindly follow your satnav or route planner. After passing the LEZ road sign, you will find yourself in the LEZ and you need to meet the conditions of admission.
If you have filed a request (and also paid, where appropriate), a processing time of 10 days always applies. In those 10 days, you can enter the zone at your own risk. If the request is approved, the admission will take effect from the starting date indicated. If the starting date selected is a past date, then the approval will apply retroactively. If your request is denied and you entered the zone during the 10 days of the processing period, you will be fined. Therefore, make sure that you provide the correct information.
The LEZ is a health measure. It therefore applies to all vehicles in the city, both residents’ and visitors’ vehicles alike. Foreign vehicles also have to register in advance, as the city does not automatically have access to the information relating to such vehicles. This means that foreign vehicles that meet the conditions of admission must be registered in the Flemish LEZ database via our registration tool. Foreign vehicles that do not meet the conditions of admission must buy a paid admission online or an LEZ day pass before entering the LEZ.
The LEZ is always indicated by zone signs F117 and F118 and by signs announcing the LEZ. These signs make sure that you do not accidentally drive into the LEZ.
You can register your vehicle until the day after entering the LEZ if:
- your vehicle meets the conditions of admission (for foreign Vehicle Registration Plate holders);
- your vehicle is eligible for an exemption(for vehicles of disabled persons);
- you want to register a better European standard for your vehicle.
- your vehicle does not meet the admission requirements, but you are allowed to enter after paying the LEZ (diesel vehicles with Euro 4 emissions standard or, in certain cases, vehicles more than 40 years old).
If you are not entitled to an admission or if you did not purchase the admission in time, you can still buy an LEZ day pass on the day that you entered the LEZ with your vehicle. You can do so online, at a touch screen parking meter in the Antwerp city centre or using an LEZ machine. The LEZ day pass costs 35 EUR and is valid until 6 AM the next day.
