Should Brussels follow Flanders and inspect cars only every two years?
Brussels-based Les Engagés called on 25 August for the capital region to replace annual roadworthiness inspections with a two-year cycle, matching rules that take effect in Flanders on 1 September, but no Brussels reform has yet been adopted.
In 30 seconds
- Les Engagés wants Brussels to adopt a two-year inspection cycle similar to Flanders.
- Flanders introduces biennial inspections for passenger cars from 1 September 2026.
- No Brussels rule change had been confirmed when the demand was reported on 25 August.
- EU law sets a two-year minimum cycle after the first inspection but permits stricter regional rules.
-based called on the Brussels-Capital Region on 25 August to move from annual roadworthiness inspections to checks every two years, aligning the capital with a Flemish reform that takes effect on 1 September. The proposal has not changed the law: Brussels motorists must continue following the validity date on their current inspection certificate unless the regional government adopts new rules.
For drivers, the disagreement is immediately practical. A biennial cycle would mean fewer appointments, lower cumulative inspection costs and less pressure on Brussels’ four authorised testing centres. It would also deepen an unusual situation if Brussels kept its present timetable: cars registered in neighbouring Flanders and Brussels could face different inspection frequencies even though they travel on the same roads every day.
Les Engagés described that regional dichotomy as “completely crazy”, arguing that Brussels should adopt the same two-year rhythm as Flanders. The party’s Brussels parliamentary group, led by Gladys Kazadi, is pressing the regional authorities to explain why motorists in the capital should face a more frequent obligation. Its intervention is a political demand rather than an announced government decision, and neither an implementation date nor detailed eligibility conditions have been confirmed.
Flanders has already chosen a broader relaxation. According to the , all passenger cars will receive a two-year inspection period from 1 September 2026, provided the applicable conditions are met when they are inspected. The change removes the previous age and mileage thresholds that returned older or heavily used cars to annual checks. Flemish Mobility Minister Annick De Ridder presented the reform as a way to bring regional rules more closely into line with European requirements and reduce pressure and waiting times at inspection centres.
That European reference needs qualification. requires ordinary passenger cars to be tested four years after first registration and every two years thereafter. It establishes a minimum EU framework, however, not a compulsory maximum: national or regional authorities may impose more frequent checks. Brussels can therefore retain annual inspections without breaching EU law, while Flanders can lawfully adopt the European baseline.
The debate consequently turns less on European compliance than on competing assessments of risk and proportionality. Les Engagés’ Brussels branch emphasises equal treatment, convenience and the difficulty of explaining diverging obligations inside a small, highly interconnected country. Flanders likewise argues that longer intervals can relieve overloaded centres without abandoning the EU safety standard.
Road-safety advocates and officials favouring more frequent inspections can answer that older vehicles may develop faults between checks and that compliance with a minimum European interval does not, by itself, prove that relaxation has no safety cost. François Desquesnes, the Walloon mobility minister from Les Engagés, has previously sought interregional consultation and raised questions about the safety evidence supporting the Flemish changes. That creates a notable difference of emphasis within the same political family: Brussels party representatives are foregrounding harmonisation, while their Walloon colleague has urged caution and more data.
Where this is happening
View on map Brussels-Capital Region →The institutional split dates from Belgium’s transfer of vehicle-inspection powers to the regions. The federal mobility service now directs motorists to separate authorities in Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels, each of which sets instructions for centres in its territory. Brussels here means the 19-municipality Brussels-Capital Region, not the EU institutions based in the city; the EU’s role is limited to setting the common legislative floor.
The next move belongs to the Brussels regional government and parliament. They must decide whether to translate the Les Engagés demand into legislation, retain annual checks or design a conditional system based on vehicle age, mileage or inspection history. Until a formal decision appears, the central unanswered questions are whether Brussels has modelled the safety and capacity effects, how much a two-year cycle would reduce waiting times, and whether the three regions will coordinate rules that increasingly diverge.
What to do
If your vehicle is registered under Brussels rules, continue following the current inspection deadline shown on your documents or official notice; the Les Engagés announcement does not change your obligations. Do not postpone an appointment in anticipation of reform. From 1 September 2026, eligible passenger cars governed by Flemish rules move to the new biennial schedule, but that change does not automatically apply in Brussels or Wallonia. Brussels owners should watch for an adopted regional measure and official guidance specifying eligibility, commencement dates and fees before changing their plans.
Impact
Regional — The proposal would directly affect vehicles subject to periodic inspection under Brussels rules. It also sharpens comparisons with neighbouring Flanders, where biennial inspections begin on 1 September 2026, and with Wallonia, whose mobility minister has requested more interregional discussion.
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Voices & reactions
What the main actors are doing
Reported positions, summarised — not direct quotationsLes Engagés Brussels and harmonisation supporters
The party argues that motorists should not face sharply different inspection schedules across Belgium’s regions. Its Brussels framing stresses equal treatment, fewer appointments and the difficulty of justifying annual checks when neighbouring Flanders applies the EU-standard two-year interval.
Safety-first regional authorities
Officials seeking stronger evidence, including Walloon Mobility Minister François Desquesnes, emphasise that the EU interval is only a minimum legal standard. They argue that regional authorities should examine defect, accident and vehicle-age data before assuming that fewer inspections carry no safety cost.
Flemish Government and Annick De Ridder
Flanders presents the reform as closer alignment with Directive 2014/45/EU and a practical response to pressure at inspection centres. Its official framing is administrative simplification within European rules, not the abandonment of roadworthiness testing.
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