Belgium motorway vignette from May 2027: latest update

This page tracks what is confirmed so far about Belgium's planned road vignette for passenger cars. On 10 July 2026, the regional governments of Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels reached an agreement in principle to launch a mandatory digital vignette starting 1 May 2027.

Agreement in principle only. The cooperation agreement between the three regions still needs to be finalised and submitted to the European Commission before the details below are locked in.

Key facts

• Who pays: all vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes, including foreign-registered cars. Motorcycles, coaches, tractors, and emergency, police and defence vehicles are exempt.
• Price (indicative): ~€90.00/year (zero-emission vehicles), ~€100.00/year (Euro 4 and above, the majority of drivers), ~€125.00/year (cars registered before 2005). Definitive tariffs are not final yet.
• Validity options: 1 day, 10 days, 1 month, 2 months, or 1 year.
• Purchase: possible from 1 March 2027 (Flanders announcement); subject to Flemish Parliament approval.
• Format: fully digital, linked to the licence plate — no windscreen sticker. Enforced via ANPR cameras and mobile control units.
• Fines: from ~€70.00 (first offence), ~€140.00 (second), ~€210.00 (third), after a two-month grace period from launch.
• Why now: an estimated 30 million foreign vehicles use Belgian roads every year without contributing to their upkeep; Flanders alone expects ~€130.00 million in new revenue a year.

Timeline

How it compares to other European vignette countries (2026 annual prices)

What it means for Belgian residents

The three regions have promised the vignette will be offset by lower existing traffic taxes, keeping it revenue-neutral for residents. In practice that balance is uneven:

• Older electric cars in Flanders. Owners who registered an EV before 1 January 2026 are already exempt from the regional annual traffic tax. With nothing left to reduce, they get no offset and would pay the ~€90.00 zero-emission vignette as a straight new cost.
• Around half of Flemish drivers are expected to pay more overall, though the increase is capped at the price of the vignette.
• Taxis and chauffeur-hire services, which already hold full or partial traffic-tax exemptions, risk paying the vignette with no clear compensation in return.
• The Brussels-Capital Region has not yet presented a concrete offset plan, citing its tight budget and political instability, while Flanders and Wallonia work on adjusting their traffic taxes.

This is more than a fairness question. The 2017 German precedent turned on exactly how residents were compensated; an uneven Belgian offset could draw the same legal scrutiny — this time from residents as much as from neighbouring countries.

What's still uncertain

• The Netherlands has raised formal objections over the cost impact on Dutch cross-border drivers.
• A legal precedent looms over the whole project: in 2017 the EU Court of Justice struck down Germany's vignette for indirectly discriminating against foreign drivers, because domestic residents were compensated through a lower vehicle tax. Belgium's regions will need to design a system that avoids the same outcome.
• The three-region cooperation agreement is not yet final and still needs sign-off from the European Commission.

Common questions

Do I need to pay if I'm only transiting through Belgium?

Under the current plan, yes — the vignette applies to foreign vehicles in transit too, on motorways and regional roads covered by the scheme.

Does the vignette replace the Liefkenshoek Tunnel toll?

No. That toll is a separate charge and remains in place.

Will there still be a windscreen sticker?

No — the system is planned as fully digital from launch, tied to the licence plate rather than a physical sticker.

Status of this update

• What is settled: the three regions agreed in principle on 10 July 2026 to introduce a digital vignette from 1 May 2027.
• What is not: the cooperation agreement between the regions has not been concluded, the European Commission has not cleared it, and no operator, sales portal or final tariff order exists yet. The scheme remains subject to Flemish Parliament approval.
• Where the amounts come from: tariffs from the Flemish government's page on the road vignette from 1 May 2027; fines from the Belga ministerial press briefing (ministers Weyts/Desquesnes, 10 July 2026). The Flanders revenue figure is an announced estimate (The Bulletin / regional governments), not published on the Flanders tariff page. Last checked on 30 July 2026. Every amount on this page is approximate / indicative — an announced figure, not a definitive tariff you can pay today.
• What we will not do: publish a purchase link, an activation date or a price as final before the official scheme exists. This page is updated as the agreement progresses.

Official sources

• Flemish Government — Road vignette from 1 May 2027 (primary for tariffs)
• Belga Share — ministerial press release on the road vignette (fines and political agreement detail)
• The Bulletin — New car tax for road maintenance (Flanders revenue estimate)
• Brussels Times — A new road toll is coming to Belgium
• N-VA — Road vignette to make foreign motorists contribute to Belgium's road network
• NL Times — Belgium pushing through with expensive toll despite Dutch concerns
• ITEM — A road vignette in Belgium

This page will be updated as the cooperation agreement is finalised and submitted to the European Commission.