The Belgian Official Gazette imposes three non-digital channels on public administrations

Belgian public sector bodies must now offer citizens at least three non-digital communication channels to complete their administrative procedures. The law of July 24, 2026, amending the law of July 19, 2018, regarding the accessibility of websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies and the law of May 4, 2016, regarding open data and the reuse of public sector information, was published in the Belgian Official Gazette on October 1, 2026, page 52560, under reference C − 2026/006730.

The text originates from the Federal Public Service Strategy and Support. It was sanctioned by King Philippe and countersigned by the Minister in charge of Digitalization, V. Matz, as well as the Minister of Justice, A. Verlinden. The law regulates a matter referred to in Article 74 of the Constitution, making it an ordinary federal law. The parliamentary file is referenced 56K1574 at the House of Representatives, with a full report dated July 16, 2026.

Three mandatory channels, free of charge for the citizen

The new Article 8/1, § 1, inserted into the law of July 19, 2018, requires public sector bodies to provide, for citizens acting in that capacity, at least three possibilities for communication and the completion of administrative procedures other than via websites and mobile applications:

• on-site contact;
• telephone contact;
• contact by mail;
• or equivalent alternatives, provided they guarantee the citizen at least an equivalent level of service.

These channels may not generate additional costs for the citizen. § 2 of the same article specifies that bodies adapt their possibilities and availability schedules based on their service, their administrative procedures, and their target group, and that they inform citizens of this in the accessibility statement referred to in Article 7.

Enhanced support and monitoring

Article 8/2, also new, obliges each body to provide support adapted to its services and its target group, in order to make communication or the execution of administrative procedures via websites and mobile applications possible.

Article 8/3 entrusts the monitoring of the presence of the possibilities provided for in Article 8/1, as listed in the accessibility statement, to the same body as that designated in accordance with Article 8. The King defines and sets the modalities of this monitoring. Any person may bring a failure to comply with the obligations of Article 8/1 to the attention of the monitoring body.

The open data law also amended

Chapter 3 of the law amends the law of May 4, 2016 on open data and the reuse of public sector information. In Article 6/1, paragraph 1, of this law, inserted by the law of December 25, 2023, the words “Article 5, § 2” are replaced by the words “Article 5, § 1/1”.

Furthermore, the text completes the title of the law of July 19, 2018 with the words “and the availability of public sector bodies via non-digital channels”. It adds two definitions to Article 3 of the same law: “administrative procedure,” understood as the action or set of actions leading to a decision or a service from a public sector body and to be carried out by a citizen with these bodies, and “communication,” meaning any exchange of information or data between a public sector body and a citizen.

What this changes for the public

The scope of the mechanism is direct for anyone struggling with digital technology: access to a counter, a telephone line, or postal mail becomes a legal obligation, and not a simple administrative tolerance, without additional cost to the user. Bodies must also publish these possibilities in their accessibility statement, making them verifiable, and any citizen can report a failure to the supervisory authority. However, the concrete modalities of this control are yet to be determined by royal decree.

Source: Belgian Official Gazette of October 1, 2026, No. 221, page 52560, reference C − 2026/006730.