The Belgian Official Gazette publishes the ex officio cancellation of offensive license plates

The Vehicle Registration Department (DIV) may ex officio cancel personalized license plates deemed offensive, contrary to public order, or contrary to good morals. The Royal Decree of September 3, 2026, amending the Royal Decree of July 20, 2001, regarding vehicle registration, was published in the Belgian Official Gazette on September 21, 2026 (No. 212, 196th year, p. 50898). The text, signed by King Philippe on the proposal of the Minister of Mobility Jean-Luc Crucke, inserts an Article 35/1 into the 2001 decree.

The mechanism applies to numbers reserved in accordance with Article 23 of the 2001 decree, i.e., personalized combinations. The report to the King justifies the intervention based on complaints regarding certain combinations of letters and numbers once they are in circulation. The Council of State issued its opinion No. 79.625/4-2/V on July 30, 2026, and the file bears the reference C − 2026/006560. The 2001 decree had already been amended by a Royal Decree of July 4, 2025.

Grounds for Cancellation

The registration mark is cancelled when it is found that the number:

• is deemed offensive, contrary to public order, or contrary to good morals;
• refers to war crimes, armed conflicts, or violence;
• contains racist, sexist, revisionist, or homophobic content;
• incites violence, racial segregation, hatred, or discrimination.

The text also targets cases where hidden messages or diverted meanings could not be identified during the initial examination provided for in Article 23. The decision to cancel is made by the managing official or their delegate.

A Three-Step Procedure

The DIV immediately contacts the person concerned and offers, free of charge, the allocation of a new compliant registration number. The information is communicated by email; in the absence of a known or valid email address, it is sent by ordinary mail.

• The holder has thirty calendar days from the sending of this communication to submit their observations or request a new number free of charge.
• In the event of refusal, disagreement, or lack of response within this period, the DIV proceeds with the ex officio cancellation.
• The cancellation decision is notified by registered mail.

The report to the King emphasizes that cancellation is only a last resort, reserved for citizens who have refused the free replacement of their number.

Appeals and Automated Detection

Within thirty days of the notification of the removal, the person concerned may lodge an appeal by registered mail with the Federal Public Service Mobility and Transport, Directorate-General for Road Transport and Road Safety, City Atrium, rue du Progrès 56, 1210 Brussels. This directorate-general shall hear the person concerned if requested in their letter of appeal, and the minister shall rule within thirty days of the sending of said letter or, where applicable, within thirty days of the hearing. The appeal does not have a suspensive effect.

To judge whether a combination is contrary to the criteria, DIV agents rely on common usage and the generally accepted meaning of the terms concerned, as well as on three artificial intelligence tools designed to detect problematic combinations.

Scope

The new regime grants the administration a power of ex officio removal that did not exist for plates already in circulation, while framing this power with an offer of free replacement, a thirty-day reaction period, and a non-suspensive appeal process. Holders of personalized plates deemed problematic must therefore react within the allotted time or risk losing their number.

Source: Belgian Official Gazette n° 212 of September 21, 2026, royal decree of September 3, 2026 amending the royal decree of July 20, 2001 relating to the registration of vehicles, p. 50898 (ref. C − 2026/006560).