Belgium

Current plate formats

• StandardSince 2010
  B1-ABC-123

  One digit, three letters, three digits. Red characters (ruby red) on white, with the EU strip. Issued from 15 November 2010. The leading digit was 1 until January 2021 and is 2 on plates issued after that; personalised plates start with 9. Plates belong to the owner, not the car, so the number says nothing about the car's age or origin.

  red on white

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Older formats

No longer issued, but some may still be on the road.

• Standard2008–2010
  123-ABC

  Three digits, then three letters. Issued from 25 June 2008 to 15 November 2010. Still valid.

  red on white

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• Standard1973–2008
  ABC-123

  Three letters, then three digits. Still valid. Plates were 325 by 105 mm, smaller than the European standard.

  red on white

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• Standard1951–1973
  AB-123

  Five characters. One letter and four digits (1951 to 1961), two letters and three digits (1962 to 1971), or one letter, three digits and one letter (1971 to 1973). Some are still in use because plates follow the owner.

  red on white

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History

1. 1899

   First plates, black letters on white.

2. 1951

   Five-character plates (one letter and four digits, later two letters and three digits, then one letter, three digits and one letter in 1971).

3. 1973

   Three letters followed by three digits (AAA-111).

4. 2008

   Digits come first (111-AAA) after the letter series runs low.

5. 2010

   European-format plates with the 1-AAA-111 layout, introduced on 15 November.

Related countries

EU-style plates

• Austria
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Cyprus
• Czechia
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Ireland
• Italy
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden