Category B — Belgium
The questions candidates actually ask, with the answer in the very first sentence. Every figure on this page comes from a fact already verified in our guides and our Region-by-Region sheets.
The format, the marking scheme and the access conditions of the category B theory exam, as it is sat in approved Belgian test centres.
The Belgian theory exam is taken on a computer in an approved test centre, usually by appointment: 50 questions and a pass mark set at 41 points out of 50. The question is read out loud, then you have about 15 seconds to answer. Most questions are multiple choice; some ask you to estimate a distance, a speed or a number. Bring a valid identity document.
At most 9 penalty points, and at most one serious fault. The pass mark is 41 out of 50: a minor fault costs 1 point, a serious fault costs 5. Two serious faults mean an automatic fail, even with an otherwise sufficient overall score.
A serious fault is a mistake on a question flagged as such — typically third- and fourth-degree offences and speeding — and it takes off 5 points instead of 1. Two serious faults are enough to fail, even with 48/50. Speed and priority questions are the ones that most often carry those −5.
About 15 seconds per question — but the timer only starts AFTER the question has been read out, never during. That detail changes everything: in the test centre you hear the whole question before the clock starts running.
No. The Belgian theory exam is taken in French, Dutch or German, depending on the centre and on the language chosen when booking; translation assistance is sometimes available and has to be requested from the centre. There are question banks in English — ours is one of them — but they are only for practice: they give no right to sit the exam in that language.
About €15 per sitting depending on the test centre, and every new attempt is paid for again. The exact arrangements — price, booking, documents to present — vary by centre and by Region. Always check the centre's official website before going.
After two fails, the rules require 12 hours of theory lessons at an approved driving school before you can sit the exam again. A fail closes no doors, but it costs time and money: that is the most concrete reason to prepare the first attempt seriously. The rules for re-sitting vary by Region.
The video test that gates access to the practical exam. Its mechanics, its price and its format change from one Region and one operator to the next.
The hazard perception test is a mandatory video test for the Belgian category B licence: you are shown short clips filmed from the driver's seat and must spot the hazards in time — a pedestrian hidden by a van, a swerving cyclist, a car door opening. Without this test, no practical exam.
No: it is a condition for taking the practical exam, not part of the theory. In Brussels and Wallonia you must pass it before sitting the practical. In Flanders the GOCA Risk Perception Test is part of the practical exam itself.
6 out of 10. In the click format there are no negative points: a click outside the zone is simply wasted, but the click budget is limited, which penalises a candidate who clicks at random. A correction film then shows the zones you had to perceive.
In Wallonia, €17 per attempt, by appointment. In Brussels it is included in the price of the practical exam. In Flanders it is part of the practical exam — there is no separate paid sitting.
It depends on your Region and on your centre's operator. Click format at Autosécurité and on the Brussels BruDrive platform: orange pointer, click budget shown as bubbles, correction film at the end. Multiple-choice format in Flanders (GOCA): 5 videos of about 30 seconds, then multiple-choice questions — 1 to 3 correct answers, 15 seconds to answer. At AIBV, the official website describes the click format while some guides describe multiple choice: practise both.
In Wallonia, after 2 consecutive fails, 3 hours at an approved driving school are mandatory before trying again. In Brussels and Flanders no mandatory driving-school hours are documented: you simply retake the test before sitting the practical exam.
What awaits the candidate once the theory is passed: how long the pass stays valid, the documents needed on the day and how the practical exam runs, Region by Region.
3 years. That is how long you have, once you have passed the theory, to apply for your provisional licence and sit the practical exam. The theory exam can be taken from the age of 17 for category B.
No: theory, hazard perception and the practical exam must now all be taken in the same Region. This change catches out candidates used to booking wherever a slot was free. So choose your Region before your very first appointment — it will follow you all the way.
Only ORIGINAL documents: identity card — a passport is refused —, theory pass certificate less than 3 years old, a valid provisional licence and, where applicable, the hazard perception test certificate. No photocopies are accepted. The vehicle must be in order too: visible L sign, second interior mirror for the accompanying driver (the sun-visor mirror does not count), insurance, registration and roadworthiness certificate. Cancelling requires at least 2 full working days' notice, Saturday not included, otherwise a surcharge applies to the next appointment.
It depends on the Region. In Wallonia: preliminary checks, compulsory parallel parking and one manoeuvre drawn at random (turning around, reversing about 10 m, perpendicular parking), with at least 10 minutes of independent driving following road signs. In Flanders: 2 manoeuvres drawn at random out of 6 and 10 to 15 minutes of independent driving, by GPS or following road signs. In Brussels: preliminary checks, reverse parking and turning around in a narrow street, also 10 to 15 minutes of independent driving.
Running a red light, ignoring a STOP sign, crossing a solid white line, entering a one-way street the wrong way, failing to give way, not letting a pedestrian cross, using a bus lane or a cycle path, overtaking dangerously — and any intervention by the examiner on the wheel or the pedals. If your accompanying driver steps in, with a gesture or a word, the exam stops as well. Conversely, stalling is not a fault: the centres say so officially, it is the panic that shows.
Independent preparation tool. Unofficial site, not affiliated with GOCA, the Regions or the FPS Mobility. Original questions written from the Belgian Highway Code. Practical arrangements (price, appointment, documents) vary by centre and by Region: always check them with your own test centre before going.