Independent reference to official photo rules

Not affiliated with any government. Always confirm with the issuing authority before you apply.

WorldPhotoSpecsOfficial photo rules for every country

Driving licences

Belgium driving licence photo requirements

The 35 × 45 mm photo rules set by FPS Mobility and Transport, Belgium for the Belgium driving licence, with the official wording and sources.

Based on 20 official sources · last checked Official sources Page history

Rate this page

Quick answer

What size is the Belgium driving licence photo?

You usually need no new photo for a Belgian driving licence. The commune copies the picture and signature held in the National Register, so your eID or residence card photo appears on the licence. Bring a recent passport photo if that picture no longer looks like you; some communes, such as Leuven, ask for one with every counter application. Prints are judged against the federal 35 x 45 mm photo matrix, and Brussels wants a white background.

Belgian driving licences fall under the FPS Mobility and Transport, but you apply for and collect them at the commune where you are registered. Since 2010 every new or renewed licence is the European credit-card model, valid for 10 years, a cycle the FPS justifies as a defence against counterfeiting. Older paper licences stay valid until they are lost, damaged or illegible, or until you no longer look like the photo on them.

The portrait is handled differently from passports and identity cards. In its circular on making the licence, the FPS tells communes that the holder's photo and signature are, as a rule, copied over from the National Register, so the picture already on your eID or residence card goes onto the licence. Communes scan a new one with the equipment supplied for that purpose only when it has to be added or updated. No FPS Mobility page sets photo dimensions for the licence itself.

BelDrive, the FPS online platform, has accepted provisional category B requests since 19 September 2023 and renewals of category A and B licences since 1 October 2024. You sign in with your eID or itsme, then collect the card in person at the commune. Neither BelDrive page mentions sending a portrait.

Belgium driving licence photo size and specifications

The requirements as published by FPS Mobility and Transport, Belgium:[1]

Print sizeUsually no print (register photo reused); if one is needed, a passport photo: 35 x 45 mm in the matrix Leuven links to
Digital sizeNo upload: BelDrive reuses the National Register photo; a new picture means a counter visit where your print is scanned
Head height31 to 36 mm from chin to crown, per the federal photo matrix that Leuven and Bruges point to
BackgroundWhite (City of Brussels); the federal matrix asks for light, plain and even, contrasting with the head
Photo ageAt most 6 months old (Leuven, Bruges); Ghent and Brussels ask for a recent photo that still looks like you
Print qualityIf you bring one: undamaged, not a copy, not edited, on smooth high-quality photo paper (federal matrix)
Pixels when printed413 × 531 px at 300 dpi · 827 × 1063 px at 600 dpi (calculated)
35 mm45 mm31–36 mm
35 × 45 mm photo drawn to scale, with the 31–36 mm head height from chin to crown. Background: white.

In the official words

Exact wording from the official sources, quoted because the details matter:

The quality is good if: photo at most 6 months old; in colour; natural rendering; sharp, sufficient contrast and detailed; undamaged; no copy; not edited (translated from Dutch)

Voorschriften voor de foto's (fotomatrix 2016, as linked by Leuven)[16]

Key requirements

  • The register photo is the default

    Communes print the picture already linked to your National Register record. Ghent says it uses the photo on your identity card, Chaudfontaine that the identity card photo is used by default, and Laakdal that the eID photo serves as long as it still resembles you closely enough.

  • A new print once the likeness has gone

    Bring a recent passport photo if the picture on your identity card or residence permit no longer looks like you. Laakdal and Bruges also let you bring a different photo simply because you would rather not use the eID one; Bruges asks that it be no more than six months old.

  • Some communes always want a print

    Practice is not uniform. Leuven lists one passport photo, at most six months old, for every first application and renewal made at its city office, with no exception for people whose card photo is recent, and points out that a photo booth stands in the building.

  • Online requests keep the card photo

    BelDrive takes the register photo as it is. Leuven warns that the picture on your identity card must be recent and a good likeness because it is carried over to the licence; if it is not, book an appointment at the city office and bring a recent passport photo.

  • The identity-document matrix applies

    When a print is needed, communes measure it against the photo matrix for Belgian identity documents. Leuven links the 2016 matrix, which sets 35 x 45 mm with 31 to 36 mm from chin to crown, and Bruges links the FPS Home Affairs Fotomatrix page. Brussels asks for a white background.

  • Foreign licences: it depends on the commune

    For an exchange, Brussels wants a photo only if you no longer resemble the picture on your identity card or residence permit, whether the licence is European or not. Bruges lists a recent photo meeting the conditions for EU licences but none for non-EU ones.

Do's and don'ts

Do

  • Check whether your commune reuses your eID photo or wants a print.
  • Bring a recent passport photo if you have changed since your card photo.
  • Book a counter appointment instead of BelDrive if you need a new picture.
  • Use a white background for an application in Brussels.
  • Keep the print no more than six months old.
  • Take your identity card or residence card to every application.

Don't

  • Do not expect to upload a portrait on BelDrive.
  • Do not bring a photocopy or an edited photo.
  • Do not rely on a card photo that no longer looks like you.
  • Do not keep driving on a paper licence whose photo no longer resembles you.
  • Do not use BelDrive if you need a medical certificate or your licence was stolen.

Sample photos

How a Belgium driving licence photo should look, and the mistakes that most often get photos rejected. Each example is drawn to this document's 35 × 45 mm, head height and background colour.

Correct
Open-mouth smile
Head tilted
Too close: head too big
Too far: head too small
Busy background
Shadows on face or background
Glare on glasses

Illustrations, not real photos. The official rules above always take priority; some documents do not allow glasses at all.

Babies and children

In Flanders a first full category B licence comes at 18 at the earliest: the theory test can be taken from 17, a provisional licence with a supervisor is possible from 17, and the practical test from 18. By then the photo on an eID issued between 12 and 17 may be several years old: the FPS Home Affairs limits those cards to six years of validity precisely because the faces of 12- to 18-year-olds still change a great deal.

If you have changed a lot since your card photo was taken, bring a recent passport photo when you apply. Bruges accepts your own photo, no more than six months old, for a provisional licence as well as for a first full licence, if you prefer not to use the eID picture.

There is no route for sending a portrait file. BelDrive asks only for a scan or photo of an old paper licence, never a picture of you, and carries the register photo over as it stands. A new photo means a visit to the counter, where staff scan the print. Ghent, Brussels and Chaudfontaine keep the register photo unless you bring a newer one; Leuven wants one print with every counter application.

Live photography at the counter has not yet reached licences everywhere. Welkenraedt, which has photographed residents for identity cards, residence cards and passports since 24 April 2026, says it is working to extend this to driving licences, without giving a date. If you produce the print yourself, crop the digital file to 35 x 45 mm and have it printed at a photo lab on a 4 x 6 inch sheet of photo paper.

Where to submit the photo

Apply at the driving licence service of the commune where you are registered, or start online with BelDrive and then collect the card there in person. BelDrive is closed to drivers who need a medical certificate, have been disqualified from driving, or whose licence was stolen; they must go to the commune.

Belgians living outside the European Economic Area who are registered with a Belgian embassy and hold a Belgian identity card renew at their last Belgian commune, while those living in another EEA country renew there. A foreign licence is exchanged at the commune where you are registered. For a non-European licence the Belgian card is issued only after 185 days of registration; a European one must be exchanged if lost, stolen or damaged, or within two years of registering if it carries no expiry date.

How to get your Belgium driving licence photo

  1. Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Belgium driving licence: 35 × 45 mm print, white background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
  2. Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: the register photo is the default; a new print once the likeness has gone; some communes always want a print; online requests keep the card photo.
  3. Prepare a print or digital file. There is no route for sending a portrait file. BelDrive asks only for a scan or photo of an old paper licence, never a picture of you, and carries the register photo over as it stands. A new photo means a visit to the counter, where staff scan the print.
  4. Submit the photo with your application. Apply at the driving licence service of the commune where you are registered, or start online with BelDrive and then collect the card there in person.

Make this photo online

Belgium driving licence photo FAQ

Usually not, but it depends on your commune. Most use the picture already stored for your eID or residence card, and Ghent and Brussels ask for a print only when that picture no longer looks like you. Leuven, however, lists one passport photo for every application made at its city office.

The FPS Mobility pages give no licence-specific size. When a commune needs a print it asks for a passport photo, and Leuven and Bruges point to the federal photo matrix for Belgian identity documents: 35 x 45 mm, 31 to 36 mm from chin to crown, on a light plain background.

No. BelDrive reuses the photo on your identity card, and the only image you may have to add is a scan of an old paper licence. Leuven tells applicants whose card photo is no longer recent or a good likeness to book a counter appointment and bring a recent passport photo instead.

Only in some communes. The City of Brussels asks for one recent passport photo on a white background only if you no longer resemble the photo on your identity card or residence permit. Bruges asks for a recent photo meeting the conditions when you exchange an EU licence, but lists none for a non-EU licence.

The FPS circular on international permits, dated 31 July 2025, says no photo has to be supplied because it is taken from the National Register, and the Brussels page lists none. Some communes still ask for one: Chaudfontaine lists a recent photo, so check with yours.

Yes, in several communes. Laakdal tells you to bring a new photo if you want a different one on your licence, and Bruges lets you bring a photo no more than six months old if you do not want the eID picture used.

The FPS says a paper licence must be exchanged for the credit-card model once you no longer resemble its photo. The credit-card model itself must be renewed every ten years, at the commune or through BelDrive at least three months before it expires.

Related photo specifications

Other Belgium documents

Driving licences nearby

Also 35 × 45 mm

Was this page helpful?

No ratings yet. Be the first to rate this page.

Official sources

  1. FPS Mobility and Transport, Belgium. Renouveler son permis de conduire mobilit.belgium.be. Checked 2 November 2026.
  2. FPS Mobility and Transport, Belgium. Circulaire aux communes, chapitre 21 : la confection du permis de conduire mobilit.belgium.be. Checked 2 November 2026.
  3. FPS Mobility and Transport, Belgium. Circulaire aux communes, chapitre 23 : le permis de conduire international mobilit.belgium.be. Checked 2 November 2026.
  4. FPS Mobility and Transport, Belgium. BelDrive : demande de permis de conduire définitif mobilit.belgium.be. Checked 2 November 2026.
  5. FPS Mobility and Transport, Belgium. BelDrive : demande de permis de conduire provisoire mobilit.belgium.be. Checked 2 November 2026.
  6. FPS Mobility and Transport, Belgium. Permis de conduire étranger mobilit.belgium.be. Checked 2 November 2026.
  7. Stad Gent. Rijbewijs aanvragen en afhalen stad.gent. Checked 2 November 2026.
  8. City of Brussels. Belgian driving licence - Full brussels.be. Checked 2 November 2026.
  9. City of Brussels. Non-European driving licence - Exchange brussels.be. Checked 2 November 2026.
  10. City of Brussels. International driving licence brussels.be. Checked 2 November 2026.
  11. Stad Leuven. Rijbewijs aanvragen, aanpassen, vernieuwen en afhalen leuven.be. Checked 2 November 2026.
  12. Stad Brugge. Rijbewijs aanvragen brugge.be. Checked 2 November 2026.
  13. Stad Brugge. Buitenlands rijbewijs omwisselen brugge.be. Checked 2 November 2026.
  14. Gemeente Laakdal. Europees rijbewijs laakdal.be. Checked 2 November 2026.
  15. Commune de Chaudfontaine. Permis de conduire chaudfontaine.be. Checked 2 November 2026.
  16. FPS Foreign Affairs and FPS Home Affairs, Belgium. Voorschriften voor de foto's (fotomatrix 2016, as linked by Leuven) diplomatie.belgium.be. Checked 2 November 2026.
  17. FPS Home Affairs, National Register. Fotomatrix ibz.rrn.fgov.be. Checked 2 November 2026.
  18. Flemish Government. How to obtain a category B driving licence? vlaanderen.be. Checked 2 November 2026.
  19. FPS Home Affairs, National Register. Algemene onderrichtingen betreffende de elektronische identiteitskaarten (30 april 2026) ibz.rrn.fgov.be. Checked 2 November 2026.
  20. Commune de Welkenraedt. Nouveau Live Enrollment : photo prise au guichet welkenraedt.be. Checked 2 November 2026.

Requirements can change, so always confirm with FPS Mobility and Transport, Belgium before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.

Cite this page

"Belgium driving licence photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/belgium/driving-licence-photo

Categories: