Brussels is the capital and residence city of Belgium. The city is centrally located in the Belgian territory and it is also home to one of three environmental zones. In January 2018, a Low Emission Zone was established in the Brussels Region, covering all 19 municipalities in the region. An area of 161km² with around 1.2 million inhabitants is affected. In 2022 and 2025, access permits for entering the LEZ will be further tightened.
Name of the environmental zone: Environmental zone Brussels - Belgium
Date of entry into effect of the zone: 01-01-2018
Type of environmental zone: Permanent, 24 hours a day
Not allowed to drive (temporarily): Information currently unavailable
Not allowed to drive (permanently): Vehicle class: cars, campers (M1), bus (M2, M3), vans (N1)
Type of fuel: petrol/LPG/CNG, diesel
Euro norm: 0-1 (petrol), 0-4 (diesel)
Badge/Registration/Application: Entry only with registration (Country of registration: all except Belgium and the Netherlands)
Fines: 350 €
Area/extension of the environmental zone: The whole Brussels region with all its 19 municipalities, an area of 161km² und 1.175.000 inhabitants, is affected. The environmental zone is bordered on the west and the north by Europastraße E19, on the east by Europastraße E40 and on the south by the municipality Watermaal-Bosvoorde. The restrictions of the LEZ of Brussels do not apply to the Europastraßen E19 and E40. Also excluded are 3 Park&Ride parking areas: Céria Coovi, Stalle (Ukkel), Kraainem (Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe).
Special features: Retrofit allowed: no
Contact of the environmental zone and exceptions: Region Brussels, +32(0)27757575, info@lez.brussels
Exemptions: Fire brigade, Patient transport, Military, Police car, Disabled vehicle (registration/application necessary), Sweeper (registration/application necessary), Vintage car older than 30 years (registration/application necessary) and Ambulance
Brussels
Do I need stickers or registrations?
To enter the low emission zone, each vehicle concerned requires a valid registration. Otherwise a fine of 150 Euro to 350 Euro is to be expected.
How do I recognize the low emission zone?
The beginning and end of the environmental zones are marked with signs. This shows a red circle as a prohibition sign with a vehicle causing emissions. Who exactly is allowed to enter or not is not indicated by the entry sign.
In our Green-Zones App we have a detailed map of each low emission zone. So you can easily recognize the borders and avoid penalties.
Are there other low emission zones in Belgium?
There are 3 low emission zones in Belgium: Antwerp, Brussels and Ghent
In our Green Zones App we have gathered together all the low emission zones in Europe and presented them clearly.
Good to know...
All current driving bans and further information are available in our Green-Zones App.
Are night-time environmental zones coming?
The Berlin Green Party recently presented a proposal to equalise the traffic congestion in the capital. The idea is to shift delivery and commercial traffic to the night-time hours. According to Antje Kapek, transport spokesperson for the Greens, this proposal should help to ensure that delivery vehicles, refuse collection, care services and doctors get stuck less in congested and parked-up streets during the day. Low-noise and low-emission lorries could increasingly drive into cities at night and on special routes.
Bicycle instead of car - Paris in transition
A study by a public foundation has shown that more than one in ten journeys in Paris and the surrounding area are made by bicycle. This is a remarkable increase compared to 14 years ago, when less than one in thirty journeys were made by bike. Paris seems to have been endeavouring to change its transport policy for years. With more cycle paths and cycle lanes, fewer car parks and higher parking charges, the city is trying to promote cycling and reduce car traffic. But what does this mean for the existing low emission zone?