Vehicle Categories, Driving Licence and Documentation
Belgian licence categories follow the European model. Category AM covers mopeds; A1, A2 and A light motorcycles by power and age; B covers cars up to 3,500 kg with at most eight passenger seats, and also allows towing a trailer up to 750 kg, or more if the combination stays within limits and, for heavier combinations, requires the B+ code or category BE. C covers goods vehicles over 3,500 kg, D covers buses and coaches with more than eight passenger seats, and their trailer variants are CE and DE. Professional bus driving requires category D plus a driver qualification card (the CPC), and periodic medical examinations.
Documentation to carry or produce: driving licence, vehicle registration certificate, insurance certificate, and for professional transport the driver card and any transport licence. The vehicle must pass periodic technical inspection at the intervals set for its category; buses and coaches are inspected more often than private cars. Tachographs are mandatory on buses over 9 seats used commercially.
Traps. Questions blur the B and BE boundary, or ask whether a D licence alone suffices for paid passenger transport (it does not; you also need the CPC and, where applicable, the transport authorisation). Another trap: the licence is valid for a fixed term and must be renewed, and the medical certificate requirement differs by category and age.
Rule of thumb: category by mass and seats, then add the professional layer. Worked example: a 5,000 kg minibus with 17 seats needs category D, not C, because the deciding factor is passenger seats, and paid operation adds the CPC.