Carriage of less than nine people – Obtaining a certificate to access the profession

Operators of a paid passenger carriage service using a vehicle with a capacity of less than nine people.

Requirements relating to the establishment: the operator in the Region must have premises at which he can access the originals of his main business documents, whether in electronic or paper form, in particular transport contracts, documents relating to the vehicles in his possession, accounting documents, staff management documents, employment contracts, social security documents and any other document which the relevant control authority can access in order to verify that the operator complies with the conditions laid down in the Decree of 28 September 2023 and its implementing decrees.

Good character requirements: the authorisation application will not be granted if the applicant has been convicted in Belgium or abroad of any of the following offences in a ruling that can no longer be appealed against:

• a conviction dating back less than 10 years for a criminal offence, whether a suspended sentence or not;
• a conviction dating back less than five years, with or without a suspended sentence, for an offence:

1. under the provisions of Book 2, Title III, Chapters I to V, and Title IX, Chapters I and II of the Criminal Code;
2. under the provisions of Book IV, Title 1, Chapter 1, or Book VI, Title 4, Chapters 1 and 2 of the Code of Economic Law;
3. under the Law of 22 May 2014 on combating sexism in public spaces and amending the Law of 10 May 2007 on combating discrimination between women and men in order to penalise acts of discrimination;
4. under the provisions of Title IV of the Law of 10 May 2007 on combating discrimination between women and men;
5. under the provisions of Title IV of the Law of 10 May 2007 on combating certain forms of discrimination;
6. under the provisions of the Law of 30 July 1981 on combating certain acts inspired by racism or xenophobia;
7. under Articles 269 to 282 of the Criminal Code. Spent convictions or convictions for which the person concerned has been rehabilitated are not taken into account.

In the case of convictions handed down by a foreign court, account shall be taken of any conviction applying to an act which, under Belgian law, constitutes one of the offences referred to in this provision.

Solvency requirements and compliance with tax and social security obligations: the applicant

• must own the vehicles he operates or have them at its disposal under an instalment sale agreement, finance lease or hire purchase agreement, and be up to date with the monthly payments;
• must not be behind:

1. by more than six months in connection with any fees or taxes relating to the operation of his service,
2. in connection with social security contributions;

• must have a valid civil liability insurance policy for the paid carriage of passengers in order to cover any damage caused to passengers or to third parties during the use of the vehicles, and must comply with the deadlines for paying the relevant premiums.

Professional qualifications requirement: the applicant must hold a certificate of validity of competences, issued by the Administration.

An application for a certificate to access the profession must mention the following, or will be considered inadmissible:

1. the applicant's surname and first names or company name;
2. the applicant’s occupation or profession;
3. the applicant’s home address or registered office and its legal form;
4. a telephone number and a contact email address;
5. an identification number at the Banque-Carrefour des Entreprises (Belgian trade registry);
6. proof that the activity code relating to the carriage of passengers by land is registered at the Banque-Carrefour des Entreprises and proof that this activity is mentioned, in the articles of association of the legal entity, in its corporate purpose;
7. the transport manager’s full name, national registration number, occupation, function, registered address, telephone number and contact email address.

You must apply for a certificate to access the profession via the Administration’s online platform: Mon Espace

There is no fee to pay for applying for a certificate to access the profession.

Within 30 working days of receiving the application:

1. if the Administration finds that the application is complete, the Government will issue the certificate;
2. if the Administration finds that the application is incomplete, it will issue an acknowledgement of receipt of an incomplete application, informing the applicant of the information or documents that are missing.

Within 30 working days of receiving an acknowledgement of receipt of an incomplete application from the Administration:

1. if the applicant complies with the Administration’s request, the provisions in paragraph 2 will apply once more;
2. if the applicant fails to respond to the Administration’s request, the Administration will send a reminder, which will trigger a period of another 30 working days, at the end of which, if the applicant has still not responded, the application will automatically become null and void.

• Requirements relating to the establishment: an address in the Walloon Region, registered with the Banque-Carrefour des Entreprises
• Good character requirements: criminal record statement for the transport manager issued in accordance with Article 596, paragraph 1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
• Solvency requirements and compliance with tax and social security obligations:
  • sworn statement attesting to the current or future ownership of the vehicles and compliance with payment deadlines;
  • certificate from the social insurance fund and the Belgian National Social Security Office (ONSS) dated less than three months ago;
  • sworn statement certifying that in the future civil liability insurance will be taken out for the paid carriage of passengers and the deadlines for paying the relevant premiums will be met.

Where the applicant is carrying out a professional activity for the first time, he can prove that he is complying with the tax and social security obligations by a sworn statement certifying that payments to the social insurance fund for self-employed persons or to the ONSS will be made on a regular basis.

• Professional qualifications requirement: certificate of validity of competences issued by the Administration.

• 16 May 2024 - Decree of the Walloon Government implementing the Decree of 28 September 2023 on services for the paid carriage of passengers by road in small-sized passenger vehicles
• 28 September 2023 - Decree on services for the paid carriage of passengers by road in small-sized passenger vehicles

Pursuant to the laws on the Council of State of 12 January 1973, ‘an application for annulment (and possible suspension) of the decision may be lodged with the Council of State within 60 days of the notification or of the applicant’s knowledge of the contested measure. The appeal must be lodged by a dated and signed application sent by registered post to the registry of the Council of State, rue de la Science 33 à 1040 BRUXELLES ’.

Where appropriate, a complaint may be lodged with the joint mediation service of the French Community (Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles) and the Walloon Region in accordance with Article 12 of the Cooperation Agreement entered into between them on 3 February 2011 on the creation of a joint mediation service, which was approved by decree on 31 March 2011. The complaint may be submitted in writing to the following address: Médiateur de la Wallonie et de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles
Rue Lucien Namèche, n°54
B-5000 Namur