What do you want to change about your vehicle?
Two families of change: those affecting the registration or the vehicle, on the DIV side, and those affecting your insurance policy. Pick your case and we will tell you what to do.
Page reviewed on 16 September 2026 Sources: FPS Mobility and Transport (DIV).
- 01 No need to deregister. The plate is kept: same keeper, same category, and four months to reuse it.
- 02 A new insurance review. We adjust the cover to the new vehicle, its value and its use.
- 03 New registration. The new vehicle is registered under your existing plate.
We prepare the file, move the cover to the new vehicle and hand you the form with the insurance sticker.
What follows the plate, and what does not
A plate belongs to a keeper, not to a vehicle. It is kept as long as the keeper does not change. As soon as the keeper changes, a new registration is required.
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The plate is kept
The keeper does not change
- → Change of vehicle, same category, same keeper.
- → Moving within Belgium: the address updates automatically in the DIV system; the registration certificate stays unchanged.
- → Four months to reuse the plate, provided you do not deregister it.
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New registration
The keeper changes
- → End of a lease: the leasing company was the keeper.
- → Moving from an individual to a company, or the other way round.
- → Change of vehicle category.
- → Sale to a third party.
Transferring a plate between people is only possible within the close family: to the spouse, legal cohabitant or a child of the keeper, and after a death to the surviving spouse or cohabitant, a child or a first-degree direct relative. Never to a third party, never to a company.
What you must tell us
Some changes require nothing from the DIV, but they change the insured risk. If they are not declared, they work against you when a claim arises.
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A regular driver
A spouse, a child or a colleague who drives regularly must be named on the policy.
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Business use
Client visits, carrying equipment or goods: the risk is not the same.
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Rising mileage
A new commute, a move: the mileage band must follow.
Keeping your plate when changing vehicle
On the pink form for the new vehicle, we tick YES in box A, plate available, and enter your current number. Conditions: same keeper, same plate category, new vehicle registered within four months. You save about €24 and keep the same number for parking, parking apps and toll badges. Old-format plate: a new European number automatically, and the old plate must be deregistered. DIV: keeping my plate.
Transferring your plate to a relative
- During the keeper's lifetimeSpouse, legal cohabitant or child of the keeperPlate transfer from … to …Keeper's written consent, and depending on the relationship: marriage certificate or household composition, legal cohabitation certificate, birth or adoption certificate. Municipal documents fifteen days old at most.
- After a death, within 4 monthsSurviving spouse or legal cohabitant, child, first-degree direct relativeFollowing a death, plate transfer from … to …No attachment, except the original certificate if the vehicle is taken over with the plate.
European-format plate only (not the old model issued before 15/11/2010), and a vehicle registered under that number at the same time. Plate and vehicle transferred together: no roadworthiness test, attach the original certificate. This file does not go through WebDIV: it is submitted at a DIV counter by appointment or sent by post. The document is then delivered by bpost, never handed over at the counter. DIV: transferring a plate.
Changing address
- Within Belgium: nothing to do
Report the move to your municipality: the National Register is updated and the DIV follows automatically. The plate does not change.
- The old address on the certificate
That is normal: the change is no longer printed on the certificate, which only shows the address at the time it was issued. DIV: address and certificate.
- Company
The change is recorded at the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises; the DIV updates from there, without re-registration.
- Moving abroad: 15 days
When you leave a Belgian municipality's population register, you return the plate to the DIV within fifteen days.
Let us know anyway. The municipality does not inform your insurer, and the area you live in affects your motor and home premiums.
The erasure notice
When the buyer registers the vehicle in their name, the DIV sends you an erasure notice. From the erasure date shown on it, you have four months to deregister the plate or register another vehicle under that number (European format). After that, the DIV cancels it automatically. Never leave the plate on a sold vehicle. DIV: erasure notice.
Six common traps
- Thinking the plate follows the car
It follows the keeper: it stays in your name until deregistration or reuse.
- Deregistering when buying again
You lose the four months of reuse and about €24.
- Out-of-date municipal certificates
For a transfer during the keeper's lifetime, fifteen days at most. Older: file rejected.
- Transferring the plate to your company
Impossible: new registration in the company's name, with company number and representative.
- Taking over a lease car without telling anyone
Change of keeper: new registration and new contract in your name.
- Changing use without declaring it
Undeclared business use can lead to a refusal to pay out.
Your questions about changes
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I am changing car: do I have to deregister my plate?
No, as long as the keeper and the category stay the same. The plate is kept and the new vehicle is registered under it. Deregistering would lose you the plate: see our guide
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Can I transfer my plate to my child or a friend?
To your child, yes: possible since the Royal Decree of 4 July 2025, for a European-format plate. To a friend, no: outside spouse, legal cohabitant, child or inheritance, and never to a company, a new registration is needed.
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I am moving house: does my certificate have to be redone?
No. Report the move to your municipality and the address updates automatically in the FPS Mobility database. The old address stays printed on the certificate, which has no consequence.
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Does adding a driver push up the premium?
It depends on their profile: age, how long they have held a licence, claims history. In every case, an undeclared regular driver is a far bigger risk than a premium increase.
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My spouse has died: what happens to the plate?
It can be transferred within four months to the surviving spouse or legal cohabitant, a child or a first-degree direct relative, if a vehicle is registered under that number at the same time. Box X10: following a death, plate transfer from … to …. No attachment, except the original certificate if the vehicle is taken over with the plate.
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I am moving my private vehicle into my company: do I keep my plate?
No. It is a change of keeper, and a plate is never transferred to a company: new registration with company number and authorised representative. The insurance contract follows the new keeper.
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Is a plate transfer done via WebDIV?
No. The file is submitted at a DIV counter by appointment or sent by post. The certificate is then delivered by bpost: nothing is handed over at the counter.
Official sources (in French)
DIV: keeping my plate · transferring a plate · erasure notice · address and certificate · deregistering a plate · delivery and fees · DIV counter appointment · My vehicle, my plate
Legal basis: Royal Decrees of 20 July 2001 and 4 July 2025 (parent-to-child transfer).
Something to change? We will tell you what to do.
A policy to adjust, a plate to keep or a vehicle to re-register: we work out the right route, prepare the papers and match your insurance to the right keeper.