The practical test in Flanders

Key facts

Age

18 years old.Source: vlaanderen.be

Before the test

The theory test, passed less than 3 years ago. From 1 January 2027: passed at a Flemish centre.Source: vlaanderen.be

Training period

At least 5 months of driving on public roads, with a valid provisional licence. With the 12-month provisional licence, these 5 months are not required.Source: vlaanderen.be

Price

€51.Source: vlaanderen.be

Language of the test

The examiner speaks Dutch. If you don't understand it, a sworn French, German or English interpreter can come with you on the road and translate. You choose them, you pay them, and you let the centre know in advance. The computer test is available with audio translation in these three languages.Sources: vlaanderen.be · GOCA brochure from 01/12/2026

After a failure

You retake both parts, but not on the same day. After two failures in a row: at least 6 hours of lessons at a driving school.Source: vlaanderen.be

Your supervisor

If your 36-month or 12-month provisional licence was issued on or after 1 March 2024, your supervisor must have attended a training session: the “vormingsmoment”.

• Length and price: 3 hours, €21. It stays valid for 10 years.
• When: in principle at least 5 months before your test.
• Careful: training taken in Wallonia is not accepted.

Source: vlaanderen.be (supervisors)

The computer test

Flanders calls it the “gevaarherkenningstest”, or GOCA Risk Perception Test.

• When: with the road test, at the same centre. Normally just before, sometimes after: the centre decides. At the earliest after your minimum training period.Sources: vlaanderen.be (how it works) · GOCA brochure from 01/12/2026
• How: short videos, about 30 seconds long, filmed from the driver's seat. You see the speedometer, the indicators and the mirrors. When the video stops, you tick what you saw, out of 4 answers. There are 1 to 3 right answers.Sources: vlaanderen.be (how it works) · GOCA Vlaanderen
• How many: 2 practice questions, then 5 questions that count.Source: vlaanderen.be (how it works)
• The mark: you need at least 6 out of 10. Below that, you haven't failed the test outright: it gets the mark “voorbehoud” (reservation), which counts with the twelve other marks.Source: vlaanderen.be (marking)
• If you retake the test: you take this test again too.Source: vlaanderen.be

Flanders' advice: look to the sides and behind too, not just ahead.

• Sample video 1 (GOCA Vlaanderen, on YouTube, in Dutch)
• Sample video 2 (GOCA Vlaanderen, on YouTube, in Dutch)

Source: vlaanderen.be (how it works)

The checks before you drive

• The adjustments: the examiner may ask you to explain how you adjust your seat, your head restraint, your seat belt and your mirrors.
• The controls: they have you use a few of them: windscreen demister, rear window heater, dipped headlights, main beam, fog lights, horn, indicators, brake lights, wipers.
• A check drawn at random: show how you check the wear of a front tyre, show how you check the tyre pressure and where to find the right pressure, or open the bonnet and point out the screenwash reservoir.

Mistakes count in the result. If the bonnet won't open because of a fault, the test doesn't go ahead.

Source: vlaanderen.be (how it works)

On the road, about 40 minutes

• The route: the computer chooses the points the route goes through. The examiner tells you in good time where to turn. If they say nothing, you keep following the road.Sources: vlaanderen.be (how it works) · GOCA Vlaanderen
• Your supervisor: they are not allowed to help you, with a word or a gesture.Source: vlaanderen.be (how it works)
• Independent driving: for 10 to 15 minutes in total, not necessarily in one go, the examiner stops guiding you. You find your way with a GPS and the road signs. Since 1 October 2023, you no longer choose between the two.Sources: vlaanderen.be (how it works) · GOCA brochure until 30/11/2026
• A wrong exit: it doesn't mean you fail automatically. Keep driving carefully: the GPS recalculates, or the examiner gives you a new direction. The highway code always comes before the GPS.Source: vlaanderen.be (how it works)

The GPS

• Which one: your own, or a navigation app on your phone. You are asked at reception. If you don't have one, if it doesn't work or if you don't have a proper holder, the examiner lends you one.
• What you must be able to do: enter a destination when the examiner asks you to.
• The language: the GPS must be set to Dutch, even if you have an interpreter.
• The sound: it isn't compulsory. If you turn it on, the examiner must be able to hear it clearly.

Sources: GOCA brochure until 30/11/2026 · vlaanderen.be (how it works)

The manoeuvres

The computer draws two at random, one from each group. You do them in the street or in a public place.

• Group 1: parallel parking on the right, parallel parking on the left, or reversing into a parking bay at a right angle. Parallel parking is done in reverse, between two parked vehicles, or behind just one if there is enough space.
• Group 2: driving forwards into a parking bay at a right angle, reversing in a straight line for about twenty metres, or turning round in a narrow street.
• If traffic gets in the way: the examiner can ask for a different manoeuvre.
• Getting out of the car: during or after a manoeuvre, they may ask you to get out and back in. They check that you take the right precautions.

You fail the test if you drive onto the pavement or the cycle path, hit a vehicle or a fixed obstacle, lose control of the car, or if the examiner has to step in to avoid danger.

Sources: vlaanderen.be (manoeuvres) · vlaanderen.be (how it works)

How the test is marked

There are 13 categories: 12 on the road, plus the computer test. Each gets a mark: “goed” (good), “voorbehoud” (reservation), “onvoldoende” (insufficient) or “slecht” (poor).

You have failed if:

• one category is marked “slecht”;
• two categories are marked “onvoldoende”;
• one category is marked “onvoldoende” and two “voorbehoud”;
• four categories are marked “voorbehoud”;
• a driving mistake puts the car, its passengers or other road users in direct danger.

After the test, the examiner gives you the result and a document with the mark for each category. If you pass, you get the licence application form, which you take to your commune.

Sources: vlaanderen.be (marking) · vlaanderen.be (how it works)

What changes on 1 December 2026

GOCA Vlaanderen groups the Flemish test centres. It publishes two brochures: one for tests until 30 November 2026, one for tests from 1 December.

• The random check: until 30 November, it can also cover the oil level, brake fluid or coolant. These three checks disappear on 1 December.
• Turning round: the brochure valid from 1 December no longer allows you to use a side street, or the wider area at the end of a dead end.

Sources: GOCA Vlaanderen · GOCA (the test explained) · GOCA brochure until 30/11/2026 · GOCA brochure from 01/12/2026

Booking, centre by centre

With a supervisor, you book yourself, ideally at least 6 weeks ahead. With a driving school, the school books. Three companies run the centres covered by PermisRoute.

Sources: vlaanderen.be · GOCA Vlaanderen (centres)

The documents to bring

• your provisional licence, valid;
• a valid identity document. A passport is not enough;
• for the car: the original registration certificate, valid proof of insurance and a valid technical inspection certificate;
• for your supervisor: their identity document (not a passport) and their Belgian or European licence;
• if your 36-month or 12-month provisional licence was issued on or after 1 March 2024: the certificate of your supervisor's “vormingsmoment”;
• after two failures: the certificate for the 6 hours of lessons;
• proof of payment, if you paid in advance.

With a driving school, the instructor brings the car's documents.

If a compulsory document is missing, the test doesn't go ahead and isn't refunded. But it doesn't count as a failure.

Sources: vlaanderen.be · vlaanderen.be (how it works)

The car

• roadworthy and reasonably clean;
• an “L” sign on the back, clearly visible, unless it's a driving school car;
• a second interior mirror. The vanity mirror in the sun visor doesn't count;
• parking sensors and cameras are allowed if they were fitted by the manufacturer. Automatic parking is not allowed;
• all brake lights must work, otherwise the car is refused.

Not accepted: oldtimers, and trade plates, test-drive plates or short-term transit plates.

Source: vlaanderen.be

If you disagree with the result

• First: talk to the chief examiner, then to the centre's management.
• Appeals: you have 15 days after the test. It's a registered letter, signed and written in Dutch, to the appeals board of the Flemish Department of Mobility and Public Works. It costs €31.

Source: vlaanderen.be

Frequently asked questions

The other regions

The three regions side by side · The practical test in Wallonia · The practical test in Brussels

Sources

• Flanders: praktijkexamen rijbewijs B, conditions, price, documents and appeals (vlaanderen.be, in Dutch)
• Flanders: verloop van het praktijkexamen rijbewijs B, the test step by step (vlaanderen.be, in Dutch)
• Flanders: manoeuvres tijdens het praktijkexamen rijbewijs B (vlaanderen.be, in Dutch)
• Flanders: beoordeling van het praktijkexamen rijbewijs B, how the test is marked (vlaanderen.be, in Dutch)
• Flanders: vormingsmoment voor begeleiders, the training session for supervisors (vlaanderen.be, in Dutch)
• Flanders: rijbewijs B, personenwagen (GOCA Vlaanderen, which groups the Flemish test centres, in Dutch)
• Flanders: the list of test centres and their booking pages (GOCA Vlaanderen, in Dutch)
• Flanders: brochure “Cat. B, praktijkexamen” for tests until 30 November 2026 (GOCA Vlaanderen, Doc. 133, version of 18/08/2026, PDF in Dutch)
• Flanders: brochure “Cat. B, praktijkexamen” for tests from 1 December 2026 (GOCA Vlaanderen, Doc. 133, version of 01/12/2026, PDF in Dutch)
• Flanders: “Op weg naar het rijbewijs B, het praktijkexamen in Vlaanderen toegelicht” (GOCA Vlaanderen, 16/09/2026, PDF in Dutch)
• Flanders: practical test and booking at the Autoveiligheid centres (in Dutch)
• Flanders: booking the driving test at the SBAT centres (in Dutch)
• Flanders: booking the driving test at the KM centres (in Dutch)

We checked every fact on these websites on 10 and 11 November 2026. The rules change often: if in doubt, your region's official website is right.