🚗 Driving licences: the end of “lifetime” licences, medical checks, older drivers… separating fact from fiction

“Your driving licence will soon become invalid”, “you will have to retake your driving test”, “older drivers will have to surrender their licences”… Reports about the European reform sometimes create confusion.

There is indeed a reform: Directive (EU) 2025/2205, adopted on 22 October 2025. However, its implications require clear explanations. An expiry date on a document does not mean that all the driving skills acquired over the years disappear on that date.

🔄 1. “You will have to retake your driving test every fifteen years”: false

For cars and motorcycles, the reform provides for an administrative validity period of fifteen years. Member States may reduce this to ten years where their legislation also allows the driving licence to be used as a personal identification document.

This concerns renewing the document, not systematically retaking the theory and practical driving tests.

In Belgium, the driving licence in bank-card format already has an administrative validity period of ten years, subject to specific circumstances. The expiry date appears in field 4b.

The European reform therefore does not automatically extend your current Belgian driving licence to fifteen years. Continue to comply with the date shown on your document.

📄 2. “Paper driving licences will no longer be valid in 2028”: false

For older Belgian paper driving licences, the general replacement deadline remains 19 January 2033 at the latest.

Earlier replacement may nevertheless be necessary, particularly if the document is damaged or illegible, or if the photograph no longer provides an accurate likeness of its holder.

Presenting the reform as making all paper driving licences invalid from 2028 is therefore incorrect.

🩺 3. “All motorists will have to undergo a medical examination”: an overly categorical claim

The reform strengthens the monitoring of fitness to drive. For cars and motorcycles, however, Member States have several options: a medical examination, a self-assessment form or a national fitness-to-drive assessment system, under the conditions laid down in the legislation.

It is therefore incorrect to announce a uniform mandatory medical examination for every European motorist.

The arrangements applicable in Belgium will need to be assessed in light of the national measures transposing the directive. Specific requirements, including medical requirements, may already apply to certain drivers.

👥 4. “You will lose your driving licence at 65”: false

The directive allows Member States to introduce a shorter validity period from the age of 65 to strengthen the monitoring of fitness to drive. This reduction takes effect upon renewal.

It does not provide for the automatic withdrawal of a driving licence solely because its holder reaches that age.

An option available to Member States is not an identical obligation imposed on all European drivers.

📱 5. “A smartphone will necessarily replace the physical driving licence”: false

A European digital driving licence is planned. However, the right to request a physical driving licence is preserved, either on its own or alongside the digital version.

Its introduction follows a specific timetable: the legislation provides for the digital format to become the default 54 months after the adoption of the first relevant implementing act. This does not mean that physical cards will be abolished across the board in 2028.

📅 6. “All the new rules will apply in 2028”: false

The general timetable distinguishes between two stages:

• 26 November 2028: deadline for adopting and publishing the national measures transposing the directive;
• 26 November 2029: those measures begin to apply.

Certain provisions follow specific deadlines. It is therefore necessary to distinguish between the adoption of European legislation, its transposition into national law and its practical application.

🔎 What should you do in Belgium?

Check the expiry date of your driving licence in bank-card format and apply for renewal in good time. If you hold a paper driving licence, check its condition and your photograph, and arrange its replacement before the 2033 deadline.

Do not wait for a future reform to renew a document that is approaching its expiry date. Driving with an expired licence may lead to prosecution.

Before sharing an alarming announcement, three questions can help clarify the situation:

• Does it concern the document or the right to drive?
• Is it already applicable?
• Does it describe a European obligation or an option left to Belgium?

📚 Official sources

• Directive (EU) 2025/2205 of 22 October 2025, particularly Articles 3, 4, 10, 11 and 29.
• European Parliament — Modernising EU driving rules to increase road safety.
• European Commission — Entry into force of the new rules on driving licences.
• Belgian Federal Public Service Mobility and Transport — Paper driving licences: validity and circumstances requiring replacement.
• Belgian Federal Public Service Mobility and Transport — Administrative renewal of driving licences.

📩 Do you have a question about your driving licence, a road traffic offence or a driving disqualification? Contact me for advice tailored to your situation and assistance in defending your rights.