Licence plates in Belgium
Red letters on white
A white plate with red letters and a blue EU band with B is Belgian.
- White plate with dark red characters.
- Format 1-ABC-123: a digit, three letters, three digits.
- Blue EU band with B. The Netherlands is yellow instead.
8 photos, grouped by the clue they show.
Key clue Red letters 8
Belgium: what its plates look like
Belgian plates are white with dark red letters, a design that is almost unique in Europe. The format is 1-ABC-123: a digit, three letters and three digits.
On the left is a blue EU band with a B. Plates stay with the owner, not the car, when it is sold.
The same red-on-white design is used in all three regions of Belgium.
Look-alikes: how to tell them apart
Belgium vs 
Netherlands
France
The Netherlands has yellow plates with black letters. France has black letters and a second blue band on the right.
Questions about plates in Belgium
Why are Belgian plate letters red?
Belgium chose red characters on a white background for its plates. It makes Belgian cars easy to spot among their neighbours.
What format do Belgian plates use?
1-ABC-123: one digit, three letters and three digits, separated by dashes.