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België / Belgique·Destination guide · Western Europe

Belgium

50.8503° N · Western Europe · Schengen

Belgium still keeps a same-day guest register — then Flanders, Brussels or Wallonia run their own logies tracks.

Under the Wet van 1 maart 2007 (arts. 141–147) and the Koninklijk Besluit van 27 april 2007, professional tourist-accommodation operators must register every adult guest (and unaccompanied minors over 15) on the day of arrival, verify identity documents, complete the departure date within 24 hours, and keep the register available to police for seven years. That federal night-register duty sits beside separate regional unit rules: Flanders Logiesdecreet aanmelding, Brussels prior registration under the Ordonnance of 1 February 2024, Wallonia Tourisme Wallonie / BELWAL — plus municipal or regional tourist taxes that differ by territory.

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NextStay relevance · Belgium

5 / 5

Essential

Federal Wet 1.03.2007 / KB 27.04.2007 require a same-day guest register (kept 7 years, available to police on request) — on top of Flanders Logiesdecreet aanmelding, Brussels Ordonnance 1.02.2024 registration, Wallonia BELWAL, and city / regional tourist taxes.

At a glance · Belgium

  • Guest register

    Same-day · 7 years

  • Flanders

    Logies aanmelding

  • Brussels tax

    €5 / unit / night

  • Bruges tax

    €3,75 / person (18+)

Who this is for

What hosts and hotels actually need to know

Belgium is federal for guest identity and regional for lodging market rules — hosts often blur the two. First, the federal guest register (reizigersregister / registre des voyageurs): every in-scope guest must be entered on arrival day with enterprise number, unique serial, arrival date, identity data (name, birth place/date, nationality, ID document number — or National Register number for Belgian eID holders) and accompanying minors' names; departure is added within 24 hours; records stay on site for seven years and are shown to police on request. The 2007 reform repealed the old 1963 system that required handwritten dual police fiches transmitted within 24 hours — today's duty is keep-and-produce, not automatic daily filing. Second, regional unit registration before advertising: Flanders requires Toerisme Vlaanderen aanmelding even for occasional platform nights; Brussels requires prior registration and a registration number from Brussels Economy and Employment under the Ordonnance of 1 February 2024 (which abrogated the 8 May 2014 ordinance) plus urbanism and fire certificates from the commune; Wallonia requires registration with Tourisme Wallonie under the Code wallon du tourisme (BELWAL numbers). Third, tourist tax is regional or municipal — Brussels levies a regional tax per accommodation unit via MyTax (€5 standard / €4 homestay from 2026, campsites €3); Bruges and Antwerp levy municipal taxes per person. Fourth, fiscal: declare rental income; taxable furnished lodging moves from 6% to 12% VAT from 1 March 2026 under the FPS Finance FAQ / KB track. There is no nationwide STR ban. Self check-in works when the statutory register fields are captured and identity is verified before access is released.

Front desk or digital, the federal duty is unchanged: register every in-scope guest on arrival day, verify the travel document, complete departure within 24 hours, and keep the seven-year register inspection-ready.

  • 01Enter each adult guest (and unaccompanied minor over 15) on the day of arrival with the statutory data fields
  • 02Verify identity by checking the guest's ID or substitute document — the guest must present it
  • 03Complete the departure date within 24 hours of leaving; retain the register for 7 years
  • 04Collect and remit regional / municipal tourist tax per the territory covering the property (Brussels MyTax; Flanders city reglementen)

Chapter · Guest register

The federal reizigersregister

Wet van 1 maart 2007 houdende diverse bepalingen (III), arts. 141–147, replaced the old hotel police fiche with a same-day guest register that professional tourist-accommodation operators must keep available to police.

Statute

“Elke reiziger dient door de logiesverstrekker of zijn aangestelde te worden geregistreerd. Deze registratie moet gebeuren de dag van aankomst van de reiziger. … Binnen vierentwintig uur na het vertrek van de reiziger dient de registratie te worden aangevuld met de datum van vertrek.”
Wet van 1 maart 2007, art. 142 (reizigersregistratie) [01]
  1. 01

    Who is in scope — definitions

    Art. 141 defines tourist accommodation as any building or place where persons stay temporarily for tourist or professional reasons without being entered in the population registers; a reiziger as every adult or unaccompanied minor over 15 staying there; and a logiesverstrekker as every professional operator of such accommodation. Belgian and foreign guests alike fall under the register — including other EU nationals.

    [01]
  2. 02

    Clock 1 — register on arrival day

    Art. 142 requires registration on the day of arrival with: the operator's enterprise number; a unique running serial; arrival date; guest identification (surname and first name; place and date of birth; nationality; number of the ID or substitute document — or, for Belgian eID holders, name plus National Register number, or name/birth/ID fields); and the names of accompanying minor children.

    [01][02]
  3. 03

    Clock 2 — departure within 24 hours

    Within twenty-four hours after the guest leaves, the registration must be completed with the departure date. Signature-style capture at arrival does not close the row — the departure completion is a separate statutory step.

    [01]
  4. 04

    Verify the document — do not invent a fiche

    Art. 143 requires the operator (or agent) to check the accuracy of the data by having the guest present identity papers or substitute documents; the guest must present them. Art. 144 requires the register to be made available to police on request. The 2007 reform repealed the 1963 dual handwritten police fiche that had to be sent within 24 hours — today's channel is the on-site register produced on police request, not automatic daily transmission.

    [01][02]
  5. 05

    Clock 3 — seven-year retention, then destroy

    The Koninklijk Besluit van 27 april 2007 allows paper chronological registers or electronic systems that prevent invisible alteration. Registered data must be kept available to police on site or as a file/printout/copy, retained for seven years after departure, then destroyed. Art. 146 sets criminal / fine exposure for breaches of the identity-check and implementing rules.

    [02][01]

Chapter · Regions

Flanders, Brussels, Wallonia — three logies tracks

Tourism lodging registration is a regional competence. Flanders, the Brussels-Capital Region and Wallonia each run their own unit registration — none of them invents a nationwide STR ban.

Statute

“Un exploitant peut exercer l'activité d'hébergement touristique à condition que son établissement d'hébergement touristique soit préalablement enregistré, conformément à la présente ordonnance et à ses mesures d'exécution.”
Ordonnance du 1er février 2024 relative à l'hébergement touristique (Bruxelles), art. 6 [05]
  1. 01

    Flanders — Logiesdecreet aanmelding before guests

    The Decreet van 5 februari 2016 houdende het toeristische logies requires anyone in the Flemish Region who lets tourists stay overnight for payment — including occasional Airbnb / Booking nights — to aanmelden the logies with Toerisme Vlaanderen, meet fire-safety, insurance, hygiene and quality conditions, and obtain a unique registration number before receiving guests. Online aanmelding via the uitbatersportaal returns the number immediately by email; the paper form route can take several days, and guests may not be received until the number arrives. Voluntary erkenning / star classification is separate. Flanders is adapting the aanmelding procedure to Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 from 20 May 2026.

    [03][04]
  2. 02

    Brussels — Ordonnance 1.02.2024 (replaces 2014)

    The Ordonnance of 1 February 2024 on tourist accommodation (art. 31 abrogates the Ordonnance of 8 May 2014) defines tourist-accommodation activity as paid lodging for a stay of at most 90 consecutive days. The operator must obtain prior registration and an indefinite registration number from Brussels Economy and Employment before advertising (arts. 6–9), with urbanism and fire-safety certificates from the commune, civil-liability insurance, and criminal-record extracts among the application pack. Occasional and frequent rentals are both in scope. Separately register with Brussels Fiscality (MyTax) for the regional tourist-accommodation tax, and declare rental income on the tax return.

    [05][06][08]
  3. 03

    Wallonia — Tourisme Wallonie / BELWAL before rental

    Under the Code wallon du tourisme, anyone offering tourist accommodation for payment in French-speaking Wallonia must register before rental via Tourisme Wallonie's platform, typically with fire-safety attestation (ASI / ACS) and a criminal-record extract less than six months old. Registration numbers use the BELWAL prefix for platform identification. Certification, subsidies and hotel classification are separate, optional tracks. Since 2023, the Code wallon de l'aménagement du territoire may also require a communal urbanism permit for certain tourist accommodations — confirm with the commune before listing.

    [14][15]

Chapter · Tax & VAT

Tourist tax, VAT and income declaration

Guest registration is federal; unit licensing is regional. Tourist tax is set by the Brussels Region or by each Flemish city — rates and bases are not interchangeable. Income tax and VAT sit with FPS Finance separately.

Statute

“Since the tax year 2026, the tax amount increases to €5 per unit (standard rate) or €4 per unit (homestays). The rate remains unchanged for campsites (€3 per unit).”
Brussels-Capital Region — regional tax on tourist accommodation establishments (official page) [08]
  1. 01

    Brussels — MyTax clocks (regional tax)

    Under the Ordonnance of 23 December 2016 (as amended), operators of tourist-accommodation establishments pay a regional tax per overnight stay per accommodation unit, including municipal surcharges. From tax year 2026 the published all-in rates are €5 standard / €4 homestay / €3 campsite per unit. Register each establishment in MyTax within 31 days of opening (€1,000 fine per unit if late). Declare occupied nights monthly within 31 days of month-end; late or missing declarations trigger estimated assessment on full occupation. Pay on the MyTax advance-payment request; unpaid amounts after two months are reclaimed at year-end with an extra 2%. Stays over 90 consecutive days are outside tourist-tax scope; recognised social-tourism centres and minor school-group nights have specific exemptions.

    [08][09][07]
  2. 02

    Flanders cities — Bruges & Antwerp (per person)

    Stad Brugge's belastingreglement op het verstrekken van logies (GR 26 November 2025) levies €3,75 per person aged 18+ per night for kamer-related logies in 2026–2027 (€5 from 2028); terrain-related logies are €1,50 then €2. Operators keep the city's digital night register and file quarterly. Stedenbouwkundig vergunde vakantiewoningen fall under a separate 2026–2031 reglement (annual forfait €1.220 plus the same per-person variable rates). Stad Antwerpen (assessment years 2026–2031, GR 15 December 2025) levies €3,20 per tourist per night for kamer-related logies and €1,20 for terrain-related logies (amounts published exclusive of VAT), with quarterly declaration within 14 days after each quarter; tourists under 12 and recognised Toerisme voor Allen stays are exempt. Confirm the current reglement PDF / eBesluit before quoting guests.

    [10][11][12][13]
  3. 03

    VAT — taxable furnished lodging to 12% from 1.03.2026

    FPS Finance's official FAQ on gemeubeld logies / places to camp confirms the reduced VAT rate rises from 6% to 12% from 1 March 2026 for taxable furnished-lodging services and camping pitches. A transitional rule keeps 6% for bookings made by 28 February 2026 where VAT becomes chargeable by 30 June 2026. Toerisme Vlaanderen's fiscal brochure for logies operators flags the same 1 March 2026 clock and points hosts to the FPS FAQ. Pure building rental without taxable lodging services can remain outside this reduced-rate track — classify the activity carefully before quoting rates.

    [17][16]
  4. 04

    Income tax — declare rental / lodging income

    Brussels Economy and Employment expressly requires operators to declare rental income on the tax return. Toerisme Vlaanderen's 'Jouw logies en je belastingaangifte' brochure walks Flemish small and occasional hosts through how lodging income is reported (and notes that the brochure itself is being refreshed for the March 2026 VAT change). This income-tax track is parallel to tourist tax and regional unit registration — none substitutes for another.

    [06][16]

Chapter · EU layer

EU law that sits underneath

Belgium's guest register and regional logies numbers sit inside the same European stack hosts meet elsewhere — Schengen lodging purposes, GDPR, and the 2024 short-term rental data framework.

  1. 01

    Schengen Convention — Article 45(1)(b)

    Lodging providers across Schengen states are expected to account for who stayed where. Belgium's federal reizigersregister is a national implementation of that public-security logic — kept on site and produced for police, rather than a daily fiche mailer.

    [18][01]
  2. 02

    GDPR (Regulation (EU) 2016/679)

    Guest-register fields, ID numbers and signatures are personal data. Collect what the legal basis requires, inform guests, secure storage for the seven-year retention window, and destroy after the statutory period under the KB 2007 destruction duty.

    [19][02]
  3. 03

    Short-term rental data — Regulation (EU) 2024/1028

    From 20 May 2026, where Member States operate STR registration/data systems, platforms work through harmonised registration numbers and activity reporting. Flanders is aligning Logiesdecreet aanmelding with that framework; Brussels (Ordonnance 2024 registration numbers) and Wallonia BELWAL numbers sit in the same transparency direction.

    [20][21][04]

Remote arrival · Still the law

Self check-in under Belgian rules

Remote arrival is common in Brussels apartments and Flemish city flats. The compliance gate is capturing the statutory register fields and verifying identity before access is released — regional unit registration is a separate prerequisite.

01

Document

02

E.turistas

03

Keys

  • Register data before the key

    Build Wet 2007 art. 142 fields into the check-in flow itself — name, birth data, nationality, ID number (or National Register number for Belgian eID), accompanying minors, arrival date — and release door codes only after identity verification mirrors art. 143.

    [01]

  • Departure closes the row

    Complete the departure date within 24 hours of leaving. Signature-style capture at arrival does not replace the departure completion or the seven-year retention duty.

    [01][02]

  • Regional number first

    A complete guest register does not substitute for Flanders Toerisme Vlaanderen aanmelding, Brussels Economy and Employment registration under the 2024 ordinance, or Wallonia BELWAL registration. Confirm the unit number before automating remote arrival at scale.

    [03][05][14]

  • EU nationals are in scope too

    The federal register covers guests regardless of nationality when they stay in tourist accommodation. Do not skip identity verification for other EU member-state nationals.

    [01]

Regional tax & city layers

Guest registration is federal; unit licensing is regional. Tourist tax is set by the Brussels Region or by each Flemish city — rates and bases are not interchangeable.

  • Brussels Grand Place guildhalls — regional tourist-tax territory

    Brussels — regional tourist tax

    01

    From 1 January 2026 the regional tax on tourist accommodation establishments (including municipal surcharges) is €5 per overnight stay per accommodation unit for standard establishments, €4 for homestays, and €3 for campsites. An accommodation unit is a bedroom or space arranged for sleeping. Operators register once in MyTax (within 31 days of opening), declare occupied nights monthly within 31 days, and pay on the advance-payment request. Stays over 90 consecutive days are outside the tourist-tax scope.

    [08][09][07]
  • Bruges canal façades — municipal tourist-tax territory

    Bruges — municipal logies tax

    02

    Stad Brugge's belastingreglement op het verstrekken van logies (GR 26 November 2025) levies €3,75 per person aged 18+ per night for kamer-related logies in 2026–2027 (€5 from 2028); terrain-related logies are €1,50 then €2. Operators keep the city's digital night register and file quarterly. Stedenbouwkundig vergunde vakantiewoningen fall under a separate 2026–2031 reglement (annual forfait €1.220 plus the same per-person variable rates) and are excluded from the general logies tax to avoid double counting.

    [10][11]
  • Brabo Fountain on Antwerp Grote Markt — municipal tourist-tax territory

    Antwerp — municipal overnight tax

    03

    Stad Antwerpen levies a city tax on overnight stays in tourist logies. For assessment years 2026–2031 the official product page states €3,20 per tourist per night for kamer-related logies and €1,20 for terrain-related logies (amounts published exclusive of VAT), with quarterly declaration within 14 days after each quarter (GR 15 December 2025). Tourists under 12 and recognised Toerisme voor Allen stays are exempt. Confirm the current reglement on antwerpen.be / eBesluit before quoting guests.

    [12][13]

This is the law · Here is the reference

Sources & references

Primary statutes, EU instruments and competent authorities. Open the link when your property is at stake.

  1. [01]Local law
    Wet van 1 maart 2007 — arts. 141–147 (reizigersregistratie)

    Federal statute requiring professional tourist-accommodation operators to register guests on arrival day, verify ID, complete departure within 24 hours, and make data available to police.

  2. [02]Local law
    KB 27 april 2007 — registratie en controle van reizigers

    Paper or electronic register; police access; seven-year retention then destruction. Replaced the old dual police-fiche transmission system.

  3. [03]Local law
    Decreet 5 februari 2016 houdende het toeristische logies

    Flanders Logiesdecreet — safety, quality and aanmelding framework for tourist accommodation in the Flemish Region.

  4. [04]Agency
    Toerisme Vlaanderen — logies aanmelden

    Mandatory online aanmelding and registration number, including occasional platform rentals; number required before receiving guests.

  5. [05]Local law
    Ordonnance 1er février 2024 relative à l'hébergement touristique

    Current Brussels tourist-accommodation statute (≤90 consecutive days); prior registration and indefinite registration number. Art. 31 abrogates the Ordonnance of 8 May 2014.

  6. [06]Authority
    Brussels Economy and Employment — register tourist accommodation

    Registration number process, certificates, income-declaration reminder and FAQ for occasional and professional hosts.

  7. [07]Local law
    Ordonnance 23 décembre 2016 — taxe régionale sur les établissements d'hébergement touristique

    Legal base for the Brussels regional tourist-accommodation tax (MyTax registration, monthly declaration, unit-based calculation).

  8. [08]Authority
    Brussels — regional tax on tourist accommodation

    MyTax registration within 31 days, monthly declaration within 31 days, and 2026 rates including municipal surcharges (€5 / €4 / €3).

  9. [09]Authority
    Brussels Fiscality — higher rates from 1 January 2026

    Official notice of the 2026 increase; detailed regional page sets €5 standard / €4 homestays / €3 campsites per unit (including municipal surcharges).

  10. [10]Local law
    Stad Brugge — belastingreglement op het verstrekken van logies (GR 26.11.2025)

    €3,75 per person 18+ per night for kamer-related logies in 2026–2027; €5 from 2028. Vakantiewoningen excluded (separate reglement).

  11. [11]Authority
    Stad Brugge — aangifteplicht / logies & vakantiewoningen

    Digital register guidance; vakantiewoning forfait €1.220 plus per-person rates for 2026–2031.

  12. [12]Authority
    Stad Antwerpen — belasting op overnachtingen in toeristische logies

    Official product page: €3,20 kamer-related / €1,20 terrain-related per tourist per night (excl. VAT) for 2026–2031; under-12 exempt; quarterly aangifte within 14 days.

  13. [13]Local law
    Stad Antwerpen — belastingreglement 2026–2031 (eBesluit / GR 15.12.2025)

    Municipal council document for assessment years 2026–2031 linked from the official product page.

  14. [14]Authority
    Wallonie.be — créer et gérer un hébergement touristique

    Mandatory Tourisme Wallonie registration before rental under the Code wallon du tourisme; ASI/ACS and criminal-record extract; updated 16.07.2026.

  15. [15]Agency
    Tourisme Wallonie — BELWAL registration numbers

    Confirms the BELWAL prefix format for Walloon tourist-accommodation registration numbers used on platforms.

  16. [16]Agency
    Toerisme Vlaanderen — Jouw logies en je belastingaangifte

    Official Flanders brochure on declaring lodging income; flags the 1 March 2026 VAT change and points to the FPS Finance FAQ.

  17. [17]Authority
    FPS Finance — FAQ btw gemeubeld logies / kampeerplaatsen (2026)

    Primary federal FAQ: taxable furnished lodging and camping pitches move from 6% to 12% VAT on 1 March 2026; transitional booking rule through 30 June 2026.

  18. [18]EU law
    Convention Implementing the Schengen Agreement — Art. 45

    EU-layer lodging / guest-record purpose.

  19. [19]EU law
    GDPR — Regulation (EU) 2016/679

    Personal-data rules for identity and document processing.

  20. [20]EU law
    Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 — short-term rental data

    EU framework for STR registration data and platform sharing (from 20 May 2026).

  21. [21]Agency
    European Commission — STR transparency rules

    Plain-language explanation of the May 2026 framework.

After the law · The product

Where NextStay fits

After the law is clear: we build identity capture into the check-in gate — so Belgian hosts can run remote-friendly arrivals without skipping the federal register or the regional unit number.

  • 01

    Register fields before the key

    Online check-in collects Wet 2007 guest-register data and identity verification before door instructions unlock — matching the same-day registration and document-check duties.

  • 02

    City-ready tax records

    Structured stay data supports Brussels MyTax night counts and Bruges / Antwerp per-person tax messaging without mixing unit-based and person-based bases.

  • 03

    Host visibility without desk chaos

    Hotels and individual hosts see who has completed check-in, who is blocked, and when access can release — including late Brussels and Flemish-city arrivals.

  • 04

    Destination guidance in the workspace

    This Belgium dossier stays attached to the market — federal register, Flanders / Brussels / Wallonia unit tracks, tourist tax and VAT clocks — not a generic Schengen footnote.

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