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Uber and Bolt in Flanders

Do I need a licence if I drive for Uber or Bolt?

Yes. Driving for Uber or Bolt in Flanders means driving as a street taxi, and you need the same paperwork as any other taxi. That means a licence for individual paid passenger transport, a driver pass and a connection to Chiron.

The platform arranges the rides, not your licence. You apply for that yourself at your municipality, before you start driving.

What you need

What exactly do you need?

The rules attach to the activity, not to the platform. Anyone transporting people for payment in Flanders falls under the Taxi Decree.

IBP licence

Compulsory

The licence for individual paid passenger transport, applied for at the municipality of your operating seat. It is issued to the operator, not to the platform.

Driver pass

Compulsory

A personal pass per driver, applied for at the municipality where you live. Driving without one costs €500.

Chiron connection

Compulsory

Every ride goes live to the ride database of the Flemish government, at the start and at the end. Registration in the platform's own app does not count towards it.

Uber and Bolt are intermediaries: they bring you and the customer together. The licence, the pass and the flow to Chiron stay your responsibility as the operator.

Getting started

How do you become an Uber or Bolt driver in Flanders?

You become an operator first and a platform driver second. In that order, because without a licence you never reach the first ride.

  1. Become an operator first

    You set up a company and apply for the IBP licence at the municipality of your operating seat. Without a licence you cannot drive legally, not even through a platform.

  2. Sort out your pass and your car

    Every driver applies for a driver pass at the municipality where they live. Your car has to be registered for paid passenger transport, with a TX plate and suitable insurance.

  3. Set up your ride registration

    You connect your software to Chiron with a Client ID and a Secret from the Department of Mobility and Public Works. Only once that works do you sign up with the platform.

View the full step-by-step plan
Without a licence

What if you drive without a licence?

The police and the inspectors of the Flemish government carry out checks on the street and at the airport. They look at your licence, your driver pass and your ride registration.

  • An immediate collection on the spot. The amounts per offence are listed in annex 10 to the implementing decree. Driving without a driver pass costs €500, for example.
  • An official report, if you do not pay on the spot or you contest the finding.
  • A court fine of €26 to €10,000, or of €500 to €10,000 for serious offences.
  • Your licence withheld for as long as the offence continues, or suspension by your municipality.
Read what a missing ride costs
Frequently asked questions

Questions about driving for a platform

No. The platform mediates between you and the customer. You apply for the licence and the driver pass yourself at your municipality.

Yes. The rules attach to the activity, not to the name of the platform. Anyone transporting people for payment in Flanders needs an IBP licence.

Yes, as long as you drive in the street taxi operating form. You still register your own rides and forward them to Chiron.

Not for a ride that stays entirely within Brussels. Brussels has its own licences and its own rules, with its own quotas.

No. Platform rides are booked in advance with an agreed price, so you drive as a street taxi. A taximeter and a taxi light are not compulsory then.

Read on

Go deeper

Sources

What this is based on

This page follows Flemish taxi legislation and the official government sources.

With TaxiBuddy

Every platform ride automatically to Chiron

If you drive for a platform, the flow to Chiron stays your responsibility. TaxiBuddy forwards every ride start and every ride end automatically. If Chiron goes down for a moment, our servers hold the ride and send it on as soon as the database is reachable again.

Start your application

Information as of 2 September 2026.

This page gives general information about the licence requirement for platform drivers under the Flemish Taxi Decree of 29 March 2019 and the implementing decree of 9 June 2023. The rules can change and your municipality may set additional conditions. This is not legal advice. When in doubt, consult your municipality or the Department of Mobility and Public Works. Uber and Bolt are trade names of their respective owners; TaxiBuddy is not affiliated with either platform.