Code 95: how many hours of periodic training, and how your centre registers them

What is Code 95 periodic training?

Anyone doing commercial transport in category C (lorries) or D (buses and coaches) needs proof of professional competence: Code 95. That proof is valid for 5 years. To extend it, the driver collects 35 credit points in the 5 years before the extension.

The basis is the royal decree of 4 May 2007. Periodic training and the approval of training centres are a regional matter.

How many hours and which modules?

A module of at least 7 hours earns 7 credit points. So 35 hours comes down to 5 modules, under these rules:

• At least 1 module per theme. The three themes are rational driving based on safety regulations, application of the rules, and health, road and environmental safety, service and logistics.
• At least 1 module with 3 hours behind the wheel, on defensive or economical driving.
• After each module of at least 7 hours, the centre gives the driver a certificate of periodic training.

Courses on the transport of dangerous goods (ADR) count too, for 7 or 14 credit points, as do courses on the transport of animals and on dealing with people with a disability (7 credit points). In Flanders this applies to courses taken since 22 August 2020, and the driver also takes a module on road safety.

Who must be approved?

Periodic training only counts at an approved training centre, and a centre falls under the region of its registered office. In Flanders, the Departement MOW approves the centre, the modules and the trainers. For Wallonia and Brussels, see the table further down. A new centre goes through these steps:

1. 1

   Trainers

   You are an approved trainer yourself or you work with one. That approval applies per subject.

2. 2

   Modules

   For each category you apply for, you offer at least 1 module at the start.

3. 3

   Application

   You apply online through the e-loket for businesses.

4. 4

   Approval number

   Once approved, you get an approval number and your approval appears in the Belgian Official Gazette. You register it yourself in the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises.

After that you start your courses within 2 months, obtain a quality label such as Qfor, ISO or Cedeo within 3 years and send the Department an activity report by 31 March each year.

How does registration work in Flanders?

An approved centre provides a technical connection between its software and ROV, the Department's database.

The royal decree sets out the two steps below. The Department's obligations page (in Dutch) describes it like this: a monthly schedule in a Google spreadsheet from the Department, changes at least 24 hours ahead, an attendance list per module that you keep for 5 years, and participants entered in ROV. Ask the Department which method applies to your centre.

1. 1

   Schedule in advance

   At least three working days before the module, you send the Department your centre's name, the module, the date, the times, the location, the trainer and whether there is an interpreter, with the language. You pass on every change or cancellation too.

2. 2

   Module details

   For each module you organise, you submit details including your company and approval numbers, the module, the category, the credit points, the date, the trainer's approval number and the participants' national register or BIS numbers.

The driver then sees the training in Mijn Burgerprofiel, sometimes only after 14 days. For the certificate, the driver goes to the centre where they took the training.

What to watch when planning in Flanders

These rules apply to your modules too:

• A module may be split into two parts, with the second part at most 60 days after the first. For defensive driving and eco-driving, the theory comes first.
• Modules have at most 20 participants. For some practical exercises the limit is 10. During hours behind the wheel it is 1 participant per trainer, except in the 14-hour eco-driving and defensive driving module.
• Since 1 June 2024 a module can include e-learning: on average 3 hours online and 4 hours in class or in practice.
• In the 5 years before the extension, a driver may not take exactly the same module twice.

What is different in Wallonia and Brussels?

The 35 hours every 5 years and modules of at least 7 hours apply in all three regions. The procedures differ: check them with the competent authority.

In all three regions, approval is valid for 5 years and you renew it 6 months before it expires. The amounts are indexed every year on 1 January. In Brussels, the driver has Code 95 extended by appointment at the municipality.

How BIQSDRIVE supports you

In BIQSDRIVE the Code 95 course type is ready to use; you add ADR and other modules yourself. You plan a 7-hour module in one session or in two parts, with trainer, room and a minimum and maximum number of participants. Drivers enrol online, you put the course on an order for the employer and you create the invoice in your accounting software. You mark participants present by hand or let them scan a QR code, and you print an attendance sheet per session with your approval number. You share certificates digitally in the customer portal and the business portal.

For approved training centres in Flanders, an integration that will send your Code 95 and ADR sessions to the Departement MOW automatically is coming soon. Until then, and in Wallonia and Brussels, you pass your schedule and participants on yourself, the way the competent authority asks. You plan and follow up your courses in BIQSDRIVE. The features are under Code 95 and ADR.

This guide is for information only and is not legal advice. Rules and amounts can change: check them with the Departement MOW, the SPW or Brussels Mobility.