My driving licence has been revoked immediately, now what?

For what offences can the driving licence be revoked?

Your driving licence can be immediately revoked for the following traffic offences:

• Driving under the influence of alcohol or other substances
  Your driving licence can be revoked if you drive a vehicle within six hours of being found to have at least 0.35 milligrams per litre of exhaled alveolar air (or 0.8 promille of alcohol in the blood). In addition, you may have your licence revoked if you are driving a vehicle within 12 hours of the determination of a state of intoxication or a similar state due to the use of drugs or medicines. This also applies when a certain minimum level of THC, MDMA, morphine or cocaine is detected in a saliva test.

• Fleeing offence
  If you take flight to evade the duty determinations, thus committing flight offence, your driving licence may be revoked immediately.
   
• Traffic accident
  When there is a traffic accident that is evidently due to a serious fault of the driver and has caused serious injury or death to another person.
   
• Driving despite lapse of the right to drive (= during a driving ban)
  When a driver or the person accompanying the driver for the purpose of training has been disqualified from driving a motor vehicle of the category of the vehicle being used (i.e. driving during a driving ban).
   
• An offence of second, third or fourth degree
  When an offence of the second, third or fourth degree involves endangering one or more road users or the offence was committed in dangerous circumstances.
   
• A speeding offence
  The driving licence is immediately revoked if the driver has exceeded the permitted maximum speed by more than 20 kilometres per hour within a built-up area, zone 30, school area, residential area or yard or if the driver has exceeded the permitted maximum speed by more than 30 kilometres per hour.
   
• Obstructing the detection and establishment of offences
  It is forbidden to carry any equipment or any other means that hinders or prevents the detection of offences. If you do so, your driving licence may be withdrawn immediately.
   
• Infringements relating to the alcohol lock
  When a driver whose licence is restricted to driving motor vehicles equipped with an alcohol lock and the driver drives a motor vehicle that is not equipped with an alcohol lock or does not comply with the conditions of the diversion programme.
   
• Obstructing traffic
  Finally, the driving licence can also be revoked immediately for obstructing traffic, such as a wedding parade or a blockade.

How long does one revoke the driving licence?

The immediate revocation is generally fifteen days. From when to when this period runs is not stated in the Act. It is usually assumed that this period starts from the day of revocation, which is counted as day 1. The withdrawal therefore applies for the next consecutive 14 days, until midnight on the last day.

So the first day is rarely a full day, only in the case of a midnight order. If you are lucky, and the order is given five minutes before midnight, then your first day of the driving ban lasts only five minutes. Although you can hardly speak of luck, of course.

Since, in practice, it is always the police forces that keep the driving licence with them, there is no problem that the period would end on a Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday. However, if the driving licence is kept at the public prosecutor's office, it can be collected during opening hours on the last day or, if the deadline expires on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, it can be collected on the last working day before. However, the public prosecutor may ask the police court to extend the revocation for up to three months. However, this rarely happens and only in very serious cases.

After the initial fifteen days or the expiry of the three-month period, one must return the driving licence.

Immediate withdrawal is not a punishment

Is immediate withdrawal a punishment? No! The immediate withdrawal of the driving licence is not a punishment, but a preventive measure aimed at removing dangerous drivers from traffic for a certain period of time. It is therefore a safety measure. However, the immediate withdrawal will be taken into account in the final enforcement of the driving ban you receive from the magistrate. The period of immediate withdrawal will therefore be deducted from the imposed driving ban (unless you were also in prison during that period). For example, a driving ban of two months (= 60 days) will therefore only amount to 45 days if the driving licence has been revoked (for 15 days).

What are the consequences of immediate revocation?

During the period of immediate withdrawal, it is forbidden to drive a motor vehicle for which the surrendered licence is required. This means that one may still drive vehicles for which no licence is required (e.g. the moped class A). 

If, during the revocation period, you nevertheless drive a vehicle for which the surrendered driving licence is required, you will receive a very severe penalty (art. 30 Road Traffic Act). You then risk a prison sentence of between three months and two years and/or a fine of between EUR 200.00 and EUR 2,000.00 (plus the surcharges, currently between EUR 1,600.00 and EUR 16,000.00). You will also be banned from driving in any case for at least three months and up to five years or for life.

Can I oppose the immediate revocation?

The Act states that the public prosecutor's office returns the driving licence either on its own initiative or at the request of its holder. There is therefore no formal possibility of opposition or appeal against the decision to immediately revoke the driving licence, but you can ask the public prosecutor to return the licence earlier anyway.

It is best to get the assistance of a lawyer for this, who can draft with you a reasoned letter asking for the driving licence to be returned earlier. There is a good chance, by the way, that in this case you will not even have to pay your lawyer. In most cases, your legal expenses insurer will pay the costs associated with this request.