Fax a Belgian landline without a device
From the local council to the FPS Finance, from the health insurer to the court: your PDF is delivered to any Belgian landline, with no fax machine needed. The initial page is free, and each additional page costs €3.99, VAT included.
For a Belgian landline, count nine digits, zero included. Brussels, Antwerp, Liège and Ghent use a one-digit area code — 02, 03, 04, 09 — while elsewhere two are needed: 016 in Leuven, 065 in Mons, 071 in Charleroi and 081 in Namur. Watch for 047, 048 and 049: ten digits, a mobile phone on the line, no fax possible.
Health insurance funds, municipal administrations, notary and bailiff offices, social secretariats, medical practices: official Belgium has not cut all its fax lines, often listed at the bottom of correspondence.
Mind the language of your cover sheet: Dutch for a Flemish recipient, French in Wallonia, German in the East Cantons. Your correspondent will process the fax that much faster.
Select Belgium and enter the number starting with its leading zero, omitting +32; spaces won't matter. A single-page send costs nothing; once you go beyond that, every fax is €3.99 incl. VAT regardless of how thick the file is. PDF delivery confirmations run €2.99 incl. VAT and are billed solely once the Belgian device has actually recorded the pages.
Belgium: the number format to enter
| Field | Data |
|---|---|
| International dialling code | +32 |
| ISO code | BE |
| Accepted format | Nine digits with a leading 0, spaces allowed; a mobile number in 04xx has ten |
| Line example | 024751234 |
| Region | Europe |
Belgium: sample numbers, accepted or rejected
| Number tested | Verdict | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 02 345 67 89 | Valid | Brussels |
| 04 223 45 67 | Valid | Liège |
| 081 23 45 67 | Valid | Namur |
| 0475 12 34 56 | Rejected | Mobile number: beyond the reach of a fax |
| 2 345 67 89 | Rejected | The leading zero is missing |
| 32 2 345 67 89 | Rejected | Dialling code given without a + or 00 in front |
Area codes of the main cities
| City or line type | Dialling code |
|---|---|
| Brussels | 02 |
| Antwerp | 03 |
| Liège | 04 |
| Ghent | 09 |
| Charleroi | 071 |
| Namur | 081 |
Belgium: organisations that still receive faxes
- From the municipality to the CPAS, from SPF Finances to the Foreigners' Office: depending on the service, the fax line always appears at the bottom of correspondence. The one for the population or urban planning department rarely matches the general number.
- Fax remains the channel through which doctors, pharmacies, hospitals and health insurers send prescriptions, medical reports and certificates, while eHealthBox stays reserved for healthcare professionals.
- Court registries, justices of the peace, and bailiffs: fax makes practical exchanges easier there; lawyers, for their part, file their pleadings electronically.
- Notaries, property managers, brokers, and insurance companies still accept documents signed by fax — a power of attorney or an insurance claim, for example.
No organisation number is published here: take the one from your latest letter, or from the official website.
The official digital channel
Government agencies send their official documents to eBox (accessed via itsme or the electronic identity card); eBox Enterprise serves the same purpose for businesses, and MyMinfin consolidates tax records. Healthcare providers use eHealthBox, the bar files through DPA-Deposit, while Just-on-web handles some online court procedures.
Belgium: time difference and office hours
| Time zone | In Belgium, clocks follow CET (UTC+1), switching to CEST (UTC+2) during the summer months. |
|---|---|
| Difference from Paris | No difference: Brussels and Paris share the same time zone. |
| Usual hours | On weekdays, most offices open at 8:30 a.m., break at noon, reopen at 1:30 p.m. and close at 4:30 p.m. Each municipal counter posts its own hours, sometimes with evening availability; on July 21, the national holiday, many services remain closed, and some administrations also observe November 15. |
Belgium: questions about sending
- Does my municipality or CPAS accept faxes?
- Yes, provided the department in question publishes a fax number — by mail or on its website. These days, email and online forms tend to be preferred. And make sure you have the right one (population, civil status, urban planning): a department's fax number is frequently not the same as the general line.
- Does a fax to the court registry count as a filing?
- Not necessarily. Lawyers file electronically; for private individuals, it depends on the procedure: filing at the counter, by registered mail, or via Just-on-web. Before relying on fax, check with the registry.
- Is the +32 necessary?
- No: Belgian numbers are written with a leading zero, e.g., 02 345 67 89. Pasting in international format (+32 2 345 67 89) is also converted automatically. However, a 10-digit mobile number starting with 04xx will be rejected.
Send a fax to Belgium
The other six countries
Countries covered
This topic
- Countries covered
- Dial code +49 — Following the initial 0, there are 6 to 11 additional digits: an area code of 2 to 5 digits, then the subscriber number. Mobile prefixes comprise 015, 016 and 017.
- Dial code +34 — An 8 or a 9 opens a landline, which runs to nine digits with the province code; a leading 6 or 7 marks a mobile
- Dial code +39 — Keep the 0 in front and type the 5 to 10 digits after it; a number opening with 3 belongs to a mobile
Keep reading
Pages chosen to help you prepare a send, track it, or keep proof of it.
- Dial code +33 — Ten digits in total, beginning with 01 through 05 or with 09; numbers beginning with 06 or 07 are mobiles
- Dial code +351 — Nine digits starting with 2, including the area code; numbers beginning with 9 are mobiles
- Before faxing abroad, look up the country's dialling code, the usual prefixes and how long numbers should be.