The number of complaints regarding practical driving exams in Flanders nearly doubled between 2023 and 2025. The number of appeals against exam results and disqualifications is also on the rise.
This is evident from figures requested by Member of the Flemish Parliament Sofie Mertens (CD&V). Mertens is urging a thorough investigation into the increase.
The content of the complaints is diverse. They mainly concern customer service, the accessibility of the driving examination centre, and fees. Complaints about the results of the practical exam also occur regularly.
The number of complaints regarding practical exams at the Department of Mobility and Public Works (MOW) rose from 37 in 2021 to 51 in 2023 and even to 98 in 2025. That is almost a threefold increase in five years.
In addition to the complaints procedure, it is also possible to initiate an appeal procedure. It is possible to contest the results of a practical exam or an exclusion in the event of fraud or irregularities. For an appeal procedure, a petition must be submitted to the Appeals Committee within fifteen days.
The number of appeal procedures is also on the rise. Between 2019 and 2025, the number of procedures rose from 42 to 118, an increase of no less than 181%. This increase can be partly explained by the fact that, since 1 September, 2021, examination centres have been able to exclude people from the driving test, for example, due to fraud.
However, the figures show that the number of appeals against the result of the practical exam has increased particularly sharply. That number rose from 42 in 2019 to 94 in 2025.
Mertens is urging further investigation. "The fact that the number of complaints about practical exams is rising so sharply in such a short time calls for vigilance. What is going on here? An investigation is urgently needed."
However, the professional federation GOCA points to different figures. The complaints report for 2025, released on Tuesday, shows that there has been a decrease in the number of complaints among companies in the sector itself.
"In 2025, 294,351 theory exams and 218,670 practical exams were administered. The number of complaints dropped to 126 (−26 percent compared to 2024)," the report said.
"The complaints mainly concern disputes regarding practical exam results, followed by customer service and, to a lesser extent, theory exams, the provision of information, and fees," it stated.
In principle, three steps apply to complaints, questions, or suggestions regarding driving exams in Flanders. First, contact must be made with the person in charge at the examination centre itself.
If that does not provide a solution, the candidate driver can turn to the management. Only as a last resort does the MOW come into play.
"The figures only relate to that final step. It therefore concerns the most complex and disputed cases, where no solution was found with the driving examination centre previously," said Mertens.
