Belgian Civil Code: Key Articles Explained

Around 35,000 marriages are celebrated each year in Belgium, and nearly 25,000 divorces are granted. Each of these events is governed by Book 2 of the Belgian Civil Code — one of the most long-reformed parts, as Belgian family law has undergone profound changes since the 1970s.

Conditions for marriage

Marriage is celebrated before the registrar, following the publication of banns. The substantive conditions are set out in articles 143 and following of the Civil Code (old numbering, still in force for these provisions):

• Minimum age: 18 years (exceptional derogations are possible for emancipated minors, but are extremely rare in practice).
• Free and informed consent of both spouses — a forced marriage is null and void and constitutes a criminal offence.
• Absence of a prohibited degree of kinship.
• Absence of a subsisting marriage (bigamy is prohibited).

Since 2003, Belgium has permitted same-sex marriage — a first in continental Europe.

Matrimonial property regimes: what you own together

The Belgian Civil Code provides for three principal matrimonial property regimes:

• Community of acquests (communauté légale réduite aux acquêts): the default regime if you do not sign a marriage contract. All assets acquired during the marriage are jointly owned; assets owned before the marriage remain personal property.
• Separation of property (séparation de biens): each spouse remains the sole owner of what they acquire.
• Universal community (communauté universelle): everything is pooled together, including assets owned before the marriage.

Divorce: two main routes

Since the 2007 reform, Belgian divorce law rests on two procedures:

1. Divorce by mutual consent (DCM): the spouses agree on everything (child custody, division of assets, maintenance). The procedure can take a few months and is relatively inexpensive if all goes smoothly.
2. Divorce on grounds of irretrievable breakdown: either spouse may apply, without having to prove fault. It is sufficient to establish that the relationship is irretrievably broken — which is presumed after a de facto separation of more than six months (if both parties apply) or more than one year (if only one applies).

The concept of fault survives in certain contexts, notably for determining spousal maintenance after divorce (article 301 of the Civil Code), the amount of which is capped at the standard of living enjoyed by the less financially secure spouse during the marriage. For a detailed understanding of divorce proceedings and how custody and maintenance are calculated, see our complete guide to divorce in Belgium.

Dying without a will in Belgium means leaving the Belgian Civil Code to decide in your place. And its rules are precise — sometimes surprising for those who have never paid them much attention.

Legal heirs and the order of succession

Book 4 of the Belgian Civil Code (which entered into force on 1 September 2018 for successions opened from that date) organises the transfer of assets in the absence of a will. Heirs are ranked in orders:

• 1st order: descendants (children, grandchildren) — they exclude subsequent orders.
• 2nd order: ascendants (parents) and privileged collaterals (brothers and sisters).
• 3rd order: other ascendants (grandparents).
• 4th order: other collaterals (uncles, aunts, cousins, up to the 4th degree).

The surviving spouse enjoys a special status: they inherit the usufruct over the entire estate if descendants are present, or may inherit in full ownership depending on the circumstances.

The reserved share: what you cannot freely dispose of

This often comes as a surprise: you cannot freely dispose of the entirety of your estate by will. The law reserves a portion for your reserved heirs.

Since the 2018 reform, the global reserved share for descendants is fixed at 1/2 of the estate, regardless of their number. The available portion (quotité disponible) — the share you can freely dispose of — is therefore always at least 1/2. This is a notable simplification compared to the old system (which varied between 1/2 and 3/4 depending on the number of children).

Gifts: planning your estate during your lifetime

Gifts (donations) are governed by articles 4.219 and following of the new Belgian Civil Code. A gift is an act by which you transfer an asset to another person free of charge during your lifetime. Key rules to bear in mind:

• Any notarised gift is in principle brought into account (rapportable) in the succession (it will be counted against your share of the inheritance).
• You may expressly exclude the bringing into account by stipulating that the gift is made 'outside the share' (hors part) — but it will then be subject to compliance with the reserved share.
• Manual gifts (cash, works of art) can be made without a notary, but proving their existence and characterising them can cause difficulties in the event of a dispute.

Inheritance tax in Belgium is levied by the Regions (not the federal government) and varies according to the competent Region and the degree of kinship. In the Walloon Region, for example, rates between spouses range from 0% to 30%, and between unrelated persons from 30% to 80% — considerable differences depending on your situation.

Are you planning a complex succession or looking to optimise your gifts? To explore the full details of estate planning and understand the steps involved in a succession, see our detailed guide on succession in Belgium. Before making irreversible decisions, a lawyer specialising in succession law could save you tens of thousands of euros. Find yours on NexLaw.

Before you can enter into a contract, inherit, or get married, you must first exist in the eyes of the law. This is the subject of the opening provisions of the Belgian Civil Code, which define the fundamental concepts of legal personality, capacity, and domicile.

Legal personality: the starting point for everything

Under the articles of Book 1 of the Belgian Civil Code, every natural person acquires legal personality at birth (provided they are born alive and viable). This personality confers rights — and obligations. A child who has been conceived but not yet born may also be taken into account when this is in their interest, in accordance with the ancient legal maxim infans conceptus.

Legal capacity: from what age can you act independently?

Under Belgian law, civil majority is set at 18 years of age (article 388 of the old Civil Code, carried over into Book 2). Below that age, significant legal acts must be carried out by parents or the legal guardian. There are, however, nuances:

• A minor may enter into certain everyday contracts (buying a loaf of bread, taking the bus).
• An emancipated minor enjoys a civil capacity close to that of an adult.
• Adults under provisional administration (administration provisoire, formerly guardianship or curatorship) have their capacity restricted by judicial decision.

Questions of capacity are of particular importance in family law contexts, notably in relation to child custody and parental rights.

Domicile: much more than an address

Article 102 of the old Civil Code (and its equivalents in the new text) defines domicile as the place of a person's principal establishment. This concept is far from trivial: it determines which court has jurisdiction in the event of a dispute, where judicial documents must be served, and before which court a divorce petition must be filed.

If you have a question concerning your own legal capacity or that of a loved one, consult a specialist lawyer via NexLaw — the stakes can be considerable.

One of the most cited articles in the entire history of Belgian law — article 1382 of the old Belgian Civil Code — stated simply: 'Any act of a person that causes harm to another obliges the person through whose fault the damage occurred to make reparation.' Five key concepts — act, fault, damage, causal link, reparation — that underpinned decades of case law.

Since 1 January 2025, this rule has been restated in article 6.2 of the new Belgian Civil Code, but the principle remains identical. Non-contractual civil liability rests on three cumulative conditions:

1. A fault: conduct that departs from that of the reasonable person (bon père de famille, now referred to as 'a reasonable person') placed in the same circumstances.
2. Damage: material, moral, physical, or economic harm — which must be certain, direct, and personal.
3. A causal link between the fault and the damage.

Liability for the acts of others

The Belgian Civil Code also provides for situations in which you are liable for damage caused by others:

• Parents (article 1384, paragraph 2) are liable for damage caused by their minor children living with them — unless they can prove they were unable to prevent the harmful act.
• Employers (commettants) are liable for the acts of their employees (préposés) in the performance of their duties (article 6.5 of the new Code).
• Keepers of animals are liable for damage caused by their animal, whether a dog or a horse (article 6.7).

Liability for things

Article 6.6 of the new Code carries over the rule on liability of the keeper of a defective thing. If your fence falls on a passer-by, or if the floor of your premises is defective and causes a fall, you may be held liable — even if you have committed no active fault.

Contractual vs non-contractual liability: a crucial distinction

Beware of a fundamental distinction: if the damage occurs in the context of a contract (your contractor damages your home), contractual liability applies (articles 5.83 and following of Book 5). If no contract binds you to the person who caused the harm, non-contractual liability (Book 6) applies.

Since the reform, the concurrent application of both regimes is in principle prohibited: you cannot choose to bring a claim on a non-contractual basis if a contract binds you to the responsible party — save for strictly defined statutory exceptions.

In practice, if you are the victim of harm — a road accident, defective building work, professional negligence — and you are unsure on which legal basis to bring your claim, the stakes are real: limitation periods, burden of proof, and the amount of compensation can vary significantly depending on the applicable regime.