Van payload and category-B licence in Belgium

On a category-B licence in Belgium, you can load a van as long as its total mass stays under 3.5 tonnes. What is left for your load runs from about 600 kg on a city van to over 1,600 kg on a large van. The real trap is not the licence; it is the gap between the catalogue payload and what remains once the van is fitted out.

How much payload can you carry on a category-B licence?

The category-B licence lets you drive a van whose GVW — the maximum authorised mass, what many still call PTAC — does not exceed 3,500 kg. Payload is what is left once you subtract the weight of the van itself.

In practice, the bigger and heavier the van is empty, the fewer kilos remain for your gear, at the same 3.5 t ceiling. A light city van leaves little payload but is enough for tools. A large van weighs more empty, but its better-used height and its standard 3.5 t GVW leave it the most payload. In between, the medium van strikes the compromise.

On a real job site, a tiler loading a pallet of tiles quickly flirts with a tonne: 40 boxes of stoneware at 25 kg and you are there. On a city van rated at 650 kg, the pallet does not go legally. On a medium van at 1,100 kg, it does — provided you have not already filled the payload with the fit-out.

Payload, GVW, kerb weight: what is the difference?

Payload is a simple subtraction: payload = GVW − kerb weight in running order. The GVW is the maximum the vehicle may weigh on the scale, loaded. The kerb weight is the van ready to drive.

The detail that counts: the kerb weight "in running order" defined by the European standard already includes a 75 kg driver and a tank filled to about 90%. In other words, the driver is counted, but not the passengers. Each extra person on board removes 75 kg from your theoretical payload. On a medium van with three front seats, two colleagues on board is 150 kg less gear.

The number that counts: the stated payload depends on the exact version. Two Trafics identical in silhouette can show a 150 kg difference depending on engine, gearbox, trim and options. The catalogue often gives the best possible figure, not the one of the van in the showroom.

How much does each van category carry?

Rounded off, real payload rises with size: about 600 to 800 kg for a city van, 800 to 1,400 kg for a medium van, and 1,000 to 1,650 kg for a large van kept at 3.5 t.

Among city vans, the Renault Kangoo starts around 600 kg, the Citroën Berlingo and Peugeot Partner around 625 kg, with reinforced versions climbing toward 800 kg to 1 tonne. In the medium segment, the Renault Trafic claims 970 to 1,121 kg by version, the Ford Transit Custom covers a wide range (from ~850 to over 1,300 kg), and the Peugeot Expert climbs to 1,400 kg. Among large vans, the new-generation Renault Master aims for up to ~1,625 kg, the Fiat Ducato ~1,500 kg, and the panel-van 3.5 t Mercedes Sprinter rather 1,000 to 1,350 kg — more on raised-GVW versions, but then you leave the category-B licence.

On the Belgian market, the large van is not just about volume: it is also the one that offers the highest payload without leaving the category-B licence. To settle the big three, see our best large van in Belgium comparison.

Why is real payload lower than the catalogue figure?

Because the catalogue number describes a bare van, and nobody works with a bare van. Once the bulkhead, metal racking, ply floor, a tail lift and a few options are installed, real payload drops by 100 to 250 kg.

A full tradesperson fit-out is heavy: a three-bay steel racking is easily 80 to 120 kg; a plywood floor with lined wheel arches, 40 to 70 kg; a tail lift, 200 to 350 kg on its own. Add the roof rack, the towbar, a full-size spare wheel, and the "1,200 kg" van from the brochure really works at 950 kg of payload.

What we would avoid: signing on the catalogue payload without weighing the fitted vehicle. The fix is dull: put the equipped van on a weighbridge once delivered, note the real kerb weight, and you will know your true margin. It is that margin, not the brochure, that decides whether your typical load goes.

What are the risks of overloading in Belgium?

Driving over the GVW is not an administrative detail. In Belgium, overloading is punished by an administrative fine scaled to the percentage of excess, on top of the mechanical and insurance risks.

For a vehicle or combination whose total authorised mass does not exceed 3.5 t, the fine is 30% of the set amounts for overloading — a base scale running from €500 to €5,000 depending on the excess mass. In Wallonia, dynamic weighing stations check traffic on the main roads, and the regional decree frames these sanctions precisely. Beyond the ticket, overloading prematurely wears brakes, tyres and suspension, and lengthens stopping distances.

What we would avoid: overloading a 3.5 t van to dodge the C1 licence or a second trip. The real danger sits elsewhere than the fine: after an accident, an insurer that establishes overloading may reduce, or even refuse, its cover. Two trips always beat one van breaking the law.

Can an electric van run at 4.25 tonnes on a category-B licence?

On paper, yes — Europe allows it. So as not to penalise electric vans, heavier because of the batteries, a derogation permits you to drive an e-van up to 4.25 t GVW on a plain category-B licence, provided it is electric and under certain conditions.

The snag is implementation. As early as 2023, the Belgian trade press flagged Belgium's delay in transposing this derogation, where other countries were already applying it. For a tradesperson tempted by a large e-van such as a Renault Master E-Tech or a Ford E-Transit whose laden version passes 3.5 t, the licence question is not theoretical: it decides who can take the wheel.

On the Belgian market, as long as the rule is not clearly applicable, prudence means checking the state of the regulation before buying an e-van above 3.5 t for a driver who only holds a category-B licence. This is exactly the kind of detail settled at registration, not afterwards.

How to choose your van by the load to carry?

Start from the load, not the van. Weigh — or honestly estimate — your heaviest typical load, add the usual passengers and the planned fit-out, then move up to the category that leaves a margin of at least 10%.

A tradesperson carrying mostly tools and light consumables does not need a large van: a reinforced city van or a medium van is enough, with the bonus of an urban footprint and lower fuel use. Conversely, a caterer, a tiler or a drywall fitter carrying dense loads should aim for the high-payload medium van or the large van — that is where the margin sits. The fleet manager, for his part, trades off payload against cost per kilometre over the whole holding period.

The number that counts: keep 10% of payload in reserve. A van filled exactly to its payload is a van you overload every other day, as soon as a colleague climbs in or a pallet is heavier than expected. To frame your need, the Belgian van guide compares city, medium and large vans, and the comparator sorts by payload. Unsure of your segment? The quiz points you in the right direction in two minutes.

Our verdict

Payload is the first criterion of a working van, before volume and well before the badge. The category-B licence draws a clear line at 3.5 tonnes, but the real trade-off happens lower down, on the kilos the exact version leaves once dressed for the trade. Before you sign, do three things: check the real payload of the precise configuration, deduct the weight of the fit-out and passengers, and keep a margin. It is that calculation, not the sales sheet, that will spare you the overload — and the nasty surprise on the weighbridge.

Sources: FEBIAC (licences for commercial vehicles; 2025 light commercial vehicle registrations, +7.6%); FPS Mobility (B / C1 / C licence categories, MAM); Transportmedia (e-LCVs up to 4.25 t and Belgium's delay, 2023); Public Service of Wallonia and code-de-la-route.be (overloading, administrative fines and weighing stations); Utilitaires.com, Comptoir-utilitaire and Caradisiac (payloads for Master, Ducato, Sprinter, Trafic, Transit Custom, Kangoo, Berlingo).