Declaration of works for movers in Belgium: what changes in 2027?

Anyone working in Belgian construction or cleaning already knows it: declare in advance where you will work, and have everyone on site check in and out. These rules are now coming to the moving sector. The law is in place and the deadline is set. Only the practical implementation by the Belgian social security office (RSZ/ONSS) is still missing.

That makes it hard to prepare. In this article we set out what is certain, what is still open and what you can already arrange. Also if you are a Dutch moving company doing jobs in Belgium.

What is the declaration of works for movers?

The declaration of works (in Dutch "werfmelding" or "aangifte van werken") is a notification to the RSZ that the mover makes before a moving job in Belgium starts. It includes the client, any subcontractors and the start and end dates of the works. Unlike construction, the law sets no minimum amount for moves: every job counts.

The basis is the Law of 15 May 2024, which has its own chapter on moving activities. The rules take effect on a date set by the King, and by 1 January 2027 at the latest.

What is attendance registration?

Alongside the declaration comes a registration of everyone who works on a move. The law puts it like this: at every workplace where moving activities take place, the presence of every natural person is registered.

A few points from the law that matter to movers:

• Everyone counts. Not just your own staff, but also self-employed people, agency workers, interns and posted workers from abroad.
• At the moment itself. Registration happens when the activities start and when they end.
• Every workplace. For a move, that is both the departure address and the destination.
• What is recorded. The Belgian national register or BIS number, the location, the employer and the time of arrival and departure.
• The contractor organises it. The main contractor makes sure its subcontractors can register too.

According to advisory firm Prato, breaks do not need to be registered.

What is not yet settled?

This is where the uncertainty lies. The law names 1 January 2027 as the deadline, but the royal decree that brings the rules for movers into force does not exist yet. The RSZ website does not yet list the moving sector under the declaration of works or under Check In and Out at Work. And the RSZ will only replace the current declaration of works application with a new service, Catena, on 1 April 2027.

So exactly how you will declare and register has not been published. It is expected that, as in construction and cleaning, it will be possible through an RSZ application or through a connection with your own software.

What is at stake?

The law attaches substantial penalties:

• No declaration of works? You risk a fine of 5 percent of the total value of the works, excluding VAT.
• No or incomplete registration? A penalty multiplied by the number of people involved. The worker who does not register can also be penalised.

The same law also regulates subcontracting in the moving sector: passing on a job 100 percent is no longer allowed, and the chain may have at most three levels of subcontractors. That part has applied since early 2025. On top of that comes joint liability for wage and social security debts in the chain.

What does this mean for a Dutch moving company in Belgium?

If you do jobs in Belgium as a Dutch mover, the registration requirement applies to you too. The law explicitly names posted workers and self-employed people. What counts is moving on Belgian territory, not where the company is based.

A few practical questions to sort out now:

• BIS number. Registration requires a Belgian national register or BIS number. Your Dutch staff probably do not have one. Find out how to arrange it per employee.
• Limosa. International transport is exempt from the Limosa declaration. Whether that also covers staff who pack, unpack or assemble in Belgium is not clear-cut. Have it checked.
• A1 certificate. Make sure every employee working in Belgium has an A1 certificate, so it is clear where they are insured.
• Pay. When posting workers, the Belgian minimum wages of the joint subcommittee for moving (PSC 140.05) apply.

In case of doubt, ask a Belgian social secretariat or the trade association.

What you can arrange now

You do not have to wait until the RSZ publishes every detail. Much of what the law asks for is information you already have, often scattered across paper, WhatsApp and spreadsheets.

The most important point is the fourth. If your planning is already digital, with the addresses, date and crew per job, you already have the data for a declaration of works. And if your crews already work with an app on their phone, as in execution, you have the basis for registration at the moment itself.

And there is more

The declaration of works does not stand alone. Belgian movers have already taken on more administration:

• E-invoicing via Peppol has been mandatory since 1 January 2026 for Belgian VAT-registered businesses. A PDF by email is no longer enough for business clients. See how that works in invoicing.
• The consignment note (CMR or the specific removal consignment note) must be on board for road transport of goods.

Starting a moving company in Belgium? Our overview of the paperwork for the Netherlands and Belgium may help as well.

Conclusion

The declaration of works and attendance registration are coming, by 1 January 2027 at the latest according to the law. The RSZ still has to announce how it will work in practice. Do not wait for that: make sure you know per job who works, where and when, and keep that data digital in one system. Then the declaration becomes a formality rather than an extra day of admin per week.

We are following the RSZ implementation and will update this article as soon as more is known.