Belgian contractor accreditation — understanding categories and classes
For public works in Belgium above a certain amount, you cannot simply bid — you must be an accredited contractor. That system is unique to works (not to supplies or services) and determines whether you can even be considered. Without accreditation, your offer is formally inadmissible, regardless of your price or technical quality.
What accreditation means
Accreditation is a certification issued by the FPS Economy that proves your company has sufficient technical, financial and organisational capacity to execute certain categories of works up to a certain amount. Two dimensions:
- Category: the type of works (general contractor, electricity, road works, hydraulic engineering, etc.).
- Class: the financial volume you can handle.
The classes
Each class corresponds to a maximum amount per contract:
| Class | Max. amount per contract |
|---|---|
| Class 1 | € 135,000 |
| Class 2 | € 275,000 |
| Class 3 | € 500,000 |
| Class 4 | € 900,000 |
| Class 5 | € 1,810,000 |
| Class 6 | € 3,225,000 |
| Class 7 | € 5,330,000 |
| Class 8 | > € 5,330,000 (unlimited) |
If you are accredited in class 4, you cannot execute any contract above € 900,000 — even if you have the technical capacity for it. The class requirement is stated in the specification and is binding.
The categories (selection)
There are 5 main categories and 21 sub-categories. The most common:
- A — Dredging works
- B — Hydraulic engineering works
- C — Road construction works
- C5 — Bituminous surfacing
- D — Building works (general contractor)
- D1 — Structural works and general building
- D5 — Carpentry, timber work, joinery
- D24 — Restoration of monuments
- E — Civil engineering (bridges, tunnels, underground works)
- F — Steel constructions
- G — Earthworks
- H — Railway construction
- K — Mechanical installations
- L — Hydromechanical and electromechanical installations
- N — Lift installations
- P — Electrical installations
- P1 — Electrical installations in buildings
- P2 — Public lighting
- S — Clocks and time measurement
- T — Refrigeration installations
- U — Heating and air conditioning installations
The contracting authority specifies in the specification which category/categories are minimally required.
How to apply for accreditation
Accreditation is applied for at the FPS Economy, SMEs, Self-Employed and Energy. The typical procedure:
- Online application via the FPS Economy website.
- Document submission: certificates (NSSO, tax, non-bankruptcy), annual accounts (3 years), references (3 to 5, from the last 5 years), proof of staff qualifications.
- Assessment: the administration evaluates your application. Processing time: 3 to 9 months.
- Decision: you receive an accreditation letter valid for 5 years (with obligation for 5-yearly renewal).
Costs are limited (registration fee of a few hundred euros), but the time investment is considerable.
Special cases
- Candidating without accreditation is permitted if you can prove you will obtain accreditation within 60 days of award. In practice, few contracting authorities cooperate with this; they prefer companies that are already accredited.
- Subcontractors: if you don’t have the required accreditation but work via subcontracting with an accredited company, you must state this explicitly and prove the subcontractor’s accreditation.
- Temporary associations (JV): in a joint venture, accreditation is combined (sum of classes).
What Tender Tracker does automatically
In your search profile, you enter your accreditations (category + class). For every Belgian tender requiring an accreditation, we automatically show whether your accreditation is sufficient — or which category/class is missing.
You can choose to hide tenders you are not accredited for (to eliminate noise) or show them with a warning (in case you want to bid via subcontracting).
See Tender Tracker or read how to read a BOSA tender efficiently.