Do you need a licence for recruitment and selection? The answer region by region

In Flanders, you need no licence and no registration for recruitment and selection: once your BV (private limited company) exists, you can start. In Brussels and Wallonia you do have to register, and anyone who places temporary agency workers needs a licence everywhere.

That’s good news, because the bar for getting started is low. But not needing a licence doesn’t mean anything goes. Even without a permit, there are rules, and many recruiters know them less well than they think. One thing up front: this is general information, not legal advice.

Flanders: no licence, no registration

For recruitment and selection in Flanders, you don’t apply for anything. You don’t need a licence, and you don’t have to register anywhere either. The same goes for executive search and headhunting.

There are two exceptions. A temp agency does need a licence. And anyone who acts as an agent for athletes has to register as a sports agent. If you simply do recruitment and selection, where your candidate is hired by your client, neither applies to you.

Brussels: register before you start

In Brussels, a recruitment and selection agency has to be registered before it starts work there. You apply for that registration with Brussels Economy and Employment, and it’s valid indefinitely.

After that, every year before 30 September, you send an activity report on the previous calendar year via the MyBEE app.

Wallonia: register once

In Wallonia too, you have to register if you do recruitment and selection there. You apply online via Mon Espace, with your eID, and you get a registration number with no end date. If you stop, you have your registration cancelled within thirty days.

An annual activity report is no longer required in Wallonia: it was abolished on 1 April 2026.

Do you work in more than one region?

Each region regulates placement services on its own territory. Are you based in Antwerp or Ghent, but do you also work in Brussels or Wallonia, for example for clients there? Then check whether you need to register there. An email or phone call to the region is quickly done, and then you know for sure.

What always applies, even without a licence

Every agency in Flanders abides by a few basic rules. They’re set out in the decree on private employment agencies, and they apply to you as soon as you recruit for clients:

• You never ask candidates for money. No registration fee, no fee for your help, nothing. Your client pays you, your candidate never does.
• You treat candidates objectively, respectfully and without discrimination. You select on what the job requires.
• You respect the privacy of your candidates and your clients, and you process their data in line with data protection law. A candidate may see what you keep on them.
• You inform people properly. Your client and your candidate get accurate and complete information in good time.

Similar basic rules apply in Brussels. On top of that, psychological tests may only be carried out by or under the supervision of a psychologist.

There’s also collective labour agreement no. 38 of the National Labour Council, a code of conduct for recruitment and selection by employers. If you recruit for them, you’d best work to the same code. You treat everything you know about a candidate as confidential, you only ask about their private life if it’s genuinely relevant to the job, and you ask permission before you check references. If candidates were in the running but weren’t chosen, you let them know in writing.

When you do need a licence

If someone is employed by you and you have them work at a client’s for a while, you’re doing temporary agency work or secondment. Strict rules apply to that: for temporary agency work you need a licence in every region, Flanders included.

As long as your candidates are hired by your client, you stay within recruitment and selection, and in Flanders your BV is all you need.

And in the Netherlands?

In the Netherlands, too, you don’t need a permit for recruitment and selection. The rules for intermediaries there are about those who hire out workers, such as temp agencies and secondment agencies. They have to register with the KVK (the Dutch Chamber of Commerce), and from 2027 they’ll also need authorisation from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment.

How it works at Shortlist

At Shortlist, you do recruitment and selection: your candidates are hired by your client. So working from Antwerp or Ghent, you don’t need a licence. You get your standard terms and the privacy statement for your website from us. If you also work in Brussels or Wallonia, you register your BV there yourself. How to set up that BV is covered in Setting up a BV as a recruiter.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a licence as a headhunter?

Not in Flanders. Executive search and headhunting fall under the same licence-⁠free regime as recruitment and selection.

Do I have to register with the VDAB?

No. The VDAB is the Flemish public employment service. For recruitment and selection in Flanders, you don’t need to register anywhere.

Can I charge a candidate for my help?

No. An agency never asks for or accepts payment from a candidate. Your fee is paid by your client.

I take someone on and have them work at a client’s. Is that allowed?

Then you’re doing temporary agency work or secondment, and strict rules apply. For temporary agency work you need a licence. Without one, you stick to recruitment and selection: your candidate is hired by your client.

This is general information, not personal legal advice. If you’re unsure about your own situation, check with the region.

You’ll find all the steps at a glance in our guide Becoming an independent recruiter in Belgium.

Curious what you’d keep as an independent? Work it out in the calculator, or have a chat with me about it via Join us.

Sources

• No licence or registration for recruitment and selection in Flanders, but a licence for temp agencies: Vlaanderen.be, becoming a private employment agency.
• The rules for every agency, in Article 5: Decree on private employment agencies (in Dutch).
• Registration and conditions in Brussels: Brussels Economy and Employment, registration and conditions. The activity report: Brussels Economy and Employment.
• Registration in Wallonia: Emploi Wallonie, registering an employment agency.
• Collective labour agreement no. 38: Securex (in Dutch).
• The Netherlands, registration and authorisation for anyone who hires out staff: Business.gov.nl and Randstad, Waadi and Wtta (in Dutch).