To open a tanning salon in Belgium, you follow the AR of 20 June 2002 as amended: a trained reception person (or an automated centre that meets its conditions), NACE code 9604002 for each establishment unit, a warning panel and cabin instructions, a signed document for every new customer, no UV under 18 or for skin type 1, and minimum intervals between exposures. SPF Économie enforces these rules and inspects salons.
This guide walks through each obligation in the order you meet them when opening. It is general information, not legal advice: for any point it leaves open, check with SPF Économie before you open.
Which law applies to tanning salons in Belgium?
The main text is the royal decree (arrêté royal, AR) of 20 June 2002 on the operating conditions of tanning centres. It has been amended several times, most recently by the AR of 22 December 2016, in force since 1 March 2017. A 2017 decree that would have repealed it was annulled in full by the Conseil d'État in 2020, so the 2002 AR as amended still applies.
Do you need a training certificate to run a solarium?
Yes. Every reception person, meaning anyone who welcomes customers, must have passed a training defined by the competent Community (art. 5).
- In Wallonia, the IFAPME runs the course for sunbed operators: at least 16 hours, with evaluations within six months, leading to a certificate of aptitude as reception person in a tanning centre. Other titles covering the same skills are accepted.
- In Flanders, recognised courses lead to a certificate for tanning centre operators. Holders of a beauty care diploma, doctors and physiotherapists are exempted.
In Brussels or in the German-speaking Community, ask SPF Économie which training is recognised before you hire.
Which NACE code does a tanning centre need?
Each establishment unit that runs a tanning centre must carry NACE-BEL code 9604002 in its registration with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (BCE). The rule is article 6/1, added by the AR of 22 December 2016.
What signs must hang in the salon and in the cabins?
Every centre displays the warning panel of annex I, visible and legible from at least 5 metres, in the language or languages of the linguistic region. It says that UV can cause skin cancer and seriously damage the eyes, that goggles are mandatory, that some medicines and cosmetics cause reactions, and that UV is forbidden under 18 and for skin type 1. In Dutch, use the officially published wording, not your own translation.
Each cabin also needs:
- clear instructions for use and cleaning;
- the manufacturer's exposure schedule, with durations and intervals for that bed and each skin type;
- suitable cleaning products, so the customer can clean the bed;
- an emergency call system.
Protective goggles must be available and disinfected before reuse. The bed switches off automatically on a fault, UV emitters and filters are checked according to use and at least every three months, and beds are disinfected at least once a day. Total erythemal effective irradiance must stay at or below 0.3 W/m² anywhere on any bed.
Reception person or automated centre: which one are you?
A reception person is mandatory unless the centre meets the conditions of an automated centre, where beds are started by a control system that identifies the customer by a magnetic card or a similar process. Even an automated centre needs a reception person present at least four days a week, one hour a day.
An automated centre also displays the operator's name, enterprise number and phone number, the days and hours the reception person is present, and a phone number for complaints, technical problems or questions. The access card is handed to the customer in person, one card per user.
What happens at a new customer's first visit?
The reception person informs the customer orally of the risks of UV, determines the skin type together with the customer and explains the risks specific to that type. The AR imposes no list of questions, only that the skin type is determined in concertation and noted. Filling in a form alone and dropping it in a letterbox is not allowed, automated centres included.
The result is a document drawn up and signed by both the customer and the reception person. It contains:
- the risk information and the skin type determined;
- a declaration that the skin type was determined in concertation with the customer;
- first name, name and address;
- date of birth and identity card number (a residence permit number is enough for a customer who only has a residence card);
- the date the document was drawn up and signed.
The document stays in your salon and is shown at an inspection. A customer whose document you do not hold is a new customer, even if they signed one in another salon.
Who may not use a sunbed in Belgium?
UV exposure is forbidden under 18 and for skin type 1, and a doctor's note does not lift either ban. The age has been 18 since 3 December 2010; before that, the text said 15. Annex II also advises against UV for people especially sensitive to the sun, sunburnt, with skin cancer or a skin condition that may turn cancerous, or taking photosensitising medicines.
What intervals between sessions does the law set?
The reception person or the control system adapts intensity and duration to the skin type, the bed and its lamps. The AR then sets three limits:
- the first exposure of a session is limited to 50% of the normal dose;
- at least 48 hours between the first and the second exposure;
- at least 24 hours between the following exposures.
In the AR, a session is a series of exposures with at most 30 days between two of them. After a longer break a new session starts, beginning again with a half-dose first exposure. The Belgian text sets no annual ceiling and no maximum number of exposures.
What do SPF Économie inspectors check?
Inspections are free of charge for the authority, and your documents must be available at all times. The AR lists what you keep at its disposal:
- the results of the quarterly checks of emitters and filters;
- supporting documents showing that the dose was adapted to the skin type, the first exposure limited to 50% and the 48-hour and 24-hour intervals respected;
- the signed customer documents;
- the manufacturer's instructions for each bed, including the lamp identification.
Where a control system applies the dosing and interval rules, its log is the evidence. Any manipulation of the control system that leads to a breach of the AR is forbidden (art. 2bis). The text fixes no retention period for these records: ask SPF Économie how long it expects you to keep them.
How can software help a new salon stay compliant?
Solaryx is our product, built for Belgian tanning salons, so read this section with that in mind. Most of the rules above concern the customer and the clock, which is where software can carry the load:
- the minimum age, the skin type 1 ban and the 48-hour and 24-hour intervals are checked online, at the till and for walk-ins, before the bed starts;
- the duration allowed for each skin type, half-dose first exposure included, comes from a duration grid you set once;
- the phototype assessment is signed and timestamped, and the till will not start a bed until it is signed;
- reading the Belgian eID fills name, address, date of birth and card number on the customer document;
- each exposure is logged with the skin type used, the duration cap and the measured interval, the evidence an inspector can ask for;
- maintenance checklists track the quarterly checks of beds, lamps and filters.
Some duties stay with you whatever software you use: the panels and cabin instructions, the emergency call, goggles, daily disinfection, the quarterly emitter checks themselves, the irradiance limit and the NACE code.
See how Solaryx handles Belgian compliance
See how Solaryx starts and stops the beds
Request a Solaryx demo before you open
Frequently asked questions
Can a customer fill in the skin type form at home?
Not on their own. The reception person determines the skin type in concertation with the customer, and both sign the document. A form filled in alone and dropped in a letterbox does not count.
Is there a maximum number of sessions per year in Belgium?
No. The AR limits the first dose of a session and the intervals, not the number of exposures or a yearly dose. The limit of 20 MED per year sometimes quoted is a recommendation of the Académie royale de Médecine, not a rule of the AR.
How long must I keep the signed customer documents?
The AR says they are kept at the authorities' disposal but fixes no period. Ask SPF Économie what it expects for your salon.
What are the fines for breaking these rules?
We have not found a reliable source on the penalties, so we do not quote any. SPF Économie is the authority to ask.