Order of Architects Fees

Fee for 2024

Categories 

Architect:  €495

The natural person operating as an architect and entered to one of the rolls of the Order of Architects.

Trainee Architect: €110

The natural person operating as an architect and entered to one of the rolls of the trainees of the Order.

Architectural legal entity €110

The architectural legal entity entered to one of the rolls of the Order.

Payment of the Fee

Under Article 49 §2 of the Act of 26 June 1963 establishing an Order of Architects the Order collects from its members the annual fees set by the National Council. Architects are required to pay their fees within 30 calendar days of receiving their subscription notice (Cf. Article 85 of the Rules of Procedure of the National Council).

Setting the Fee Category

The Order calculates the membership fees for the 2024 calendar year from the information in its possession on 1 January 2024. Your subscription notice is final, unless the exemption from payment option applies.

Payment Reference

When paying the fee it is important to mention the correct payment reference, which is unique to each subscription notice. The payment reference for any fees paid by your legal entity will not be the same as that for a natural person. Please fill each in correctly to avoid unnecessary reminders, notices, collections, etc.

Fee Calculation Rules

On registration the fee is proportional to the number of full months for which the architect will be registered in the 2024 calendar year. Payment is not required for the month in which an architect or architectural legal entity enters a roll of the order or a trainee list. The annual fee is divided by 12 (months of the year) and multiplied by the number of months on which the fee is due.

The proportional rule also applies in the case of removal from the roll of the Order or trainee list. As opposed to the registration, the month of removal will still need to be paid.

Excerpt from the Rules of Procedure of the National Council

Art. 85 : Fees

§ 1. The fees are collected by the divisions of the National Council for the account of the Order of Architects. They are set annually by the National Council, which may alter their proportion in the course of the current year according to the date of entry to the roll or the trainee list. The fees fall due on 1 January of each year, and, for members who enter in the course of the year, on the date of entry to the roll or the trainee list.

§ 2 Fees must be paid within thirty days of the request for payment. Notwithstanding the possibility of disciplinary proceedings, an attempt will first be made to collect the sum from the defaulting architect, unless a reason is given otherwise, by amicable agreement and, thereafter, by court action.

§ 3. Every fee paid to the Order is acquired unconditionally and is non-refundable, in part or in full, unless the National Council makes provision otherwise at the request of the Council of the Order.

Payment Plans and Exemptions

Applications for payment plans and exemptions are to be submitted to the Flemish Council at the following email address: bijdragen@ordevanarchitecten.be.

Exemption from the membership fee will only be granted in exceptional cases. The reasons for the request must always be given.

Request of Payment Plans and Exemptions

• Request payment plans for 2024 fee (Dutch)
• Application for exemption from the 2024 fee (Dutch)

Terms of Payment

In the case of non-payment, a reminder will be sent and the amount of 30 euro will be added to the fee automatically to cover administrative costs. All costs relating to the collection of unpaid fees are payable by the party in whose name the fees are owed.

For further information on the collection of fees, please contact bijdragen@ordevanarchitecten.be.

Entry to the Roll of Architects, Trainee List

If an architect is not up to date with fees owing to the Order of Architects, we are obliged to make reference to Article 38 §9 of the law of 26 June 1963, establishing the Order of Architects. This article confers on the Order the following task: “to publish on its website a list of the architects and a list of trainees on any of the Order's rolls, who are current with their subscriptions and entitled to practise the profession of architect”.

Taxation of Fees

If an employer or company covers the annual fees payable to the Order of Architects by one of its employees or company directors, the fees paid are deductible as employer/company professional expenses and constitute a non-taxable reimbursement for the employee or company director. 

The tax administration considers these paid fees as legitimate expenses for the employer, provided it is demonstrated that this reimbursement was indeed used to pay the fees.

The conditions set by the administration for this purpose, are satisfied when:

• the profession is regulated;
• the holding of the professional title is protected by law or by royal decree;
• the profession is overseen by an Order or institute created by law or by royal decree;
• to practice the profession it is necessary to be a member of this Order or Institute;
• the payment of the fee is necessary to be a member of the Order or the Institute.

To benefit from this measure in terms of professional expenses and legitimate employer expenses, it is necessary that the activity for which the fee is due be effectively carried out.

The tax administration took this measure, which it introduced in an administrative circular, to address the issues of administrative tolerance and simplification.

Budget for 2023

As is the case every year, the budget to cover the costs of operating the Order of Architects is prepared and approved by the National Council. This budget and the membership fees were put before the Minister for Small Businesses, Self-Employment and SMEs, Mr David Clarnival, who approved the budget unconditionally.