AREI/RGIE Regulations 2026: The Key Changes

What has applied since 1 April 2026

Since 1 April 2026, Book 1 V06 of the AREI/RGIE applies. The main change: earthed direct-current systems are now regulated systematically – with DC versions of the TN, TT and IT systems, new conductor designations and new RCD sensitivity classes for smooth direct current. For the classic AC domestic installation, this version brings no blanket new obligation. On 1 November 2026, version 07 follows with another narrow change: the sealing of the RCD at the origin of the installation is abolished.

The Belgian AREI – RGIE in French – consists of three books; Book 1 governs low-voltage installations in homes. The new version is based on the Royal Decree of 6 October 2025, published on 29 October 2025; an erratum of 5 November 2025 only corrected the presentation, not the content. The FPS Economy describes the scope on its overview page for the current RGIE, which also hosts the binding 2026 version of Book 1.

Editing and review: PlanElec team, 5 October 2026.

The version 06 changes at a glance

The new RCD sensitivity classes

Where Book 1 requires a "high-sensitivity" RCD, for example for sockets and bathrooms (4.2.4.3 b), the 30 mA limit for AC is unchanged. What is new is the separate scale for smooth DC (2.6.4).

Transitional rule for installations started earlier

The transitional rules mainly concern non-domestic installations: if work on site started before the entry into force, two-phase TN circuits with a PEN cross-section below 10 mm² copper or 16 mm² aluminium may stay in service. IT systems without permanent insulation monitoring remain permitted if signalling a first fault is not required for safety reasons, no special case requires the monitoring and the basic requirement of 4.2.3.4 d.2 is met (6.5.8.2 no. 5; for older non-domestic installations 8.3.2.2 no. 7). Projects started before the cut-off date that only get their conformity inspection afterwards can apply this derogation via 4.2.3.4 e; the inspection body records it in the report. Whether the conditions are met cannot be read from a single-line diagram – your electrician clarifies that with the inspection body.

Addendum: Book 1 version 07 from 1 November 2026

The Royal Decree of 13 August 2026 (Belgian Official Gazette of 15.09.2026) removes from parts 4 and 6 of Book 1 the duty to seal the RCD at the origin of a conforming domestic installation. Book 1 thereby becomes version 07, applicable from 1 November 2026. A comparison of the full texts shows that this is the only substantive change compared with version 06.

Details, references and the effect on inspection reports: What changes on 1 November 2026 for the sealing of residual current devices?

Direct current gets a systematic place

Photovoltaics, battery storage, DC distribution and devices that can feed back bring direct current into buildings that used to know only AC. Version 06 therefore adds earthed DC systems to the familiar system types (3.2.2.2). The letters TN, TT and IT still describe how live conductors, earth and exposed conductive parts relate; the protective measure now matches the DC source, the earthing and the disconnection behaviour.

Not every house needs a DC network as a result. But as soon as a DC part goes beyond typical device-internal PV wiring or forms its own earthed distribution, you do not document it like an ordinary AC circuit. Clarify at least the following with your electrician:

• Where does the DC part of the installation start and end?
• Is the system isolated from earth or deliberately earthed, and at which point?
• Which live conductors are switched and isolated?
• Which protective measure responds to an insulation fault?
• Which disconnection conditions apply to the chosen TN, TT or IT arrangement?
• Which manufacturer data limit voltage, polarity, protective device and cable routing?

The words "battery" or "PV" do not imply a particular earthing system or a universal protection solution. A qualified electrician does the design; the approved inspection body assesses the finished installation against the regulation in force and the documents presented.

What is not new in 2026

EV chargers

The special chapter 7.22 on charging equipment existed before 2026. It requires a dedicated circuit per connection point (7.22.3), an individual RCD of at most 30 mA per AC circuit and protection against insulation faults with a DC component – either through an RCD built for that purpose or through an RCD coordinated with a DC fault current detection device (7.22.4.1 b). The right combination follows from the charger, the protection chain and the manufacturer's data sheet.

Bidirectional chargers add a grid-connection question: according to the Synergrid overview of decentralised generation units, they fall under C10/11 and require C10/26 type approval. Purely unidirectional grid-to-vehicle chargers do not fall under C10/26 for that reason alone.

Bathrooms

Baths and showers remain a separate chapter (7.1). Check zones, IP requirements, permitted equipment and RCD protection there in the current text. There is no general "new zone 3 from 2026". IPX5 is not prescribed across the board for zone 1 either: table 7.3 sets AD4 as a minimum, to be raised according to external influences, for example where cleaning with water jets is used. Survey the geometry and fixed water outlet precisely instead of copying a simplified online graphic.

Surge protection, PV and digital documents

Surge protection, PV protection concepts and electronic documents are not new 2026 duties. Book 1 contains requirements and principles whose application depends on the installation, risk, equipment technology and execution date. An inspection report sent electronically is not a new substantive protection rule either.

Which installation falls under which rule?

The decisive question is: when was each part built, and what work is happening now? An existing installation continues to be assessed with its permitted derogations, while a new circuit meets current requirements. A significant modification or extension gets a conformity inspection before use, covering the change and its effects on the unchanged part (6.4.7.3).

The FPS Economy page on domestic installation inspections lists the triggers: before first use, for significant modifications or extensions, for certain capacity increases, when a dwelling is sold, and periodically. Small work such as an extra socket on an existing circuit can count as a non-significant extension; the classification depends on the actual scope.

For a renovation project, keep a short change list:

1. Record the existing installation with its date or probable construction period.
2. Distinguish new and unchanged parts on the plan.
3. Check the effect of new sources, storage or chargers on the board and protection chain.
4. Resolve open assumptions with the electrician and inspection body.
5. Update the single-line diagram and situation plan after the work.

Documentation and plans: what the inspection requires

The FPS Economy lists at least the single-line diagram, the situation plan and – if available – the EAN code for a domestic inspection. The single-line diagram shows circuits, connections and equipment with their characteristics; the situation plan locates boards, boxes, sockets, light points, switches, fixed appliances and sources. Both belong in the installation file, together with inspection reports, descriptions of non-significant changes and technical documents, for example for PV components (9.1.2).

For a DC system, the documents go beyond a device name: clear assignment of sources and cables, nominal voltages, polarity, isolation points, protective devices, earthing concept and a reference to the relevant manufacturer document. A clean plan replaces neither calculation nor measurement, but it shows whether everyone is talking about the same installation.

Practical check for projects in 2026

Check the applicable version. Use the version in force on the planned execution date – version 06 until 31 October 2026, version 07 from 1 November 2026. The FPS Economy publications are authoritative.

Determine the scope. Note whether the work is a new build, significant extension, small change, sale, periodic inspection or capacity increase. For chargers, check the direction of energy flow; bidirectional technology triggers grid operator requirements that a unidirectional charger does not.

Collect the evidence. Keep cable and protective device selection, manufacturer instructions, measured values and plans together. For DC components, data sheets state the permitted earthing, fault current behaviour and disconnection; if that information is missing, request it from the manufacturer.

Organising version control in the project

Document which version applied to which decision: execution date, book version used, chapters concerned, open technical questions and responsible reviewers. If design continues after a regulatory change, compare the affected points specifically rather than discarding earlier decisions unchecked.

For manufacturer documents, the model, firmware or variant and issue date belong in the reference. Especially for inverters, batteries and chargers, variants that look alike often differ in fault current detection, earthing conditions or grid functions.

In meeting minutes, separate three levels: the binding AREI text, the electrician's technical interpretation and the rules the software self-check verifies. That keeps it traceable whether a point is legally required, chosen as good practice or not yet evaluated automatically. Before the inspection, a responsible person signs off the documented final state, confirming that plan, equipment status and installation as built are in sync.

What PlanElec does

PlanElec takes you from floor plan through the electrical topology to single-line diagram, situation plan and PDF export. The AREI/RGIE self-check reports findings in the supported rules that can be decided from your project data. PlanElec keeps the full regulation text at Book 1 V06, in force since 1 April 2026; the PlanElec assistant answers technical questions with sources from that text.

The check logic covers a documented subset of these rules. Earthed DC TN, TT and IT systems, their conductor roles and the related protection logic are not yet fully modelled; when PlanElec detects such DC parts, the check shows them as incompletely assessed instead of counting them as passed. For those points, the design, manufacturer documents and the inspection body provide the answer. PlanElec keeps the information structured and consistent; the positive verdict on the installation comes from the approved inspection body.

In short

The real change in 2026 is the systematic inclusion of earthed DC systems in Book 1, with new conductor designations and DC sensitivity classes for RCDs; from 1 November 2026, sealing is also abolished. For existing AC domestic installations, this creates no blanket duty to rebuild. Identify the use case first, work with the current official text and document new AC and DC parts traceably – that gives electrician and inspection body a solid basis.

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