Is a forklift certificate legally required?

What the law says instead

In Belgium, Codex art. IV.3-7, 1° states that self-propelled mobile work equipment may only be driven by workers who have received adequate training to drive it safely. The same article asks for traffic rules in the working zone and organisational measures to keep people on foot out of it. Book IV title 2 adds the general layer: work equipment is reserved to those charged with using it, with adequate specific training.

In the Netherlands, Arbobesluit art. 7.17c lid 1 says mobile work equipment with its own drive is operated by workers who possess specific expertise for it, and Arbowet art. 8 adds instruction adapted to each worker's tasks.

Why the word certificate sticks

Clients, insurers and staffing agencies often ask for a certificate because it is easy to check. That is a contract question, not the law. Whatever the paper says, an inspector asks the same thing after an incident: was this person trained for this truck, on this site, and can you show it? The guide to warehouse safety training covers pedestrian routes and loading next to the driving itself.