Extending speech therapy coverage in Belgium (INAMI/RIZIV): notification, progress report and template

Extending speech therapy coverage in Belgium means continuing a treatment reimbursed by compulsory health insurance once the two-year agreement given by the medical adviser (médecin-conseil) of the patient's health insurance fund (mutualité) ends. Since 1 August 2024, this no longer goes through a progress report sent to the fund. It goes through an extension notification (annex 99) with a medical prescription attached, under article 36 of the INAMI/RIZIV nomenclature.

This guide is for speech therapists (logopèdes) practising in Belgium. It follows our articles on the initial INAMI request and on the article 36 nomenclature. Figures: article 36 in force on 1 September 2026 and the INAMI pages listed at the end.

The progress report is gone: what replaced it

Many guides online still describe the old system (progress report sent to the fund, one-year renewal). In the consolidated text of article 36, the old progress report codes 702015 and 702085 carry the note « Supprimée par A.R. 4.6.2024 (en vigueur 1.8.2024) ». The INAMI forms page says it in one line: the extension notification replaces the progress report.

Three things are often confused.

• Formal evaluation (§ 5): required at least once per two-year treatment period, using a test from the restricted list for disorders that require it, and kept in the patient file. It counts towards the maximum number of sessions. It is not sent to the fund.
• Evaluation session of more than 30 minutes (700991-701002, R 35): a separate service, billable only when the disorder worsens, results stagnate, or treatment resumes after at least 12 months, with the reason and results in the file. The INAMI document on the scope of the 2024 changes states that the formal evaluation is different from this session.
• Extension notification (annex 99): the form you send to the medical adviser, with the extension prescription attached (§ 4, 6°).

In this guide, "progress report" means the write-up of the formal evaluation, kept in the file and, if you wish, sent to the prescribing doctor.

When to ask for the extension

Section 5 is clear: the agreement can only cover a treatment of two years at most. Treatment can then be extended by notification. The text sets no date from which the notification may be sent. Two rules frame the timing.

• The 60-day rule (§ 6): extension sessions are reimbursed only if the medical adviser holds a valid notification, and reimbursement is refused for sessions given more than 60 calendar days before the date the notification is received. Receipt counts, not posting.
• No deadline in the text: article 36 sets no cut-off date. In its examples for agreements running on 1 August 2024, the Commission de conventions document on transitional measures (19/09/2024) states that a two-year extension can be made at any time by sending a notification, including after the theoretical end of the period, taking age limits into account. Being late does not close the door, but the 60-day rule applies.

Our practical advice: prepare the extension two to three months before the agreement ends. Do the formal evaluation if it has not happened yet, ask the doctor for the prescription, then send the notification before the end date. Keep proof of sending.

The new versions of the forms apply to requests received since 1 September 2026; according to INAMI, the funds accepted the old ones until 30 October 2026 inclusive, but not after. The adapted notification also covers cleft lip, palate or alveolar disorders (B4). A B5 agreement obtained before that date can be extended as B5.1 (surgery) or B5.2 (radiotherapy), on the remaining sessions of the initial agreement.

Sessions per disorder, and what an extension gives

This is the point most guides miss. For most categories, the maximum number of sessions applies to the whole care pathway: an extension only lets you use what is left. A few disorders open new sessions with each extension. Figures from § 5 of article 36, in individual sessions of at least 30 minutes.

• § 2 a) disorder hindering work, rehabilitation or learning: 55 sessions; two-year extensions on the balance.
• b) 1° aphasia: 288 sessions; balance; treatment must start within six months of onset.
• b) 2° developmental language disorders: 190 sessions; balance; extension possible up to age 17 completed if the child attends mainstream school, and no further extension once a b) 3° or f) agreement has been granted.
• b) 3° dyslexia, dysorthographia, dyscalculia: 140 sessions; balance; same age limit of 17, and no further extension once an f) agreement has been granted.
• b) 4° clefts: 30 sessions before the third birthday, then one-year periods of 75 sessions at most, up to eight extensions (seven if treatment started after age 3); unused sessions do not carry over.
• b) 5.1 and 5.2 head and neck: 55 sessions each, including up to 10 preventive ones; balance.
• b) 6.1 dysglossia: 90; 6.2 dysarthria: 176; 6.4 stuttering: 128; 6.5 orthodontic disorders: 20; balance in all four.
• b) 6.3 chronic neuromuscular disorders: 520 sessions, then 520 new sessions per two-year extension, each time it is shown that new treatment can significantly improve the disorder.
• c) 1° laryngectomy: 90; c) 2° larynx and vocal folds: 80; balance.
• d) hearing: 520 sessions, then 520 new per two-year extension, prescribed by the rehabilitation specialist.
• e) dysphagia: 65 sessions; balance.
• f) dysphasia: 384 sessions, then 192 new per two-year extension, up to age 17 completed in mainstream school.
• g) Locked-In Syndrome: 150 sessions over one year, then one-year extensions of 100 new sessions, for life.

Two more caps apply. A session of at least 60 minutes counts as two and can be billed only 80 times over the whole pathway. Parent guidance sessions (up to 10 per disorder and per child) reduce the individual sessions available. Count what is left before sending: with no balance and no new sessions provided, an extension gives nothing.

Who prescribes the extension

• General rule (§ 4, 2°): on top of the usual prescribers for the disorder, a general practitioner can prescribe an extension.
• Hearing (§ 2, d): not the GP; the prescription must come from a rehabilitation specialist attached to a contracted rehabilitation centre.
• Dysphasia (§ 2, f): not the GP; according to the INAMI patient page, only a paediatric neurologist can prescribe the extension.
• Aphasia, dysarthria, chronic speech disorders (b 1°, 6.2 and 6.3): the prescription must state the aetiology and the nature and severity of the disorders.

The doctor may also state the number of sessions and the length of the period if medically needed.

What you send, and what the medical adviser does

The extension file has two parts: the notification on the approved form (annex 99, 2026 version, downloaded from the INAMI forms page) and the extension prescription attached to it. The write-up of the formal evaluation stays in the patient file.

According to the INAMI patient page, once the notification is received with the prescription, treatment is extended automatically. Section 8 confirms that treatment is reimbursed after agreement, or after receipt of a notification for an extension. Section 9 allows exchanges on paper or through the eAgreement service once it is available; for eAgreement users, each start and each extension of treatment is registered there. How to send it from your software should be checked with the fund and your software vendor.

Late notification, refusal, no reply

• Late: only sessions given more than 60 days before receipt are lost.
• Invalid notification (old form, no prescription, prescriber not entitled, no sessions left, age passed): sessions not covered; check the reason and next steps with the fund.
• No reply: no response time is set; keep proof of sending and follow up.
• Refusal: we suggest asking the fund in writing for the reason and the appeal routes.

Progress report template to copy

Use this template for the write-up of the formal evaluation, for the file and for the prescribing doctor. It does not replace annex 99. For the choice and version of tests, see our article on the INAMI restricted test lists.

• Speech therapist: name, INAMI number, practice address.
• Patient: name, date of birth, health insurance fund, school year or work situation.
• Current agreement: § 2 category (exact nomenclature wording), start and end dates, maximum sessions, sessions used to date, balance.
• Initial assessment: date, impaired areas, tests used with their version.
• Course of treatment: session frequency, goals worked on, any breaks, parent guidance.
• Formal evaluation: date, restricted-list test and version, raw score, reference value (standard deviation or percentile), comparison with the initial assessment, area by area.
• Clinical observations: what tests do not show (generalisation, fatigue, engagement, feedback from school or family).
• Conclusion: progress seen, remaining difficulties, whether treatment should continue.
• Proposal: goals for the next period, suggested frequency, sessions requested within the balance or the new sessions the category allows.
• For the prescribing doctor: category to state on the prescription, plus aetiology, nature and severity where the category requires it.
• Date and signature.

Filled-in fictional example

Fictional example. Names, dates and results are invented. Tests are named generically: replace them with their exact name on the current list.

• Speech therapist: Claire Dumont, logopède, INAMI number 6-XXXXX-XX-XXX, Namur.
• Patient: Noé L., born 12/03/2020, first year of primary school, mainstream education.
• Current agreement: § 2, b), 2°, developmental language disorders, 15/11/2024 to 14/11/2026; maximum 190 sessions; 112 used by 13/10/2026; balance of 78 sessions.
• Initial assessment (October 2024): expressive morphosyntax and phonology below the list threshold; lexical comprehension within norms; normal audiogram; non-verbal IQ within the category's conditions.
• Treatment: two 30-minute sessions a week, six-week break in summer 2025, three parent guidance sessions.
• Formal evaluation on 13/10/2026: oral language list test of expressive morphosyntax, from -2.6 SD to -1.7 SD; phonology test, from -2.3 SD to -1.1 SD.
• Observations: longer sentences in class according to the teacher, persistent errors on pronouns.
• Conclusion: clear progress in phonology, partial progress in morphosyntax, which remains below norms. Continued treatment recommended.
• Proposal: two-year extension from 15/11/2026 on the balance of 78 sessions, one to two sessions a week depending on school holidays, main goal expressive morphosyntax.
• Follow-up: extension prescribed by the GP on 20/10/2026, notification (annex 99, 2026 version) sent on 22/10/2026, before the agreement ended.

Checklist before sending

• The agreement is ending, or has ended and the age limit is not passed.
• Sessions remain, or the category opens new ones (b 4°, b 6.3, d, f, g).
• At least one formal evaluation is in the file for the period, with a restricted-list test if the disorder requires it.
• The extension prescription comes from an entitled prescriber (not the GP for hearing or dysphasia) and states the aetiology where required.
• You use the 2026 notification downloaded from the INAMI website.
• The prescription is attached to the form.
• You keep proof of sending and note the date of receipt.

Common mistakes

• Sending a full progress report to the medical adviser as before 2024, or waiting for a new agreement as for an initial request.
• Billing the formal evaluation as a 700991 evaluation session with no worsening, stagnation or 12-month break.

Why Delta fits this work

Delta is the clinical assistant for mental health and allied health professionals, speech therapists included, and more than a scribe: it keeps the memory of each patient. It writes assessments and reports suited to speech therapy, in your own vocabulary and structure, and keeps the patient file up to date with a summary of care and tracked goals, so the progress since the initial assessment is already in one place when you do the formal evaluation. Data stays in Europe, in France, on infrastructure certified for health data. Delta does no coding, score calculation, nomenclature, billing or electronic claims, does not fill in or send INAMI forms and is not approved by INAMI. To compare tools, see our speech therapy software comparison for Belgium, the Delta page for speech therapists, what Delta is and our clinical document templates.

Sources

• INAMI, article 36 of the nomenclature, consolidated text in force on 01/09/2026 (§ 4, § 5, § 6, § 8, § 9), in French.
• INAMI, speech therapy request and extension notification forms, in French.
• INAMI, how to request reimbursement for speech therapy, in French.
• INAMI, Commission de conventions, transitional measures of the 2024 reform (approved 19/09/2024).
• INAMI, article 36, scope of the changes on 01/08/2024.