Driving licence and car

Steps

The licence

1. Check the issue date of your licence: 15 years of validity in the Netherlands for categories AM, A1, A2, A, B and BE; 5 years for heavy goods vehicles and buses (C, D…).
2. Exchange it at your municipality before the end of this period: colour photo, foreign licence, any former Dutch licence, sometimes a CBR health declaration (Centraal Bureau Rijvaardigheidsbewijzen). The RDW replies in 15 working days, then you collect your licence at the municipality 5 working days later.
3. Do not drive after the deadline: without a Dutch licence, you can no longer drive, even if the exchange is in progress.

The car

1. Apply for the BPM exemption (tax on cars and motorbikes) from the Belastingdienst before the inspection, within 12 months of your move.
2. Book an appointment at an RDW inspection station (with DigiD; you must be 18 and registered in the BRP) and come in person; request a one-day plate (eendagskenteken) if you can no longer drive with the foreign plates (free with DigiD, valid on the day of the appointment only, with third-party insurance for that day).
3. Attend the inspection with the original foreign registration certificate, an ID and the Belastingdienst document; say so if you want a still-valid technical inspection from an EU or EFTA country to be taken over.
4. Make your BPM declaration after the inspection: even if exempt, you must make it if your vehicle is subject to BPM, and only on paper.
5. Insure the car with third-party liability cover (WA-verzekering) using the declaration code (last 4 digits of the chassis number) and have the plates made by an approved manufacturer. The annual tax (motorrijtuigenbelasting) is invoiced automatically.

Documents

• Licence: compliant colour photo, foreign licence (if its characters are not those used in the Netherlands, for example Japanese or Greek: translation by a sworn translator, the embassy or the consulate; the municipality keeps the foreign licence and does not return it to you), CBR health declaration if necessary.
• Car: complete original foreign registration certificate (the RDW keeps it), ID, Belastingdienst exemption decision (verhuisgoed), proof of a still-valid foreign technical inspection.

Costs and timelines

• Licence exchange: fee set by each municipality.
• Registration (RDW fees): inspection €110, vehicle identification (3,500 kg at most) €58.50, registration certificate €50, registration in your name €13.10, recycling contribution €22.50. New certificate sent within 5 working days after approval by the RDW and the Belastingdienst.
• BPM exemption for a move from another EU country: car owned and used for at least 6 months before the move, normal residence of at least 12 months in the former country, application within 12 months. If you sell, rent or lend it within 12 months, the BPM becomes due.
• Non-residents: without registration with the municipality, you can drive in the Netherlands with your foreign plates for 6 months a year at most (3 months if you carry people or goods for payment).

Common pitfalls

• Driving with foreign plates after your BRP registration: this is prohibited as soon as you are registered, or should have been (stay of more than 4 months). Limited exceptions: company car of a foreign employer or business, or use of 2 weeks at most with an exemption to be requested from the Belastingdienst before driving.
• Selling the car too early after the BPM exemption: the tax becomes due again.
• Old licence: if it is more than 15 years old, you only have 2 years after you move to exchange it.
• Licence issued in another country when you already lived in the Netherlands: it must be exchanged immediately.
• Caribbean Netherlands: different rules, not covered here.

What changes by country of origin

• EU, EEA and Switzerland (EFTA): the 15-year rules above. For an expired Swiss, Icelandic or Liechtenstein licence, a certificate of no objection from the issuing authority is needed.
• British nationals (including Scots): a non-EU/EFTA licence is only valid for 185 days after you move; exchange is only possible in certain cases, depending on the country of issue (to be checked with the RDW checklist); otherwise, theory and practical exams at the CBR.
• Car coming from a non-EU country (United Kingdom, Switzerland…): import declaration to customs before the inspection, then a customs import document less than 12 months old to present to the RDW. For a country outside the EU and EFTA, the RDW additionally checks the vehicle against permanent requirements; for Switzerland (an EFTA member), ask the RDW what applies.