You have a departure date and a car registered in your name in the Netherlands. This post is a countdown for the car only. The markers of eight weeks, four weeks and the last week are our planning aid, since no authority sets those dates. The rules behind each step come from official sources, which we link.
The reasoning behind selling before you go is in the guide selling your car before you leave. This checklist puts the steps in order.
About eight weeks before you leave
Decide what happens to the car. There are three options: sell it, export it, or suspend the registration if it stays behind. The RDW, the Dutch vehicle authority, describes the export route on its page about exporting a vehicle. Check the requirements of the destination country before you deregister anything, because that country decides what the car needs to be registered there.
Then work through these points.
- Find the registration card (kentekencard) and both parts of the registration code (tenaamstellingscode). The code has nine digits: the first four came on the transfer report when you bought the car and the last five with the card. If one is missing, order it now.
- Ask the lender if the car is leased or financed. The lender holds the documents and only it can request a new code.
- Check the expiry date of the APK in the RDW Kentekencheck. A buyer will ask for the latest report.
- Look at DigiD. It keeps working abroad, but the app and the ID check need to be set up before you leave, and the ID check needs a Dutch passport, ID card or driving licence. The DigiD page for people living abroad explains this.
If you decide to sell, start looking for a buyer or an offer in this period. The post how long does selling a car take shows what drives the timeline of each route.
About four weeks before you leave
By now you should have a buyer or an offer, or a clear plan for export or suspension.
If you sell: the buyer carries out the transfer. The RDW says the buyer must be registered in the personal records database (BRP) with a Dutch address, so a buyer abroad cannot register the car here. Details are on the RDW page about transferring a registration number. Hand over the car only once you hold the proof of transfer (vrijwaringsbewijs). The post do you need a sales contract explains what to write down.
If you export: you register the car for export with the car present at an RDW inspection station, RDW desk or authorised export company, and return the plates. You then receive the proof of transfer, the card with a corner cut off and the export certificate for registering the car abroad. With export plates the car may use Dutch roads for 14 days, provided it is insured and has a valid APK. Keep your insurance until the export is registered.
If you suspend: the RDW suspends the registration for one, two or three years, and the suspension starts immediately. During those years it has to stand on private property. The registration code is needed. There is no refund if you end a suspension early.
Also look at the smaller contracts attached to the car: a parking permit, a garage subscription, a toll or fuel card. For the permit, read your parking permit after selling your car.
The last week
- Complete the sale, the export registration or the suspension.
- Check in Mijn RDW (log in with DigiD) or with the Kentekencheck that the register shows what you expect. After a sale, the car should no longer be in your name.
- Keep the proof of transfer and a photo of it. Put a copy where you can reach it from abroad.
- Keep the insurance running until the register is correct. WA liability cover is mandatory as long as the car is registered to you.
- Pay any road tax bill you received. The refund for the period after the transfer is paid automatically, as explained in road tax refund after selling.
- Deregister from the BRP. According to netherlandsworldwide.nl, you deregister if you will live abroad for more than eight months within a year, and you can do it from five days before departure until the day you leave. How you do it differs per municipality. See how to deregister from the BRP and the government.nl page when should I deregister.
Do the car first and the deregistration after it. A replacement registration code ordered by post goes to the address registered with the municipality, so if a document is still missing, you want that address to be current.
After you have left
Fines and letters can still reach you. The CJIB, which collects fines, describes proof that the car was sold as part of an objection, which is why the proof of transfer is worth keeping. The post a fine arrives after you sold your car describes what to send. If the buyer never completed the transfer, read what to do when the buyer did not transfer the car.
Give someone you trust in the Netherlands your contact details, or arrange for post to be forwarded. Make sure post still reaches you somewhere.
Leaving soon and short of time? Get an offer from us in English and decide in your own time. There is no obligation.
Frequently asked questions
When should I deregister from my municipality?
If you will live abroad for more than eight months within a year. You can do it from five days before your departure until the day you leave, and the procedure differs per municipality.
Do I need DigiD after I move abroad?
DigiD keeps working abroad. Set up the app and the ID check, and the SMS check, before you leave, and note that the ID check needs a Dutch passport, ID card or driving licence.
Can I leave my car in the Netherlands?
You can suspend the registration for one to three years. The car then needs no road tax, WA insurance or APK, but it may not stand on a public road.
Can I sell the car to a buyer who lives abroad?
The buyer must be registered in the BRP with a Dutch address to carry out the transfer. For a buyer abroad the car must be exported, and the RDW advises exporting it in the buyer’s own name.
What should I keep after I move?
The proof of transfer, the sales contract, a screenshot of the register showing the car out of your name, and your messages with the buyer.
