In short
After the sale, first confirm that the car is no longer registered in your name, then end the insurance yourself, because the RDW does not do that for you. Road tax (motorrijtuigenbelastingThe Dutch tax on owning a car, often shortened to MRB. The Belastingdienst collects it for the period in which the car is registered in your name.) for the time after the transfer is refunded automatically. Keep the proof of transfer, since it settles any later question about who owned the car at a given moment.
On this page
Confirm that the car has left your name
Everything else in this guide depends on one fact, which is that the buyer has registered the car. The RDW, the Dutch vehicle authority, tells sellers to hand over the car only once they hold the proof of transfer (vrijwaringsbewijsThe document that shows the date and time the car left your name. It is the basis for ending the insurance and answering later questions.). If you did that, you already have the document. If the car left before the transfer was done, check where things stand today.
Log in to Mijn RDW with DigiD, or look up the plate in the RDW Kentekencheck. The car should no longer show as yours. If the buyer has not transferred it, the obligations that come with the car are still yours, so contact the buyer first and the RDW if that does not help. Our guide to the vrijwaringsbewijs explains the document in full.
End the insurance yourself
The RDW does not cancel your insurance when the car is sold. You stop or change the policy yourself. Third party liability insurance (WA) is compulsory for as long as a car is registered in your name, and the RDW regularly checks whether registered cars are insured. After the transfer the buyer needs their own policy from the moment of registration.
Contact your insurer with the proof of transfer and the date and time printed on it. How an insurer sets the end date of a policy is a matter of its own terms, which differ, so ask for the exact end date in writing. If you lose the proof, the RDW offers a free overview of the vehicles that were in your name, which the RDW says many insurers accept.
Road tax is settled automatically
You do not report the sale to the tax office. The RDW passes the change of registration to the Belastingdienst, and tax you paid for the period after the car left your name is refunded to you automatically. This also applies when you pay by direct debit. Very small amounts are not paid out. More detail is in road tax when you sell.
If a road tax bill arrives for the time before the sale, pay it. The Belastingdienst states that explicitly for sellers. Owners of a car under the oldtimer transitional scheme get no refund when they sell, so for those cars the question does not come up.
Suspension, parking permits and other local matters
If the car was suspended, the suspension ends automatically when the car is transferred, so there is nothing to cancel. A parking permit is different, because the municipality (gemeenteThe local authority. It handles parking permits and decides its own rules for them.) sets the rules for it, and they are not the same everywhere. Ask the municipality that issued the permit whether you must cancel it, and whether any part of the fee comes back.
The same holds for anything else tied to the car and a local authority, such as a permit for an environmental zone. The RDW and the Belastingdienst do not manage these.
Fines and bills that arrive later
The proof of transfer records the date and time the car left your name. If a fine or bill arrives for a later moment, you can show that document with your objection or explanation. If the date on the notice falls before the transfer, it is yours to deal with.
Keep the proof, the sales contract if you made one, and any messages with the buyer. The RDW gives no fixed period for this, so keep them for as long as you can reasonably expect a notice about the car to arrive.
If you are also leaving the Netherlands
Selling is only one of several jobs when you move abroad. DigiD, the population register and your insurer all need attention in a certain order. The guide to selling before you leave sets out that order, and the guide on the RDW transfer covers the sale itself.
What you need
- The proof of transfer (vrijwaringsbewijs), with the date and time of the change
- Your DigiD, to confirm in Mijn RDW that the car is out of your name
- Your insurance policy number and your insurer's contact details
- The details of any parking permit linked to the car, and the municipality that issued it
- A folder for the contract and the messages with the buyer
An offer for your car
If you would like to sell the car to us, enter your number plate and we contact you with an offer. It is free and you are not committing to anything.
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