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How to export a car from the Netherlands

The steps for taking a Dutch registered car abroad: what to check first, how the RDW export registration works, what export plates allow, and what to ask the Tax Administration about BPM.

Last checked against the official sources

In short

To export a car you register it for export (exportregistratieThe step in which the RDW takes the car off the Dutch register because it is leaving the country. The car then has the status Export, and the obligations that come with a Dutch registration stop.) with the RDW, the Dutch vehicle authority, at an inspection station, an RDW desk or an authorised export company, with the car present. Afterwards you receive the export certificate you need to register the car in the new country. Your Dutch insurance, APK and road tax obligations end once the export registration is done.

On this page
  1. Deciding whether to sell the car here or export it
  2. What to check with the destination country first
  3. How the export registration works
  4. What you receive after the export registration
  5. Export plates and driving after deregistration
  6. When insurance, APK and road tax stop
  7. If the car is already outside the Netherlands
  8. The BPM refund on a used car
  9. Selling the car to a buyer abroad
  10. What you need
  11. Questions

Deciding whether to sell the car here or export it

A Dutch registered car is only exported when it is going to be registered in another country. If you are leaving the Netherlands and the car is not going with you, selling it to a buyer who lives here is the shorter route, because the buyer carries out the transfer and you have nothing to register abroad. Our guide on selling before you leave compares the options.

Exporting makes sense when you want to keep the car and the country you are moving to accepts it. That country decides what it takes to register the car, including any tax, inspection or conversion. Find that out first. The RDW also warns that you should check the requirements of the destination country before you deregister the car in the Netherlands.

What to check with the destination country first

The Dutch side of an export is the same whatever the destination. The other side is not, and nobody in the Netherlands can answer it for you. Ask the authority that registers vehicles in the new country, or an official website of that country, which documents it wants and whether it accepts the car at all.

Two points from the RDW are worth knowing. Documents from the Netherlands, such as the export certificate, are needed together with the registration card to register the car abroad. And a car that has only an individual approval certificate (a certificate for a single car, not for the whole model) is valid only in the country that issued it. Other countries may accept it, but you have to check that yourself.

  • Which documents the new country wants besides the Dutch export certificate
  • Whether the car must pass an inspection or be changed before it can be registered
  • Which taxes or charges apply when you register it there
  • How long you have to register the car after you arrive
  • Whether the car can be insured there on the export plates you will drive on

How the export registration works

You register the car for export in person. You can do this at an RDW inspection station, at an RDW desk, or at an authorised export company, and the car has to be there with you. The RDW charges a fee. Export companies set their own fees, so ask before you go. The current RDW fee is on rdw.nl.

Once you have paid, the RDW or the export company deregisters the car. Take the documents listed below and the number plates, which you hand in.

  1. Check the requirements of the destination country.
  2. Insure the car and check the APK if you want to drive it to the location. Both are needed up to the moment of registration.
  3. Go to an RDW inspection station, an RDW desk or an authorised export company with the car.
  4. Show your identification, the registration card and the registration code, or for an older paper registration part IB and the transfer certificate.
  5. Hand in the number plates and pay the fee.
  6. Collect the export documents, described in the next section.
  7. If the destination is outside the EU or EFTA, make the export declaration to Customs.

If you want a company name on the export certificate, the RDW asks for a recent signed extract from the Chamber of Commerce and the identity papers of anyone who signs for the company.

What you receive after the export registration

You get three things. The first is a proof of transfer (vrijwaringsbewijsThe document that shows the car is no longer registered in your name. After an export you receive it from the RDW or the export company.), which shows the car is no longer registered in your name. The second is the registration card with a corner cut off, or part IB if the car still has a paper registration. The third is the export certificate (uitvoerbewijsThe export certificate, part II of the registration documents. You need it, together with the registration card, to register the car in another country.), which is part II.

Keep all three. The export certificate and the card or part IB are what the new country asks for to register the car. The proof of transfer is for your own records, and it is worth keeping it for a long time.

Export plates and driving after deregistration

After the export registration you may drive the car on Dutch public roads for 14 days, using export plates. These carry the registration number the car already had, on white plates with black characters. You can make them yourself as long as the characters cannot be rubbed off and stay readable in bad weather, or you can have a certified plate maker produce them. Bring the registration card, or part IA, to the plate maker.

The RDW sets conditions for these 14 days. A passenger car needs insurance and a valid APK while it is on export plates. Motorcycles, mopeds and scooters need insurance only. Check the RDW page on exporting a vehicle if you have another type of vehicle, such as a trailer or a camper.

When insurance, APK and road tax stop

According to the RDW, your obligations to insure the car, to keep the APK valid and to pay road tax (motorrijtuigenbelasting) end once the vehicle is registered for export. That is the moment to think about your insurer, because the RDW says that you cancel or change the policy yourself. It does not happen automatically.

Do not end the insurance before the export registration is complete. Until then the car is still registered to you in the Netherlands, and the law requires third party liability insurance (WA) for a registered car. Cars that are already abroad follow a different route, described below. Our guide on road tax when you sell explains what happens to the money you have paid in advance.

If the car is already outside the Netherlands

A car that is already abroad does not have to come back for the registration. You submit an export notification to the RDW, with evidence that the car is abroad. The RDW handles it within 10 working days. Keep the car insured until you receive the confirmation letter from the RDW.

If the authority in the other country refuses to register the car, the RDW describes two ways out: a contact person in the Netherlands can handle the export for you, or the foreign authority can ask the RDW for a declaration of no objection.

The BPM refund on a used car

BPM is the tax paid when a car is first registered in the Netherlands. The Belastingdienst can refund part of it for some used cars that are exported. Whether you qualify, and how much you would receive, is for the Belastingdienst to say, so check its page on the BPM refund for exports before you count on it.

The conditions the Belastingdienst lists include that the car received its Dutch plate on or after 16 October 2006, that it is not a damaged vehicle, and that the RDW has registered it with the status Export. The car must also be permanently registered in another EU member state, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway, and the papers must show this happened within 13 weeks of the export status. Register the car for export with the RDW first, then send the Belastingdienst its request form. Contact the Belastingdienst if any condition is unclear for your car.

Selling the car to a buyer abroad

A buyer who does not live in the Netherlands cannot have the car registered in their name here, so the car has to be exported. The RDW advises that the buyer exports the car in their own name, so that their details are on the export certificate. If you export it yourself and then hand it over, you remain responsible for the car until it is registered in the other country.

Because of this, do not release the car or the documents before the export is registered. The general rules for a sale are in our guide to selling a car in the Netherlands.

What you need

  • Identification that is valid, for the person who registers the export
  • The registration card (kentekencard) and the complete registration code (tenaamstellingscode), or the old paper registration parts
  • The number plates, to hand in
  • The car itself, taken to the inspection station, RDW desk or export company
  • Insurance and a valid APK for the drive to the location and for the 14 days on export plates
  • The requirements of the destination country, written down
  • Payment for the export fee

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Questions

Where can I register a car for export?

At an RDW inspection station, at an RDW desk, or at an authorised export company, and the car has to be present. The RDW charges a fee, and export companies set their own. Check the current RDW amount on rdw.nl and ask a company for its price before you go.

How long can I drive on export plates?

The RDW allows 14 days on Dutch public roads after the export registration. The plates show your existing registration number in black characters on white. A passenger car must be insured and have a valid APK during those 14 days.

When do insurance, APK and road tax stop for an exported car?

The RDW says the obligations end once the car is registered for export. Insurance is not cancelled for you, so end or change the policy yourself, and only after the export registration has been completed.

Can I get the BPM back when I export my car?

Sometimes. The Belastingdienst can refund part of the BPM on a used car if its conditions are met, for example that the car is registered in another EU state, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway within 13 weeks of the export status. Read the Belastingdienst page and ask them about your car.

Can I export a car that is not in my name?

The RDW asks for the registration card and the registration code when you register an export, so you need both from the owner. If the car is leased or financed, the lease or finance company holds the registration code, so start by contacting them.

What if the new country will not register the car?

The RDW says a contact person in the Netherlands can handle the export, or the foreign authority can ask the RDW for a declaration of no objection. Check the requirements of the destination country before you deregister the car.

Sources

Last checked on 30 October 2026. Rules and fees can change, and the official pages above have the final word.

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