Selling a car in the Netherlands: the complete guide

How a car sale works in the Netherlands

Every Dutch registered car is linked to a named owner in the register of the RDW. Selling means changing that name. The plate pattern and colours are explained in our guide to Dutch number plates. The buyer does this, online with DigiD or in person at a registration counter, using the documents you hand over. As soon as the register shows the new owner, the buyer receives a proof of transfer for you, and your part is done.

That makes the Dutch system simple for a seller, with one rule to remember: the documents go to the buyer so they can carry out the transfer, and the car and the keys follow once you hold the proof of transfer. The full procedure, with both routes, is in our guide to the RDW transfer.

The ways to sell a car here

There are four common routes. They differ in how much of the work you do yourself and how long the car stays your responsibility.

• A private sale. You advertise the car, for example on Marktplaats, the Dutch classifieds site, and handle viewings, test drives, payment and the transfer with the buyer.
• A trade-in. You hand the car to the dealer you buy your next car from, and the value is set against the new purchase.
• A sale to a garage or dealer. You offer the car to a business that buys cars to sell on, without buying anything from them.
• A car buying service. You describe the car, receive an offer, and agree the handover if you accept. This is what we do at sellcar.nl.

Which route suits you depends on your time, how comfortable you are dealing with strangers in Dutch, and whether you need the car until a fixed date. Our guide to private sale or dealer compares the routes.

What a private sale involves

Selling privately means meeting buyers, answering their questions and agreeing a price yourself. How to judge a realistic price is covered in what is my car worth. Before a test drive, check the person's driving licence and go along in the car. When you agree a sale, put the price, the date, the mileage and anything you told the buyer about the car's condition on paper and both sign it. The RDW does not ask for a contract, but you will be glad of one if a disagreement comes up later.

Take care with payment. Let the car go only when the money is in your account and you hold the proof of transfer. The RDW also warns about fake text messages that claim to come from the RDW: do not click links in a suspicious message and do not share personal details.

The documents in short

The RDW asks for two things from the seller: a valid registration card and the complete registration code. You will find the first four digits of the code on the registration report from your own purchase, and the last five in the letter that brought the card. An older car whose owner has not changed since 2014 can still have the paper registration, which is still valid but can only be transferred at a counter.

If the car has had an APK, the Dutch roadworthiness test, give the buyer the latest report (the APK guide explains the test). Which papers to look for, and how to replace a missing one, is set out in documents you need to sell.

DigiD, and who is allowed to buy

You do not need DigiD to sell your car. The buyer needs the DigiD app with an ID check only if they transfer online. Without it, they transfer in person with valid identification. DigiD is useful to you for checking afterwards in Mijn RDW that the car is out of your name, and for ordering a replacement code online.

The buyer must be at least 18 and registered in the BRP, the Dutch municipal register of residents, with a Dutch address. Someone who lives abroad cannot take over a Dutch registration. A sale to them means the car is exported, and the RDW recommends that the buyer handles that export, so the responsibility passes to them.

Road tax, insurance and fines after the sale

The proof of transfer shows the exact moment the car left your name, and that moment decides who is responsible for what. Fines and obligations for the car after that point are the new owner's concern.

The RDW tells the Belastingdienst about the transfer, so the road tax (motorrijtuigenbelasting, what this meansmotorrijtuigenbelastingThe tax on owning a registered vehicle, billed by the Belastingdienst, the Dutch tax authority. It is often shortened to MRB.) stops without you doing anything. Any tax you paid in advance for the period after the sale is refunded automatically. Any bill for the months you still owned the car must be paid as normal.

Your car insurance does not stop by itself, and the guide on what to do after you sell lists the other steps. Pass the details on the proof of transfer to your insurer, so the policy ends or moves to your next car.

Cars that need an extra step

Most sales follow the route above. These situations need something sorted first.

• It is a lease or finance car. Ask the company that holds the contract first, since they keep the registration code.
• The car is registered to someone else, such as a partner or a parent. The registered owner holds the documents and stays responsible until the transfer, so they need to be part of the sale.
• The car is registered to a company. The RDW has a separate procedure for company registrations, and online services use eHerkenning in place of DigiD.
• The APK has expired. You can still sell the car, but nobody may drive it on a public road. See cars without a valid APK.
• The registration is suspended. Transferring the car lifts the suspension by itself.
• You inherited the car. The heirs have 5 weeks to put it in their own name or transfer it to a buyer.

Selling because you are leaving the country

If the sale is part of a move abroad, timing matters more than anything else. The buyer has to live here, replacement documents go to your Dutch address by post, and the car stays in your name until someone takes it over. Our guide to selling before you leave sets out a timeline, and also explains exporting and suspending the car.

What you need

• Your registration card (kentekencard), or the old paper registration
• Both parts of the registration code (tenaamstellingscode)
• A valid passport or ID card
• The latest APK report, if the car has had a test
• The service book, invoices and every key
• A short written sale agreement, if you sell privately
• Your insurer's details, to end the policy after the transfer