Dutch export plates with papers and 14 days of cover, at our desk or remotely

The export kenteken is not a new number. It is the vehicle's existing Dutch registration, shown on white plates with black letters and numbers instead of the familiar yellow ones. The vehicle receives it once it has been deregistered from the Dutch vehicle register for export.

That deregistration is recorded by the RDW, the Dutch vehicle authority. We are an RDW-recognised export company, not the RDW itself. We process the export deregistration for you, supply the white plates and arrange the temporary export insurance through our insurance partner. The RDW explains the procedure in English on its page about exporting a vehicle from the Netherlands.

With the complete export package you leave with everything needed for the drive on Dutch roads:

• the export deregistration in the Dutch vehicle register;
• the kentekenbewijs deel II (the Dutch export certificate) in the name of the person who exports the vehicle;
• the kentekencard (the Dutch registration card) with one corner cut off;
• the vrijwaringsbewijs (the proof that the Dutch registration has ended) for the seller;
• white export plates: two for a car, one for a motorcycle, scooter, moped, caravan or trailer;
• 14 days of third-party liability cover with a Green Card, the international proof of insurance, also sent to you by e-mail as a PDF.

The export certificate and the registration card are the papers you need later to register the vehicle in your own country, so keep them safe. Already have the export documents and only need plates and cover? The insurance with white plates is also available on its own. Our page on insurance for Dutch export plates explains what the cover includes and who may drive.

You can come to the desk at Slachthuisweg 135 in Hengelo with the vehicle's papers, the yellow Dutch plates and a valid ID of the person in whose name the export is arranged. With complete papers, a standard application is usually ready in about 15 minutes, and you leave on white plates. Our step-by-step guide on how to apply for Dutch export plates lists what to bring and what can hold things up.

You can also prepare the export online. The yellow plates then have to reach us by post or courier, and we start once they have arrived. We send the documents and plates back insured and with tracking, to an address in the Netherlands or abroad.

Is the vehicle already outside the Netherlands? Then we can arrange the export with the kentekenbewijs deel II entirely remotely, by post, with DHL standard taking around 5 working days and DHL Express around 1 working day. Contact us first, so we can tell you how it works for your vehicle.

We prepare the export kenteken for cars, vans and other company vehicles, motorhomes, motorcycles, scooters, mopeds, caravans, trailers and lorries. A caravan or trailer also receives its own export insurance. For heavy or unusual vehicles, such as a lorry or a motorhome with a high weight, the price is set on request. The page on export plates for a motorcycle, motorhome or trailer shows the number of plates and the APK rules per vehicle type.

After the export deregistration, the vehicle may be driven on Dutch public roads for 14 days, and never longer than its APK (the Dutch periodic roadworthiness test, comparable to the British MOT) remains valid. Without a valid APK, a car, van or motorhome may not use public roads at all, so check the expiry date before you choose the export date. Motorcycles, scooters and mopeds have no APK requirement for this drive. The page on how long Dutch export plates are valid covers the 14 days, the APK and what happens afterwards.

Outside the Netherlands, each country applies its own rules, including the countries you only drive through. Check them before you set off: our guide to driving abroad on Dutch export plates shows what to ask and what to carry in the car.

• The export certificate and deregistration: which papers the buyer and the seller receive.
• Buying a car in the Netherlands as a foreign buyer: the export in your name and the drive home.
• Exporting a vehicle outside the EU with an EX-A: the customs export declaration on top of the export kenteken.
• BPM refund on export: BPM is the Dutch purchase tax on cars, and part of it can sometimes be reclaimed.
• Extending the export plate insurance when registration at home takes longer.
• Selling your car for export through our network of car dealers abroad.
• What Dutch export plates cost, with all our rates.
• Contact and directions to the Hengelo desk.

The RDW advises not to deregister a vehicle for export until you know which documents the destination country asks for. Unsure what your country needs, or whether your plan works? Call or send a WhatsApp message to +31 6 38199986, or e-mail info@autoexportkenteken.nl. Advice and help cost nothing; you only pay for the service itself.