How to get your export kenteken: what to bring and how long it takes

If you buy a car from a private seller or a dealer in the Netherlands, the export is arranged in your name as the buyer. The RDW, the Dutch vehicle authority, advises sellers to let the buyer export the vehicle in the buyer's own name. You then receive the kentekenbewijs deel II (the Dutch export certificate) in your name, and the seller receives the vrijwaringsbewijs (the proof that the Dutch registration has ended). The car is not first transferred to your name in the Dutch register. Our guide to the Dutch export certificate and deregistration explains each of these papers.

Cannot come to the Netherlands yourself? Then, according to the RDW, a contact person in the Netherlands may arrange the export for you. Because the name of whoever arranges the export appears on the export certificate, tell us in advance who will come to the desk.

Leaving the Netherlands with a car that is already registered to you? Then you simply apply in your own name.

Check the list below before you set off. A missing item can mean a second trip.

For the export insurance, we also ask for the start date you want, your destination and route, and the details of the policyholder and the driver. If a company is buying the vehicle, bring the company name, address and VAT number.

1. Call or send a WhatsApp message, ideally about 20 minutes before you arrive. Walking in during office hours, Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 16:30, is also possible.
2. We check the ID, the registration papers, the mileage and the full foreign address.
3. We process the export deregistration and take in the yellow plates.
4. You receive the export certificate, the registration card with one corner cut off, the white plates and the Green Card. The seller receives the proof of deregistration.
5. The white plates go on the vehicle, and you can leave.

With complete papers, a standard application is usually ready in about 15 minutes. You pay in cash or by bank transfer. The insurance is also confirmed by e-mail, with the Green Card attached as a PDF.

You can also prepare the application online. The yellow plates still have to reach us physically, 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. Postage adds to the price; the rates are on our page about what Dutch export plates cost.

If the vehicle is already outside the Netherlands, we can arrange the export with the kentekenbewijs deel II entirely remotely, by post, using DHL standard (around 5 working days) or DHL Express (around 1 working day). Please contact us before you send anything.

• No yellow plates. They are handed in at the export. Lost plates have to be replaced first by a recognised number plate manufacturer.
• An expired APK. The APK is the Dutch periodic roadworthiness test. A car, van or motorhome without a valid APK may not be driven on public roads, so ask us about your options before you come.
• The wrong name. Agree beforehand whose name goes on the export papers, especially when a contact person comes on your behalf.
• An incomplete foreign address. We need the full address abroad of the person exporting the vehicle.
• Deregistering too early. The RDW advises finding out first which documents your destination country asks for.

How long you may drive after the export is explained on the page about how long Dutch export plates are valid. The cover itself, including who may drive, is described under insurance for Dutch export plates.

The export document on its own starts from €50, the white plates with 14 days of insurance from €100 and the complete package from €150. The price for your vehicle is always confirmed before we start.