Deregistering a Dutch vehicle for export: who receives which document

Once the deregistration is processed, the vehicle no longer has a normal Dutch registration. According to the RDW (the Dutch vehicle authority), the Dutch owner's obligations to insure the vehicle, keep the APK (the Dutch periodic roadworthiness test) valid and pay road tax then stop. If the vehicle is driven out of the country, it uses the export kenteken: its existing number on white plates, for 14 days on Dutch public roads and never longer than the APK.

The RDW advises not to deregister until you know which documents the destination country asks for. The export document, from €50, covers the deregistration, the export certificate, the proof of deregistration and the RDW processing.

The person in whose name the export is arranged receives the kentekenbewijs deel II, the Dutch export certificate, together with the kentekencard (the Dutch registration card) with one corner cut off. With the old paper registration documents, you get the tenaamstellingsbewijs deel 1B (part 1B of the old paper registration) back instead of a card. These are the documents needed for registration in the new country, so keep the originals safe.

The RDW notes that the name of whoever arranges the export appears on the export certificate. A company name on the export certificate is only possible when the export is done at an RDW location, not at a recognised company like ours.

The seller receives the vrijwaringsbewijs: the proof that the Dutch registration has ended. When a car is sold to a buyer abroad, it is not first transferred to the buyer in the Dutch register. The RDW tells sellers to make sure the buyer exports the vehicle in the buyer's own name; the buyer then receives the export certificate and the seller the proof of deregistration.

A seller who arranges the export in their own name stays responsible for the vehicle, according to the RDW, until it is registered abroad. Foreign buyers can read the steps from their side in our guide to buying a car in the Netherlands.

The yellow Dutch plates are handed in at the export. If they are missing, new plates have to be made first by a recognised number plate manufacturer. Buying a car to export? Agree with the seller that the yellow plates come with it, because they have to be handed in. For the drive, the vehicle gets white export plates: two for a car, one for a motorcycle, scooter, moped, caravan or trailer.

With complete papers, a standard application at the desk is usually ready in about 15 minutes. The full order of events is described in how to apply for Dutch export plates.

The yellow plates can also reach us by post or courier, and we start once they have arrived. We send the documents 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: DHL standard takes around 5 working days, DHL Express around 1 working day. Contact us first, before sending anything.

BPM is the Dutch purchase tax on cars. After an export, the Belastingdienst (the Dutch tax administration) can sometimes refund part of it, under its own conditions. We can prepare that request for you as a separate service, alongside the export document; see our page on the BPM refund on export.