Instructions for Applying for a driving licence for (non) residents of the Netherlands (3 E 0395) These instructions are intended for various target groups. Therefore, please determine below which situation applies to you. You can then follow the instructions that apply to your target group. 1. Target groups A. You live outside of the EU/EFTA 1 and want to extend/renew your driving licence (possibly in connection with its loss/theft). B. You are a member of the Dutch armed forces living abroad (or a family member living at the same address). 1. You are stationed abroad. 2. You are stationed in the Netherlands. C. You are the holder of a privileged pass and you are not registered in the GBA Municipal Personal Records Database (Gemeentelijke Basisadministratie voor persoonsgegevens). D. Following your driving test, you moved abroad and now want to apply for a first driving licence or to extend an existing licence with a new category. E. You are a member of the NATO armed forces stationed in the Netherlands and are not registered in the GBA Municipal Personal Records Database (or a family member living at the same address). Target group A - In some cases, a Certificate of Fitness (Verklaring van Geschiktheid). See point 4 below, "when do you need to have a medical exam?" - A recent (no older than 6 months) declaration of residence: If you were deregistered from a Dutch municipality prior to 01/10/94, please add proof of deregistration from the Bureau Vestigingsregister, Postbus 12620, 2500 DL s-gravenhage (visiting address: Spui 70 in s-gravenhage) or a declaration of residence issued by the If you were deregistered from a Dutch municipality on or after 01/10/94, please add a declaration of deregistration from the GBA Municipal Personal Records Database from the Dutch municipality where you were last registered, or a declaration of residence issued by the If in your possession, please send along: - Your Dutch driving licence. 1 1 Countries that are part of the European Union (EU): Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Finland, Sweden, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia. Countries that are part of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA): Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.
Nationality If you apply for a Dutch driving licence and you live outside of the European Union (EU) or the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), you need to have the nationality of a member state of the EU/EFTA. This does not apply if you want to replace a Dutch driving licence due to loss or theft and the driving licence to be replaced is still valid. In this case, you will receive a new Dutch driving licence that is valid for the same period as the driving licence to be replaced. Instructions continue at point 4 below. Lost your driving licence? Read more at point 2 below. Target group B - A copy of the front and back sides of your military driving licence. A Certificate of Fitness (Verklaring van Geschiktheid) registered by the Dutch Driving Test Organization (CBR). - A recent statement from your base camp commander that states that you or your family member/s are stationed abroad or in the Netherlands. - If you are stationed in the Netherlands, but live abroad: A recent (no older than 6 months) declaration of residence: o If you were deregistered from a Dutch municipality prior to 01/10/94, please add a declaration of deregistration from the Bureau Vestigingsregister, Postbus 12620, 2500 DL s-gravenhage (visiting address: Spui 70 in s-gravenhage) or a declaration of residence issued by the o If you were deregistered from a Dutch municipality on or after 01/10/94, please add a declaration of deregistration from the Personal Records and Travel Documents Agency (BPR) of the municipality where you were last registered, or a declaration of residence issued by the If applicable: - Your Dutch driving licence. Instructions continue at point 4 below. Lost your driving licence? Read more at point 3 below.
Target group C - A copy of your valid privileged pass (front and back of the pass). - Your Dutch driving licence or your foreign driving licence. - In some cases, a Certificate of Fitness (Verklaring van Geschiktheid). See point 4 below, "when do you need to have a medical exam?" Translation of a foreign driving licence If a driving licence that is submitted for exchange is only written in characters that are not used in Dutch (e.g. in Japanese or in Greek), it must be accompanied by a translation of the foreign driving licence. The translation must be made by a sworn translator, by the Embassy or by the Consulate. Instructions continue at point 2 below. Target group D If you have it in your possession, please send along: - Your Dutch driving licence. Resident of the Netherlands for 185 days If you moved abroad after passing your driving test, you must prove that you lived in the Netherlands for at least 185 days in the year prior to submitting the application for a driving licence. Instructions continue at point 2 below. Target group E - Your foreign military driving licence, your foreign driving licence or your Dutch driving licence. - A recent statement from your base camp commander that states that you or your family members are stationed in the Netherlands. - A Certificate of Fitness (Verklaring van Geschiktheid). Translation of a foreign driving licence If a driving licence that is submitted for exchange is only written in characters that are not used in Dutch (e.g. in Japanese or in Greek), it must be accompanied by a translation of the foreign driving licence. The translation must be made by a sworn translator, the Embassy or the Consulate. Instructions continue at point 2 below.
2. Statement of driving ability (Verklaring van Rijvaardigheid) (Target groups C, D and E) For a first issue of a Dutch driving licence or when adding (a) category(ies) to a Dutch driving licence, a Certificate of fitness must be registered. Registration is done by the Driving Test Organisation (CBR) and must not be older than 3 years. 3. In the event of the loss/theft of a Dutch driving licence - If you are a resident of the Netherlands, you must send an official report, drawn up by an official of the Dutch police, concerning the loss/theft of the driving licence. - If you live outside of the Netherlands, you must send a completed and signed Statement of Loss (Verklaring van vermissing) form (3 E 0 0667). The Statement of Loss is available from the website www.rdw.nl or it can be requested from RDW Customer Service, telephone number 0900 07 39 (10 euro cents/ minute) (when phoning from abroad, please use telephone number 00 31 598 39 33 30). 4. Certificate of Fitness (Verklaring van Geschiktheid) The information for your target group shows whether you also need a Certificate of Fitness. In some cases, a medical examination is obligatory. In that case, you must also submit a Certificate of Fitness. The Certificate of Fitness requires a Self-declaration (Eigen Verklaring). You can request it at Mijn CBR (https://mijn.cbr.nl). You can also request it at the theory centres of CBR or at municipalities in the Netherlands. You can contact CBR Customer Service for general information regarding the medical examination via telephone number 0900 0210 (when phoning from abroad, please use telephone number 00 31 703 90 36 95). If everything is in order, you will receive a letter from CBR several weeks after sending the Self-declaration. However, CBR can also decide that you need to have a medical exam by a medical specialist or that you need to take a driving test with an expert from CBR. You will receive notification of this in writing. In this case, the procedure will take more time. Therefore, you need to send your Self-declaration as soon as possible. CBR aims to handle all applications for a Certificate of Fitness as soon as possible, with a maximum period of four months. Once you have applied for a driving licence and CBR has registered the Certificate of Fitness, your application is processed. Registration of the Certificate of Fitness must not be more than one year old at the moment of submitting the application. When do you need to have a medical exam? In a number of cases, a medical examination is obligatory: - If you are 75 years of age or older; - If you are 70 years of age or older and your driving licence will expire on or after the date of reaching the age of 75; - If your application concerns driving licence category(ies) C, C1, D, D1, CE, C1E, DE and/or D1E; - If a driving licence has been issued to you with a limited period of validity for medical reasons.
5. Waive rights to (a) category(ies) If you would like to waive your rights to one or more categories, you must fill in a declaration. The Waiver Form for (a) category(ies) (afstandsverklaring categorie(ën) van het Nederlandse rijbewijs) can be found on the website www.rdw.nl. You can also receive the Waiver Form by calling RDW Customer service, telephone number 0900 07 39 (10 euro cents/minute) (when phoning from abroad, please use telephone number 00 31 598 39 33 30). You will not waive your rights to the category(ies) permanently. When applying for a new driving licence, you can submit a Certificate of Fitness (Verklaring van Geschiktheid), after which the category(ies) concerned will once more appear on your driving licence. 6. Identification documents The identity of the applicant must be determined. For this reason, a copy of a valid identification document must be submitted with the application. This involves (based on the Dutch Compulsory Identification Act (Wet op de identificatieplicht)): - a valid travel document (such as a Dutch passport, a Dutch identification card and an EU/EVA passport); - a document that specifies the identity, nationality and residence status (arising from the Aliens Act 2000 (Vreemdelingenwet 2000). 7. Costs There are costs associated with handling the application for and issuing of a driving licence. Payment must be made to RDW before the (new) driving licence is issued. You can find the price on the website www.rdw.nl or you can request this information at RDW Customer service, telephone number 0900 07 39 (10 euro cents/minute) (when phoning from abroad, please use telephone number 00 31 598 39 33 30). For a rapid handling of your request, it is advisable to pay by direct debit. A direct debit can only be made via a Dutch bank account number or a giro account number. If you do not (no longer) have a Dutch bank account number or giro account number, you can have someone pay for you who does have such an account. The account number must be clearly written. If there is any doubt about the notation, RDW will send a letter requesting you to pay by money transfer. Ensure that the name of the person making the payment is the same as the signature of the person making the payment. By placing a signature, the holder of the account number authorises RDW to debit the amount payable. If you choose not to use direct debit, you must ensure that the amount is transferred to account number IBAN NL25ABNA0477256600 in the name of RDW stating the payment reference shown on the application form (if applicable, also state your application number, driving licence number or name, initials and date of birth). Note that when paying from abroad, you must state the IBAN-code and BIC-code (IBAN NL25ABNA0477256600; BIC ABNANL2A). The application for a driving licence will only be processed when RDW has received your payment. 8. Application form The application form has already been partially completed. Please check the details and make changes if required. The application form must be filled in completely and signed. The signature must be written clearly and completely within the box shown using a black pen. Please start at the left and use the entire box to write a clearly legible signature. For this purpose, please place and exert pressure correctly on the pen on the application form. Applications with signatures that do not fit the box are not accepted.
9. Colour passport photo Requirements for colour passport photos are the same as those for Dutch passports or Dutch identification cards. More information can be found on the website www.paspoortinformatie.nl or via RDW Customer Service, telephone number 0900 07 39 (10 euro cents/minute) (when calling from abroad, please use telephone number 00 31 598 39 33 30). Please add the colour photo at the bottom right of the application form, following the instructions below (see figure): Step 1: Remove section A. Step 2: Raise section B (upwards). Step 3: Position the colour photo at A. Step 4: Place section B over the colour photo ensuring that the photo remains clearly visible. Check whether the photo is correctly aligned on the form and that it is clearly visible. If this is not the case, repeat steps 2 through 4. You can also send the unattached photo with the application. 10. Procedure Please send the application form including the required attachments to: RDW, Driving Licence unit Postbus 9000 9640 HA Veendam, The Netherlands If the application leads to issuance of a Dutch driving licence, you will receive a written notification that the request has been approved. After five working days, the driving licence will be sent to the supplied Dutch (correspondence) address. A Dutch driving licence for a member of the armed forces will be sent to the address of the base camp commander. Note: An application for a driving licence can only be processed if the application form has been filled in completely, the required enclosures are added to the application form and payment has been received by RDW. Documents that are sent separately cause a delay in processing the application. 11. More information More information about the driving licence can be found on www.rijbewijs.nl or www.rdw.nl