How long are Dutch export plates valid? And other buyer questions

Yes, and the same goes for a van, a motorhome or any other vehicle. Dutch dealers, auctions and private sellers regularly sell to buyers from abroad, and the Dutch export procedure is designed for exactly this. First the vehicle is reported for export at the RDW, by the seller, by another RDW-recognised company or by us at our office in Hengelo, and you receive the RDW export document. With white export plates and the 14-day export insurance you then drive the vehicle to your own country, where you register it.

Check that the registration certificate matches the vehicle, in particular the registration number and the chassis number. Agree in writing who will report the vehicle for export at the RDW and when you receive the RDW export document. Ask for the purchase invoice or contract with the price and the date, and check the APK expiry date of a car, van, truck or motorhome. In doubt? Send us a photo of the registration certificate.

The seller or an RDW-recognised company reports the vehicle for export at the RDW, the Dutch vehicle authority; we are such a company and can do it at our office in Hengelo for €50 per vehicle during opening hours. The RDW then ends the Dutch registration and gives the vehicle the export status. You receive the RDW export document, in Dutch kentekenbewijs deel 2 or uitvoerverklaring, which you will need for the registration in your own country. The export deregistration is not included in our export insurance price.

Yes. As an RDW-recognised export company we can report the vehicle for export ourselves. At our office in Hengelo this costs €50 per vehicle during opening hours, the same for every type of vehicle: bring the Dutch number plates, which you hand in, the registration card with the tenaamstellingscode (or part 1B with the overschrijvingsbewijs) and your driving licence, identity card or passport. The vehicle need not come, and the export insurance, green card and white export plates follow in the same visit. Cannot travel to Hengelo? Then post us only the yellow plates, which may be cut or folded to fit an envelope, and send photos of your ID and registration card plus the tenaamstellingscode by e-mail or WhatsApp. Remote handling and appointments outside office hours cost more; ask us for the price.

A valid APK is needed to drive on Dutch roads for cars, vans, motorhomes and trucks, and for trailers above 3,500 kg; motorcycles have no APK in the Netherlands. If you plan to drive the vehicle out of the Netherlands on export plates, ask the seller for the APK expiry date before you buy. If the APK has expired or runs out before your departure, tell us and we will explain what that means for your situation.

Normally the buyer. The export insurance is issued in one name, that of the person or company buying the vehicle, and the green card shows that name with the Dutch registration number. The seller's own insurance does not cover your drive. For a company purchase, the company name goes on the policy and the invoice.

Yes. Other people may drive the vehicle too, even though the policy is issued in one name, usually that of the buyer. A friend can share the driving on a long trip home, and a company can send an employee or a hired driver to collect the vehicle. Whoever drives needs a driving licence that is valid for the vehicle, and should carry the green card, the RDW export document and the purchase invoice.

Fourteen days from the start date you choose: the white plates share that period with the export insurance, and the green card shows the dates. After the last day you may no longer drive on them. If you can see that you will need more time, contact us via WhatsApp before the end date and we will check what is possible for your vehicle. In some cases the insurance can be extended, but not always, so plan the drive and the registration appointment at home so that 14 days is enough; for most drives within Europe it is.

Yes. The cover applies on Dutch roads from the start date, so with the white export plates fitted you can drive from the seller to a port or to the border, provided the vehicle has a valid APK where one is required. From the border onwards the cover continues in the EU and in the other countries on the green card, such as Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The whole period is 14 days, counted from the start date, wherever you are.

You fit them yourself, usually at the seller after the handover. They replace the yellow Dutch plates in the same positions: front and rear on a car, van, truck or motorhome, and at the rear on a motorcycle, caravan or trailer. A screwdriver and a few cable ties are handy to have with you. If your vehicle has an unusual plate holder, for example on an imported American car, mention it in your request.

No, and for a good reason: on the road you need both. The white export plates make the vehicle identifiable after the Dutch registration has been ended, and the export insurance makes it legal to drive. We therefore supply them as one package, and the plates are always included in the price. The RDW export document is a separate matter: it follows from the export deregistration, which the seller or another RDW-recognised company can do, or we can at our office in Hengelo.

A light trailer has no Dutch registration number of its own, so it borrows one: we make a white plate showing the number of the car that tows it, with the country code of that car's registration in front, so a car registered outside the Netherlands works too. We link the export insurance to that number and the trailer's chassis number (VIN). Send us the towing vehicle's registration number and country and, for the trailer itself, the chassis number, make and model/type; a certificate of conformity (CoC) helps, but is not required. Add your name, the destination country and the start date, and we confirm the price, from €100 including one white export plate. A light caravan up to 750 kg without its own registration works the same way, at the caravan rate, from €150.

Every parcel has track & trace, so both you and we can see where it is. If the tracking shows a delay, contact us via WhatsApp with the tracking number and we will take it up with DHL. If the start date of your cover is close, tell us straight away so we can look at the options together. An incomplete address or a missing phone number is a common cause of delays, which is why we check the address before shipping.

Tell us immediately via WhatsApp. As long as the parcel has not been handed to DHL, we can easily change the address. Once the parcel is on its way, changes depend on what DHL allows in that country, and sometimes the receiver can redirect the parcel through the DHL notifications. The green card is unaffected, because it is sent to your e-mail address.

Complete, paid requests submitted from Monday to Thursday are delivered by DHL Express within 1 working day throughout Europe, with tracking. For requests on Friday, at weekends or on public holidays, contact us to confirm the expected delivery date. Collection in Hengelo is by appointment only. Alternatively, book an appointment to collect the plates at our office in Hengelo on Saturday from 09:00 to 17:00; Sunday collections are also by appointment.

Hengelo has a railway station with intercity connections from Amsterdam and Schiphol airport, and trains from Germany stop there too, which is useful if you fly in to collect the vehicle. Once you arrive, send us a WhatsApp message and we will tell you the easiest way to reach our office at Oude Boekeloseweg 33. If you collect the plates first, you can fit them at the seller once the vehicle is yours.

Every country sets its own deadline for registering an imported vehicle, and your 14-day Dutch cover is the practical limit for driving on export plates. Plan the registration appointment before you leave the Netherlands, and check the official Your Europe page for your country, which is linked under this page. We cannot arrange the registration for you, but we can explain which Dutch documents you need before you leave.

In general: the RDW export document, the purchase invoice or contract, your identity document and proof of address, and often the certificate of conformity or technical data of the vehicle. Many countries also ask for proof of insurance and a technical inspection. The exact list differs from country to country; check it with your national registration authority before you travel, so that you collect everything from the seller in one go.

Usually some tax or fee is due in the destination country, such as a registration tax, VAT on new vehicles within the EU, or customs duties and VAT outside the EU. The rules and amounts depend on your country, the age of the vehicle and whether you buy privately or as a company. We do not calculate or arrange foreign taxes; the official Your Europe page and your national authority give the current rules.

Yes. The green card is valid in 43 countries: the whole EU and EEA plus Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Ukraine, Moldova, Morocco, Tunisia, Azerbaijan, Andorra and the Western Balkans, including Serbia. A drive through Germany, Austria and Slovenia to Croatia, through Serbia to Bulgaria or through Britain to Ireland is covered from start to finish. Kosovo and Northern Cyprus are not covered, and neither are Russia, Belarus and Iran, even if their codes are printed on the card.

Yes. If the vehicle is going overseas by ship, you can use the white export plates and the export insurance to drive it from the seller to a port such as Rotterdam, Antwerp or Hamburg, where it is loaded for shipping. The cover applies for the drive within the 14 days. Once the vehicle is on the ship, the plates have done their job; the registration at the destination follows that country's own rules.

We are an RDW-recognised export company in Hengelo, active in vehicle export since 2016, so we can also do the export deregistration for you at our office. We work with several insurers so that each vehicle gets a suitable policy at a competitive rate. The plates are always included, the green card comes by e-mail and WhatsApp is answered 24/7. We speak Dutch and English, issue business invoices, also for companies abroad, and deliver the plates anywhere in Europe by DHL Express.