The clock starts when you move here
The rules switch on once you live in the Netherlands, not when you arrive as a visitor. The law counts from the day you settle here. You can only apply once you are registered in the BRP (the population register) at your gemeente (municipality), so register early: see getting your BSN and the moving checklist.
| Your licence | How long you can drive on it here |
|---|---|
| Outside the EU, EEA or Switzerland | 185 days after you come to live here |
| EU, EEA or Swiss: car and motorcycle (AM, A, B, BE) | Until 15 years after its issue date, as long as it is valid |
| EU, EEA or Swiss: truck and bus (C, D and E with them) | Until 5 years after its issue date, as long as it is valid |
| EU, EEA or Swiss, already past that limit | 2 years from the day you move here |
RDW's example: a licence issued on 1 January 2019, holder moved on 15 June 2024. The car categories work until 1 January 2034. The truck categories passed 5 years on 1 January 2024, so they get the 2-year minimum and work until 15 June 2026. One trap: an EU licence issued after you were already registered here is not valid for driving in the Netherlands at all. Exchange it.
EU, EEA and Swiss licences
You can always exchange these, without exams, and even an expired one. If an Icelandic, Liechtenstein or Swiss licence has expired, bring an original statement from the authority that issued it. There is no reason to exchange early unless your time limit is close, the licence is about to expire, or you lose it.
Non-EU licences: which ones can be exchanged
Only licences from countries on the RDW list, and only for the categories shown. Everything else needs the 30% ruling route below or new exams.
| Country or region | Categories you can exchange |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey, Isle of Man | All (BE only with a separate exam for Great Britain; no provisional licences) |
| Monaco; Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, Saba | All |
| Canada: Alberta and Québec | B (class 5, car) |
| Japan | A and B |
| Singapore | A (class 2) and B (class 3) |
| South Korea, Taiwan, Israel, Andorra | B (car) |
That is the whole list. No US state, no Australian state and no other Canadian province is on it. Two more conditions apply to every non-EU exchange: the licence must still be valid on the day you apply, and you must have lived at least 185 days in the issuing country in the year it was issued. Prove that with a passport copy including the empty pages, a registration or deregistration certificate from that country, or an employer statement with salary or tax documents. If you once held a Dutch licence that was valid after 30 June 1985, RDW can exchange a licence from any country for the categories you had before.
The 30% ruling route: any country
If you came to work here and the Belastingdienst (tax administration) granted the expat scheme, better known as the 30% ruling, you can exchange a licence from any country. So can the partner and children who live with you at the same address. It removes only the country-list test; the licence must still be valid, the 185-day rule for the issuing country still applies, and you still need the CBR health declaration.
The proof is the Beschikking expatregeling: the Belastingdienst's decision letter granting the ruling, which your employer gives you. Bring the letter. If your ruling has not been granted yet, wait for the letter before you book the gemeente appointment, but start the health declaration now.
The CBR health declaration
For every non-EU exchange you need a Verklaring van Geschiktheid (certificate of fitness). You get it by filling in a Gezondheidsverklaring (health declaration) online in Mijn CBR. It costs €46.90 in 2026. If CBR asks for a medical examination, you pay the doctor on top. The certificate must be registered no more than one year before your exchange application.
It is the slow part: RDW says assessment can take up to 4 months, and a pending application does not stretch your 185 days. Submit it in your first weeks here. EU licence holders need one only for truck or bus categories, at 75 or older, at 70 or older with a licence that runs past 75, or for a licence with a short validity or non-EU restriction codes.
How to apply
- Check you qualify: registered in the BRP, with a valid ID or residence permit. A pending permit application is not enough.
- Non-EU or 30% route: get your CBR certificate of fitness registered first.
- Book an appointment at your gemeente. Bring your foreign licence, one colour passport photo, your ID or residence permit, any old Dutch licence, proof of 185 days in the issuing country, and the Beschikking if you use the 30% ruling. A licence in a non-Latin script needs a translation by a sworn translator, embassy or consulate.
- Sign form 3E0397 and pay the fee. It is set by each gemeente: €53.65 in Rotterdam and €53.85 in The Hague in 2026.
- RDW writes to you within 15 working days. Collect your Dutch licence at the gemeente from 5 working days after that letter. You do not get the foreign licence back.
If you missed the window or cannot exchange
After 185 days you may not drive on a non-EU licence in the Netherlands, even with an application pending. Driving anyway means driving without a valid licence. If the licence is not exchangeable, you start over at the CBR: the theory exam costs €50.50 and the practical car exam €143.50 in 2026, plus the €46.90 health declaration and any driving lessons you need.