Importing your Vehicle

If you reside in the Netherlands and drive a vehicle with a foreign registration, you may have to pay a Passenger Car and Motorcycle Tax (BPM) assessment. You are most likely better off going through the import procedure. Importing a car from abroad is a bureaucratic, but relatively straightforward procedure involving Customs and the RDW.

The RDW also operates a number of inspection and testing stations throughout the country (the closest station to The Hague is in Schiedam).

If you have purchased a car, motorcycle or trailer abroad, you must make a number of arrangements before the vehicle can be used on Dutch roads:

• You must have a Dutch registration number for your vehicle and the associated registration certificate and number plate(s).
• You must have paid the appropriate road tax.
• You should have arranged statutory third-party liability insurance for your vehicle.

You can find more information about importing vehicles on the website of the Belastingdienst (Dutch Tax and Customs Administration).

Would you like to know more about your vehicle and registering it in the Netherlands? The RDW offers visitors to its website the opportunity to download brochures in English, French and German. Click here to visit the English-language webpages of the RDW (Rijksdienst voor Wegverkeer). The RDW registers the details of vehicles, their owners and the documents that have been issued, such as vehicle and driving licenses. This involves the provision of information on such matters to other parties.

Visit the website of the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management to learn the basic information you need to know as a driver and car-owner, including vehicle testing, tax, insurance and registration.

More information about importing your car can be found on IamExpat.nl.