Where to exchange a foreign driving licence in the Netherlands

Applications start at your municipality, so pick your city

Only your municipality can send an exchange application to the RDW, so you apply where you are registered. Where you book, whether you phone first and when you collect the new licence once the RDW has checked your application all depend on the municipality.

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1 office in Alphen aan den Rijn

  • Alphen aan den Rijn

    Gemeentehuis Alphen aan den Rijn

    Stadhuisplein 1, 2405 SH Alphen aan den Rijn

    Book the exchange appointment, wait for the licence authority’s letter and call the town hall to arrange pickup.

    Book an appointmentOffice website+31 172 465 231

    Bring foreign licence, valid ID, compliant photo and required evidence. Check RDW (Dutch vehicle and driving licence authority) for translations, any previous Dutch licence, expat-ruling evidence where relevant and CBR (Dutch driving test and medical fitness assessor) health declaration. Surrendering your licence affects your ability to show it while driving: check RDW’s current guidance and whether your driving entitlement remains valid. If your licence was issued outside the EU/EFTA and is nearing expiry, start the exchange process with the municipality before it expires. RDW says supplementary documents such as CBR health clearance can follow later; confirm submission arrangements with the municipality. If relying on the Ukrainian temporary-protection driving exception, check your status and RDW’s current guidance before applying ordinary driving deadlines. For an exchange, check the tax ruling and document-validity requirements separately: permission to drive with an expired Ukrainian licence does not guarantee that it can be exchanged.

Guides

Guides that help with this

Netherlands

Driving license

Netherlands Foreign Licence Exchange

Validity, RDW exchange, and CBR tests

Find out if you can exchange your foreign driving licence in the Netherlands, calculate your validity deadlines, and prepare your municipal application.

Driving LicenceRDWCBR
14 min readRead guide

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Exchange a foreign driving licence

For newcomers with a licence from another country: who can exchange, what to bring and what happens if an exchange is not possible.

Exchange a licence in the Netherlands

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