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.

About this serviceBrowse offices by city
1 office in Assen

  • Assen

    Stadhuis Assen — Burgerzaken

    Javastraat 15, Tijdelijk adres tijdens verbouwing stadhuis, 9401 KZ Assen

    Book the exchange in the city’s appointment form, and note that the foreign licence you hand in is not returned.

    Book an appointmentOffice website+31 88 123 09 11

    Prepare identity evidence, the original foreign licence, a compliant colour photograph no more than six months old and any former Dutch licence. Depending on your case, RDW (Dutch vehicle and driving licence authority) may require a translation or a valid tax expat-ruling decision. A CBR (Dutch driving test and medical fitness assessor) health declaration is required for non-EU/EFTA exchanges and sometimes for EU/EFTA cases. Start a non-EU/EFTA exchange before the licence expires; RDW allows supplementary documents later. An expired Icelandic, Liechtenstein or Swiss licence needs the issuing authority’s original no-objection statement. A pending exchange does not extend valid driving entitlement, and inability to show the surrendered licence may lead to a fine. RDW advises against driving abroad during the exchange. 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

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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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