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 Groningen

  • Groningen

    Gemeente Groningen – Loket Centrum (Burgerzaken en RNI)

    Kreupelstraat 1, 9712 HW Groningen

    When the city says your licence is ready, collect it within three months with a valid passport or European identity card.

    Book an appointmentOffice website+31 50 367 7000

    Bring your licence, valid passport or European ID and a compliant photo no older than six months. Depending on your case, add CBR (Dutch driving test and medical fitness assessor) medical clearance, expat-scheme evidence or a translation by a sworn translator, embassy or consulate. For a lost EU/EFTA licence RDW (Dutch vehicle and driving licence authority) requests authenticity evidence; for other lost licences obtain a recent original certified statement from the issuer, with translation where required. 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

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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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