Knowledge base · APK
The Dutch APK vs. inspections abroad: what is different
If you passed vehicle inspections without trouble for years in your home country, you may assume the Dutch APK works much the same way. Broadly it does — both are statutory safety inspections — but in practice there are differences that cost money if you don't know about them.
1. Different intervals
In the Netherlands a petrol passenger car goes for its first APK after four years, then every two years, and from the eighth year onwards annually. Diesel and LPG have shorter intervals. The exact expiry date is held in the RDW register and belongs to the registration, not to a sticker or a booklet. You can look it up free of charge with the APK check on our homepage.
Practical consequence: importing a car resets the rhythm. From that moment your car follows the Dutch schedule, regardless of when it was last inspected abroad.
2. No sticker, but a register
There is no inspection sticker on the windscreen in the Netherlands and no stamp in a booklet. Everything sits in the RDW register. That also changes enforcement: you are not caught during a roadside check, you are flagged automatically. Drive around with an expired APK and a fine can arrive by post without anyone ever pulling you over.
3. Rust counts heavily
The Netherlands has a maritime climate and plenty of road salt in winter. Corrosion on load-bearing parts is therefore a common rejection point, and inspectors take it seriously. Cars arriving from drier regions sometimes fail here on something nobody ever looked at before. What does and does not count is covered in our article on rust and the APK.
4. The report is more detailed
After a rejection you receive a detailed report listing rejection points and repair advisories — items that still just comply. That report doubles as your work list for the garage. We have translated every term on it in the report translation guide.
5. Inspecting and repairing are separated
This is what surprises newcomers most. The inspection may only be carried out by an RDW-approved test centre. We are an independent garage: we handle the APK preparation and the repairs, after which your car goes to such an approved centre for the inspection itself. That is not a detour but a safeguard: the party judging the car is not the party repairing it.
What this means for you
- Put the expiry date in your phone; no sticker will remind you.
- Book the preparation two to four weeks ahead so there is time to order parts.
- With an imported car, have the underside assessed in particular — that is where the difference shows.
Language a concern? See how our garage in Tilburg handles this in English, Dutch or Polish.