Knowledge base · Driving in NL
Living in the Netherlands — a driver's guide to APK, RDW and your car
Anyone newly living in the Netherlands discovers that car ownership works differently here on several points: no inspection sticker but a register, automatic checks and an APK rhythm attached to the registration. This is the overview, with a link to the details for each topic.
1. Everything revolves around the registration and the RDW
The RDW maintains the vehicle register. Attached to your registration are the APK expiry date, the ownership record and the mileage history. There is no sticker on the windscreen: the status sits in the register, and enforcement is automatic.
2. The APK
The APK is the statutory safety and environmental inspection. Petrol passenger cars go for the first time after four years, then every two years, and annually from the eighth year; diesel and LPG have shorter intervals. You can look up your expiry date free with the APK check on our homepage.
An important distinction: the inspection itself takes place at an RDW-approved test centre. We are an independent garage: we do the preparation and the repairs. How this differs from inspections in other countries is covered in the APK vs. inspections abroad.
3. Insurance and road tax
Third-party insurance is compulsory as soon as a vehicle is registered in your name — even if it is parked. The same applies to road tax. If the car stands unused on private property for a longer period, you can pause those obligations with a schorsing.
4. Buying or taking over a car
When buying from a private seller you arrange the transfer of ownership at an RDW counter. The key document is the indemnity certificate for the seller. Have the car assessed technically before you sign: what a mechanic looks at is in the pre-purchase check.
5. Bringing a foreign car with you
If you drive on foreign plates and live here, registering the car in the Netherlands comes into play, with an inspection at the RDW and possibly tax. The full story is in putting a foreign car on Dutch plates.
6. Servicing: you choose where
Within the EU you may have your car serviced wherever you like, including during the manufacturer warranty — provided it is done to specification and can be demonstrated. The conditions are in servicing outside the dealer. If you drive a lease or company car, contract terms apply on top: see who pays for the repair?
7. The language in the workshop
Technical terms are difficult in any language. We speak Dutch, English and Polish; the key words are also in our garage dictionary, and the terms from an inspection report in the APK report translation guide.
8. Season and practicalities
Winter tyres are not compulsory, but winter does demand attention: see getting your car ready for winter. Travelling? Then look at the holiday check and the rules in Germany, France and Belgium.
In short
- Put your APK expiry date in your phone; no sticker will remind you.
- Insure and pay road tax as soon as the car is in your name.
- Keep all invoices — they are your evidence later.
- Have a car assessed before buying, not after.
Prefer to sort this out in your own language? In Tilburg we work in English, Dutch and Polish.