Knowledge base · APK
Lights and the APK: which LED bulbs are allowed and which are not?
Lighting has been the number one APK failure reason for years — and at the same time the easiest one to prevent. Since LED bulbs became popular, a second question has joined it: is that bright white bulb from the webshop actually allowed? Short answer: usually not. The long answer is below.
What the inspector checks
All mandatory lights must be present, working and the right colour: dipped beam, main beam, side lights, indicators all round, brake lights (including the third one), tail lights, number plate light, reversing light and rear fog light. White or yellow to the front, red to the rear, amber indicators. Damaged or badly fogged lenses and the headlight aim are also part of the check — a headlight aimed too high blinds oncoming traffic and is a rejection point.
Factory LED: no problem at all
Cars delivered with LED lighting from the factory are completely fine. Those units are approved as a whole — bulb, reflector and lens are designed as one system. When they fail, often the complete module is replaced; more expensive than a single bulb, but it passes without discussion.
LED retrofits in halogen headlights: where it goes wrong
The problem lies with loose LED bulbs replacing a halogen bulb in a headlight that was never designed for them. A headlight reflector is calculated around the light point of a filament; an LED chip sits in a slightly different spot and radiates differently. The result: a beam pattern that blinds others or leaves dark gaps — and lighting that no longer complies with the approval requirements. At the inspection this can be a rejection point, however bright and "modern" the bulb looks.
Retrofit LED bulbs from serious manufacturers do exist, approved in some countries for specific headlight types. That approval does not automatically apply in the Netherlands. Our honest advice: do not fit LED retrofits in your dipped or main beam without first checking whether it is allowed for your specific car — feel free to ask us before you order. For interior and non-mandatory lighting it is less sensitive, but the exterior lights the car is inspected on are the wrong place to experiment.
The classics that fail every week
- Number plate light — the smallest bulb, the biggest classic.
- Third brake light — often an LED strip partially burnt out.
- Fast-flashing indicator — the sign that a bulb on that side is dead.
- Fogged or yellowed lenses — less light output; polishing or replacement helps.
- Poor aim — after replacing a bulb or a minor bump.
Done in five minutes
Walk around the car with someone else: one person operates, one watches. All settings, all sides, brake lights included. Found a dead bulb? Replacement takes us minutes, and during an APK preparation we check and aim the complete lighting as standard. The full self-check is in the APK checklist.
Frequently asked questions
Isn't my webshop LED dipped beam much better than halogen?
Brighter is not the same as better: without a matching reflector you blind oncoming traffic and the light no longer meets the requirements. If you want more light, ask us about options that are actually permitted for your car.
One indicator flashes too fast. Is that serious?
It almost always means a bulb on that side is dead — and that is a rejection point. Replacing it takes minutes.
Do you inspect the lights?
We check, replace and aim them as part of the APK preparation; the inspection itself happens at an RDW-approved test centre.
Want this fixed before the test? That is our APK preparation in Tilburg.