Exchanging a foreign driving licence in the Netherlands: who can swap without exams, the gemeente procedure, and the CBR route when you cannot

Your foreign driving licence stays valid in the Netherlands for a limited period after you move here. For licences from outside the EU and EFTA (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland) that period is short: 185 days. Some people can then swap their licence for a Dutch one without any driving test. They apply at their gemeente (municipality), and the RDW (the national vehicle and driving-licence authority) approves the exchange. Whether you are in that group depends almost entirely on where your licence was issued. This guide covers how long you may keep driving after the move, who can exchange without exams, the steps and costs at the gemeente, the health declaration, and the exam route when exchange is not possible.

The permitted period depends on where the licence was issued and on its categories. The RDW's page on driving with a foreign licence gives these periods:

The deadline is absolute, with no grace period. The RDW states that after the 185 days you are no longer permitted to drive without a Dutch licence, even if your application is already being processed. Processing itself takes at least 15 working days. So start the application well before your period ends, and do not plan on driving through the gap.

A licence from an EU or EFTA country can always be exchanged if you meet the general conditions. This also works when the licence has expired. Licences from all other countries can only be exchanged when the country is on the RDW's list. The list is short, and for several countries it covers specific categories only:

This is the complete list in July 2026. A licence from any other country cannot be exchanged; the RDW itself names a licence from America as the example. For the listed countries, only the named categories transfer. One general condition sits behind every exchange: you must have lived for 185 days in the issuing country in the year you obtained the licence. This is a separate rule from the 185-day driving period above.

One exception ignores the country list completely. Employees who were recruited from abroad and have the 30% ruling can exchange a driving licence from any country, as long as that licence is still valid. You add the decision letter from the Belastingdienst (the Dutch tax office), the beschikking for the expat scheme, to your application. The income tax guide explains what the 30% ruling is and how you get it.

There is also a rule for people who once had a Dutch licence. If you held a Dutch driving licence at some point after 30 June 1985, exchange is possible too. This route even works for an expired licence from outside the EU/EFTA.

The application runs through the gemeente where you are registered, and the gemeente forwards it to the RDW. Municipal registration therefore comes first; the BSN and gemeente registration guide covers how that works. The steps:

• Licence from outside the EU/EFTA? Complete the gezondheidsverklaring (health declaration) first and wait for the CBR's decision. The next section explains it.
• Make an appointment at your gemeente for exchanging a foreign driving licence.
• Bring a colour passport photo, your foreign driving licence and, if you have them, your residence permit and your old Dutch licence. Using the 30% ruling? Bring the Belastingdienst decision letter too.
• Is your licence written in characters that are not used in the Netherlands? Have it translated first by a certified translator, the embassy or the consulate, and bring the translation.
• Pay the fee at the desk. Gemeenten set their own fee. The national maximum for a standard driving licence in 2026 is €53.65, set by the VNG (the association of Dutch municipalities). Gemeenten may charge up to this maximum, and some charge less. The Hague, for example, charges the full €53.65 in 2026.
• Hand in your foreign licence. The gemeente keeps it and gives you a copy and a receipt. You will not get it back: the RDW sends it to the authority that issued it.
• Wait for the RDW. It needs at least 15 working days, then sends you a letter. About 5 working days after that you can collect your Dutch licence at the gemeente. The Hague asks you to collect it within 3 months.

The Dutch licence you collect is normally valid for 10 years.

Every exchange of a licence from outside the EU/EFTA needs a gezondheidsverklaring (health declaration): a form with questions about your health. You fill it in and pay on Mijn CBR, the CBR's online portal. It costs €46.90 in 2026. For an EU/EFTA licence a health declaration is only needed in some situations; the RDW tells you whether yours is one of them. If the CBR wants more information about your health, you visit a doctor for an examination, and you pay that doctor's bill yourself.

Two deadlines matter here. The CBR's decision on your health declaration stays valid for 1 year: exchange within that year, or you fill in a new declaration. And a licence from outside the EU/EFTA must still be valid when you exchange it. If it expires while you wait, exchange is no longer possible. This is why CBR advises submitting the health declaration 6 months before the date you may no longer drive on your foreign licence.

Is your country not on the list, and do the exceptions not apply to you? Then the route to a Dutch licence is the same as for a new Dutch driver: a theory exam and a practical exam at CBR, plus the health declaration.

• Theory exam: book it yourself on Mijn CBR. In 2026 it costs €50.50 in Dutch, or €57.00 in English.
• Health declaration: for a first Dutch licence you also fill in the €46.90 gezondheidsverklaring, so the CBR can confirm you are fit to drive (the Verklaring van geschiktheid, certificate of fitness).
• Practical exam: a rijschool (driving school) books it for you. The CBR fee is €143.50 in 2026; the school adds its own charges, and lesson prices differ per school.
• After passing: from the day after the practical exam you can apply for the licence at your gemeente. Bring a valid passport or ID card and a colour passport photo, and pay the normal licence fee.

Plan for the RDW's residence rule: you must live in the Netherlands for at least 185 days to be able to apply for a driving licence. Ask your gemeente how it applies this rule in your situation. The 185-day driving period does not pause while you take lessons and exams, so start early.

A licence from the United States, or from any other country not in the table above, cannot be exchanged. The only exceptions are the 30% ruling and a previous Dutch licence. Without one of those, plan the CBR route inside your 185-day window: contact a rijschool in your first weeks, book the theory exam, and be prepared for a period without driving after day 185 if you have not passed both exams by then. If you are still before the move, do this check now. The documents before moving guide puts the licence check in your pre-move list.

For EU/EFTA licences, expiry is not a problem: an expired EU/EFTA licence can still be exchanged. For licences from outside the EU/EFTA, expiry normally ends the exchange option, because the licence must be valid when you apply. The exception is a Dutch licence you held at some point after 30 June 1985. For everyone else, the CBR exams are the remaining route. So check the expiry date on your foreign licence in your first week here. The CBR advises starting the health declaration 6 months ahead, and the RDW takes at least 15 working days on top.

During processing, your foreign licence is at the gemeente and you only hold a copy and a receipt. The RDW says that continuing to drive in this period is your own choice: you are still allowed to drive while your driving period runs, but you cannot show your licence when the police stop you. The RDW calls the chance of a fine small, but present. After your driving period has ended, the situation is different. Then you may not drive at all until you have the Dutch licence, even if your application is already being processed. Driving without a valid licence can cost you a fine.

The exchange includes handing in the physical licence, so the application cannot start without it. If your licence is lost or stolen, first ask the licensing authority of the country that issued it for a replacement. With the replacement in hand, the normal exchange rules apply again. If you cannot get a replacement, the CBR exams remain as the route to a Dutch licence.

Two guides continue from here. The cost of moving guide puts these fees next to the other costs of your move. The first 90 days checklist shows where the driving licence fits in your arrival admin, after registration at the gemeente and your BSN.