Exchanging foreign driving licence
In some cases you can exchange your foreign driving licence for a Dutch driving licence. Every country has its own possibilities to do so.
See the information on the RDW-website, for your situation.
Driving licence from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein
A driving licence from members of the European Union (EU) or members of the European Economic Area (EEA) can be exchanged for a Dutch driving licence. More information in English.
Conditions
- You have to live in the Netherlands and must be registered in the city of Leiden.
- Your foreign driving licence has to be valid. In some cases you can exchange an expired driving licence.
Driving licence from Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius or Saba
Conditions
- The driving licence has to be valid at the moment of your request to exchange the licence
- In the year the driving licence is issued you must have lived at least 185 days in Aruba or the Dutch Antilles.
Health attestation required
In order to exchange your driving licence from Aruba, Curacao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius or Saba you will have to buy a health attestation at the Central Bureau for driving proficiency (CBR) and fill it in. Based on this attestation the CBR will decide whether you are capable of driving a car.
How to make an appointment
You have to be registered in Leiden to be able to exchange your foreign driver’s licence.
You will have to submit the following documents:
- the driving licence you want to exchange
- a valid passport or identity card
- a resembling passport photo that complies with the special requirements
- a valid residence permit. This is not necessary when you are a citizen of a EU-country, Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland or Swiss
- in case you are an expat and fall under the 30% tax measure: a copy of a letter from the Tax authorities (Belastingdienst) has to be submitted
- a translation of your driving licence, in case your driving licence has been written in characters that are not used in the Netherlands (f.e. Japanese or Greek). The translation has to be made by a sworn translator, the embassy or the consulate. When your driving licence has been translated in a foreign country, you will have to legalise the translation. When you possess a Russian, credit card sized driving licence you do not need a translation.
- a health attestation. For a driving licence from a EU- or EER-country this is not always necessary. It is obligatory for licences from other countries. You can buy an attestation online via het CBR.