Temporary export plates: your Netherlands guide

What are temporary Dutch export plates?

Temporary export plates, called exportkenteken in Dutch, provide the plates for a vehicle leaving the Netherlands after export deregistration. They are white with black characters. Rather than receiving an unrelated new number, the vehicle keeps its existing Dutch registration number. The regular yellow plates must be handed in because they become invalid when the export deregistration is processed.

These plates are available only for vehicles registered in the Dutch register. The nationality of the buyer is not the deciding factor. A buyer from overseas can use this service for a Dutch-registered purchase, but a vehicle merely passing through the Netherlands without ever having Dutch registration needs a different approach.

At Auto Export Document, the plates are issued only with 14-day third-party liability insurance and its green card. Think of the plates, insurance and RDW document as related items with different functions: the document records deregistration, the plates identify the vehicle for the export journey, and the green card provides proof of insurance. For the service details alongside this guide, see export insurance with license plates.

The documents to obtain from the seller

Ask for the original Dutch registration card, known as the kentekencard, or the older paper registration document. You also need the complete nine-digit tenaamstellingscode supplied by the seller. For a buyer unfamiliar with Dutch paperwork, checking that code before collection is especially useful: the registration card and the code serve different purposes and you need both for our deregistration procedure.

• Original Dutch vehicle registration document, not a copy or phone photograph.
• The nine-digit registration code from the seller.
• A valid buyer passport or ID card.
• A Chamber of Commerce extract if a company is involved.
• The yellow Dutch plates for surrender and the vehicle for fitting the white plates.
• The RDW export document if deregistration has already been completed.

A purchase contract is not required to obtain these export plates. It may still be relevant to your purchase records or the registration process at home. If the registration document has been lost, contact the RDW for a replacement before trying to complete the export. Missing originals cannot be replaced by an assurance that the seller will send them later.

How the 14-day validity works

The export plates and linked insurance are valid for 14 days. Plan the journey using the dates on the insurance documents, not an estimate based on when you expect to reach home. Collection delays, ferry plans or a later registration appointment do not automatically change those dates.

If the original period will not be enough, request an extension before it ends. For €120, a further 14 days comes with new plates and a new green card. The maximum is 28 days in total. Do not continue using expired cover while assuming an extension can be dealt with afterwards.

The RDW export document itself has no expiry date. That is a separate issue from permission to drive with the temporary plates and insurance. Keep the document for the foreign registration procedure even after the driving period has ended, and check with the destination authority which other papers it requires.

Insurance and the green card on your route

The included cover is third-party liability insurance, called WA in the Netherlands. It is not comprehensive insurance for damage to your own vehicle. The green card is the international insurance evidence supplied with that policy, and its country coverage is the reference for planning the route.

You do not need to arrange a separate policy from your home insurer for the export drive covered by this package. You do need to check that every country on your intended route is included on the green card. Mention any non-EU destination or unusual transit route when arranging the service, rather than assuming that an international document covers every possible country.

Registration and ordinary ongoing insurance at home are later arrangements. The temporary policy is there for the defined export period; it is not a replacement for complying with the destination rules once the vehicle is imported and registered.

EU travel and customs for non-EU exports

For driving an exported vehicle within the EU, the white plates, green card and RDW export document suffice. Keep the insurance valid, check the listed countries and remember that the destination registration authority sets its own conditions. A buyer heading to Ireland or Sweden should still establish those local requirements before purchase.

For a destination outside the EU, including the UK or Norway, an EX-A export declaration is additionally needed. Our customs agent submits it to Dutch customs. The plates are not customs paperwork, and the RDW document records deregistration rather than replacing the export declaration.

Customs, insurance and foreign registration are separate checks. Tell us where the vehicle is going and how it will get there, so we can discuss the Dutch documents and cover you need. If a foreign authority requests a certificate of conformity, that comes from the manufacturer or importer; a certificate of origin comes from the Chamber of Commerce. Neither is supplied by our temporary plate service.