Bringing a UK Car to the Netherlands: Customs, BPM and Dutch Plates

Yes. Douane says that when you move to the Netherlands from outside the EU, your car, van or motorbike counts as part of your moving goods and you usually pay no import taxes on it. The Belastingdienst and the Dutch foreign ministry both add that you file an import declaration with Customs first, saying you want to bring your belongings in tax-free.

The relief has conditions. Douane’s page on moving goods and exemptions (opens in a new window) (last updated 1 September 2026) asks that you lived outside the EU for at least twelve consecutive months, owned and used the goods for at least six months, import them within twelve months of settling in the Netherlands, and don’t lend, pledge, rent out or transfer them for twelve months after import. It excludes business vehicles and professional equipment, so a van used for work is a question for Customs.

The sources don’t agree on who files. Douane’s page on moving from outside the EU (opens in a new window) says you can’t file the declaration yourself and that a removal or transport company does it, with a signed inventory and proof of residence. Its page on cars and motorbikes (opens in a new window) doesn’t say how a car you drive in yourself is declared. Ask the Customs Contact Center and your removal company which route applies before the car travels.

No, if you are registered in the Dutch population register, the BRP, or should be. The foreign ministry’s page on driving with foreign plates (opens in a new window) says you must register there if you stay longer than four months, and that residents may not drive a car on foreign plates under the road traffic act. We found no grace period for residents on the pages we read.

Someone who does not live in the Netherlands may drive a car on valid foreign plates for up to six months a year without paying Dutch tax, and Douane says no Customs report is needed for that. Beyond six months, a BPM return is due and, for someone living outside the EU, an import declaration too.

To reach the inspection, the foreign ministry’s step-by-step plan (opens in a new window) lists three options: the short-use exemption from BPM and road tax, which allows up to two weeks of driving; a free one-day plate that the RDW issues by email link when you book, valid only on the day of the appointment and needing liability insurance for that day; or hiring a car transporter. The short-use exemption is a form on the tax office site (opens in a new window), filed with a DigiD before the first drive, once per twelve months for the same car. Its conditions mention a car made available to you abroad, and the pages don’t say whether that covers a car you own, so check with the tax office.

You book an appointment at an RDW inspection station, and you must go in person as the owner; nobody can go for you. To import a car you must be at least eighteen and registered in the BRP. The RDW checks that the car meets European vehicle requirements and, if the papers are in order, enters it in the Dutch registration database.

Bring your ID, the complete original foreign registration document and a copy, and the Customs document if you came from outside the EU, no older than twelve months and showing the car belongs to your moving goods. A certificate of conformity (CoC) is optional but proves the car meets the entry requirements. The inspection and registration are charged, and the price depends on where the car comes from, its type and its build year, so ask RDW customer service for an estimate.

The Dutch roadworthiness test, the APK, can be done at the same time. The foreign ministry says the RDW can carry over a valid APK date only for cars from EU countries, and the UK is outside the EU. If the RDW did not do an APK and you hold no valid foreign proof, a local garage must do one a day after the registration certificate arrives, or you risk a fine. The government’s import questions page (opens in a new window) puts the APK before the tax return and says it can also be done at an RDW station.

You file a BPM return even though you pay nothing. The tax office’s page on BPM exemptions (opens in a new window) says that when you move from outside the EU and declare your belongings tax-free to Customs, you owe no BPM, VAT or import duty. It says you must still file the BPM return, and only on paper, using the form named “Aangifte, melding of opgaaf bpm”.

The page stresses that the form must be filled in completely, because otherwise the tax office can’t work out the gross BPM. Anyone holding an exemption can’t file online. Have your citizen service number (BSN) to hand, which the foreign ministry’s plan also says you need. This page gives no BPM rates, because an exempt move does not turn on them.

When the tax office and the RDW both approve the return, the RDW sends the new registration certificate within five working days. A working day later comes a letter with the full ownership code, the tenaamstellingscode. Keep it safe, because you need it if you ever sell the car.

Dutch plates come from an approved plate maker, who asks to see the registration certificate. The foreign ministry warns that if you collect them in a car still on UK plates, you should ask your insurer whether you are covered, and otherwise collect them another way.

Liability insurance, the WA cover, must be in place from the moment the car is registered in your name. You may cancel your foreign policy afterwards. Our moving insurance guide covers insurance for the journey itself.

Road tax, motorrijtuigenbelasting (MRB), needs no separate return. The tax office’s MRB page (opens in a new window) says registering the car in your name is the return, and a bill follows. It depends on weight, fuel, how polluting the car is and the province where the keeper lives. If no bill arrives within one month, contact the tax office. The foreign ministry says you pay monthly or by quarter.