How to transfer a car?
Car transfer: conditions
You must meet a few requirements to transfer a license plate to your name. First, you must be 18 years of age or older, live in the Netherlands and be registered in the Basic Registration of Persons (BRP). You yourself must check that the registration certificate is complete – to transfer, the seller must have the car’s registration certificate and the registration code. On the RDW website you can check if the registration certificate is valid and if the registration code belongs to it.
Transfer by RDW-approved car company
You cannot put the car you just bought in your name yourself. If you bought your car from an RDW-approved car dealership, that dealership will arrange the transfer directly for you, but you must have valid identification with you.
Private purchase – license plate transfer at counter
You and the seller can also go to a license plate counter, RDW desk or an RDW inspection station – their addresses can be easily found on the RDW site. It is quite possible that the post office or supermarket near you is also such a location. You will need the registration certificate and the registration code – or in the case of an older car, the original Registration Certificate (Part 1B) and the transfer certificate. Of course, you will also need your valid ID, but you always have that with you anyway, of course.
Registration number transferred: the documents
The desk clerk who arranges the transfer for you will give – if everything is correct – two documents. The registration report with the first four digits of the registration code is for you as the new owner. The indemnification certificate is for the seller and releases him from his obligations and liabilities.
Registration documents by mail
The next working day RDW sends the new registration certificate and the second part of the registration code to you as the new owner. You will receive them in one envelope. It is important to keep the registration code safe. You will need these again should you ever want to sell the car.
Car registration online
If the car does not have a paper registration certificate but a registration card, you can also transfer the registration to your name online. If you have both the registration card and the registration code, as well as a Dutch passport or driver’s license or a Dutch ID card with a chip and a smartphone with an NFC chip reader, it is possible.
How does online car registration work?
You’ll need your DigiD app for an identity check and via the ‘Transfer vehicle’ button on the RDW’s Register registration page. There are also all the details of the online procedure – the website guides you all the way through the transfer procedure, but also pay attention to the emails you receive. Only after the second e-mail is the car in your name. Then you are also immediately responsible for vehicle obligations – MOT inspection, insurance and motor vehicle tax. The third e-mail contains a link to the indemnification certificate for the seller and the registration report and the first part of the registration code for the new owner. Through the mail, you as the new owner will receive the registration certificate and the second part of the registration code.