Renewing your Dutch driving licence in the United States
If you live in the United States and your Dutch driving licence has expired (or has almost expired), you can renew it. You can also exchange it for a driving licence from the state where you live.
Step 1: Check whether you meet the conditions
You can renew your Dutch driving licence from abroad via the RDW in the Netherlands. This is only possible if you:
- are a Dutch national or a national of another EU/EFTA country
- live outside the EU or the EFTA. Or you live in Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius or Saba
- are not a registered resident in the Netherlands
Do you not meet the conditions? Than you cannot renew your Dutch driving licence abroad. Instead you must exchange your Dutch driving licence for a local driving licence. Read how to exchange your Dutch driving licence.
Step 2: Request an application form
You need an application form to renew your Dutch driving licence. Request the application form via the RDW in the Netherlands. The RDW will send the application form to a correspondence address in the Netherlands of your choice.
Step 3: Collect the right documents
You will need the following original documents:
- your Dutch driving licence
- a photocopy of your valid travel document, e.g. a passport or identity card
- a completed and signed application form
- 1 colour passport photo that meets Dutch passport photo requirements and is less than 6 months old.
In the following situations you will need to supply additional documents. Click on the situation(s) that applies (apply) to you for more information.
You will also need a declaration of medical fitness (Verklaring van Geschiktheid, VvG) from the Central Office for Motor Vehicle Driver Testing (CBR). This declaration states that you are physically and mentally fit to drive. You will need to fill in a health declaration to obtain this document, using your DigiD.
Complete a health declaration (CBR.nl)
You will also need a declaration of medical fitness (Verklaring van Geschiktheid, VvG) from the Central Office for Motor Vehicle Driver Testing (CBR). This declaration states that you are physically and mentally fit to drive. You will need to fill in a health declaration to obtain this document, using your DigiD.
Complete a health declaration (CBR.nl)
You will also need a declaration of medical fitness (Verklaring van Geschiktheid, VvG) from the Central Office for Motor Vehicle Driver Testing (CBR). This declaration states that you are physically and mentally fit to drive. You will need to fill in a health declaration to obtain this document, using your DigiD.
Complete a health declaration (CBR.nl)
Read more about the declaration of medical fitness (RDW.nl)
You must also undergo a medical examination conducted by a doctor who is recognised by the CBR. This is not always easy to arrange if you are abroad. Contact the CBR to ask what the options are.
You can also decide to permanently or temporarily renounce your category C or D licence. In that case you will also need to complete a waiver (afstandsverklaring). You can obtain this form from the RDW. On the form, tick the boxes of the categories you wish to renounce. You can ask for these categories to be reinstated at a later date.
When you wish to reinstate a category you previously renounced, you will need to undergo a medical examination and apply for a declaration of medical fitness for driving category C and/or D vehicles.
You will also need a declaration of medical fitness (Verklaring van Geschiktheid, VvG) from the Central Office for Motor Vehicle Driver Testing (CBR). This declaration states that you are physically and mentally fit to drive. You will need to fill in a health declaration to obtain this document, using your DigiD.
Complete a health declaration (CBR.nl)
You will need to show where you are now living. You can do this by submitting proof of deregistration from the Central Population Registers Office from the municipality of The Hague, or a certificate of residence drawn up in the last 6 months. A Dutch embassy or consulate or the foreign municipality where you live can provide you with a certificate of residence.
If you are studying abroad but your parents or guardians live in the Netherlands, please provide the following additional documents in Dutch or English:
- proof that you are registered as living at your current address abroad
- proof of enrolment with an educational institution abroad
- proof of your personal ties to the Netherlands.
Step 4: Submit your documents
Send all the documents needed for your application to the RDW:
RDW, Unit Rijbewijzen
Postbus 9000
9640 HA Veendam
Nederland
Step 5: Pay the fee
Pay the fee for your application for a new driving licence. Scroll to ‘Kosten’ on the RDW's website to find out what the fee is and how to pay it.
After your payment has been assessed, the RDW will process your application within 10 working days.
Does RDW approve your application? Then it will take 5 working days before you receive your new driving licence at your correspondence address in the Netherlands.
If your application is rejected you will receive a letter explaining why.
Applying for a driving licence in the United States
If you wish to apply for a driving licence in the United States, contact the Department of Motor Vehicles or the Motor Vehicle Administration in the state where you live. Select the state where you live on the United States government website to locate the Department of Motor Vehicles nearest to you.
You can exchange your Dutch driving licence immediately, but you may be required to do additional tests, e.g. eyesight test. This varies from state to state.
What do I need?
If you want to apply for a driving licence from your state you may need a translation of your Dutch driving licence. You can find a translator through the American Translators Association. The Dutch embassy and consulates-general in the US cannot provide you with a translation. Contact the Department of Motor Vehicles or the Motor Vehicle Administration in the state where you live to find out what requirements the translation must meet.
Visit the United States government website for information on the other documents you will need if you wish to apply for a driving licence in the United States.