Export documents for a car from Deventer: what you get and when

Bought a car in the Netherlands, or selling one to a buyer abroad? Before it leaves, the car must be deregistered from the Dutch register for export. That is what the export document does. At our RDW-approved export desk in Hengelo it costs from €50, including the indemnification certificate and processing with the RDW.

From Deventer you reach us in about 40 to 45 minutes via the A1. The key planning question is the day of deregistration, so below you will find a timeline from preparation to the end of the 14 days.

What buyer and seller receive

The buyer, or the person the export is registered to, receives the export certificate, also called registration certificate part II, plus the registration card (kentekencard) with one corner cut off. Keep both safe: you need them to register the car at home, and the requirements there differ per country.

The seller receives the indemnification certificate (vrijwaringsbewijs), the proof that the registration has stopped. After export, the Dutch owner's obligations for insurance, APK and motor vehicle tax end (source: RDW).

Timeline of the export

1. A few days before: agree the pick-up day with the seller, check the APK expiry date and collect the documents. If you will drive the car home, also arrange white export plates and temporary export insurance.
2. On deregistration day: the buyer or seller brings the documents and the yellow plates to the desk in Hengelo. With complete papers, a standard application is usually ready in about 15 minutes.
3. Right after: the buyer has the export certificate and the clipped registration card; the seller has the indemnification certificate. The yellow plates are handed in.
4. The following 14 days: the car may be driven on Dutch public roads for 14 days, but not beyond the APK expiry date.

No transfer into the buyer's name

Many sellers think the car must first be transferred into the foreign buyer's name. That is not the case. When a car is sold to a buyer abroad, it is not registered in the buyer's name in the Dutch register. The RDW advises: make sure the buyer exports the vehicle in their own name.

So the buyer gets the export certificate in their name and the seller gets the indemnification certificate. That is how the transfer works for export, without an extra step in the Dutch register.

Buyer arriving later, or not at all?

If the pick-up day is not fixed yet, do not deregister. The 14 days start on the day of deregistration, so a buyer who arrives a week later has only about half that time left for the drive home.

Cannot come to the Netherlands? According to the RDW, a contact person in the Netherlands may arrange the export. If the car goes on a trailer or car transporter, it usually needs no driving insurance, but the export document is still required.

Remote handling is possible too. Preparation is done online, the yellow plates are sent to us by post or courier, and handling starts once they arrive. We send documents insured and tracked, also abroad. Postal delivery costs more; we confirm the price in advance.

What to bring to the desk

Check beforehand that you have the registration code (tenaamstellingscode) that belongs to the registration card.

What does the export document cost?

The export document costs from €50, including the export certificate, the indemnification certificate and RDW processing. If the car leaves on its own wheels, the complete export package from €150 is the standard choice.

No yellow plates left? Have new ones made by an approved number plate manufacturer first, because the plates are handed in on export. Want to check the timing for your car? Send your details through the contact page.