Dutch export plates: temporary white plates with 14-day insurance

What white Dutch export plates are and when you need them

A Dutch vehicle normally carries yellow plates. The moment it is reported for export at the RDW, the Dutch vehicle authority, the registration is ended and the vehicle gets the export status, so the yellow plates belong to a registration that no longer exists. The white export plates take their place: white plates with the vehicle's existing Dutch registration number in black characters, intended for the journey out of the country.

You need these temporary Dutch plates whenever the vehicle is driven abroad on its own wheels after the export deregistration, whether you drive a car home to Ireland, collect three vans for Lithuania or ride a motorcycle to Austria. A vehicle on a transporter or in a container is cargo and needs no plates for the trip. The plates alone are never enough, because a vehicle on public roads must be insured; that is why we supply them only together with the export insurance.

The green card: proof of the temporary export insurance

The export insurance is a Dutch third-party liability policy, the legal minimum you need to drive, valid for 14 days from the start date you choose. Damage to the vehicle itself, theft and breakdown are not covered; the policy pays for damage you cause to others. The green card is the international proof of that cover. It shows the registration number, the insurer, the validity period and the countries where the cover applies: 43 in total, from all EU and EEA countries to Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine. We send it as a PDF by e-mail as soon as the payment has been received; print it and keep it in the vehicle with the RDW export document and the purchase invoice. The page about the green card for export explains what to show at a check.

Which vehicles can get export plates in the Netherlands

Any vehicle with a Dutch registration number: cars, vans, trucks and tractor units, motorcycles, scooters and mopeds, caravans, motorhomes and trailers. Light trailers under 750 kg, which have no registration number of their own, are included as well. Two plates for a car, van, truck or motorhome, one for a motorcycle, caravan or trailer. Prices start at €100 for a car, a van up to 3,500 kg, a motorcycle or a trailer up to 3,500 kg, at €150 for a caravan and at €180 for a truck, a motorhome or any other vehicle above 3,500 kg, always including the plates; what you pay in the end depends on the vehicle, its empty weight and its year of manufacture. Add €50 per shipment for delivery by DHL Express. See all prices per vehicle type.

What you receive from us

With every request you receive the items listed below. One step is not part of the package: the export deregistration at the RDW, after which you receive the RDW export document (registration certificate part 2). The seller or another RDW-recognised company can take care of it, or we do it for you at our office in Hengelo for €50 per vehicle during opening hours, so that deregistration, insurance and plates are arranged in one visit. The vehicle does not have to come along: for the visit you only need its Dutch number plates, its registration card with the tenaamstellingscode and a driving licence, identity card or passport. Outside office hours, or remotely, the deregistration costs more, and we will tell you the amount beforehand. For the remote route you post us only the plates and send the papers by e-mail or WhatsApp.

• The white Dutch export plates with the vehicle's registration number: two or one, depending on the vehicle type.
• The 14-day export insurance (third-party liability) placed with one of the insurers we work with.
• The green card as a PDF by e-mail, as proof of the insurance for police and border checks.
• An invoice, in the name of your company if you buy as a business, also for companies outside the Netherlands.

How to request: online, collect in Hengelo or by post

Online request. Send your details via WhatsApp, e-mail or the form on the page apply for Dutch export plates online. You receive the price and the payment details; after payment we issue the policy and e-mail the green card.

Collect in Hengelo. The plates are ready at our office, Monday to Saturday from 09:00 to 17:00 and outside those hours by appointment. Hengelo lies close to the German border, so if you are driving in from Germany you can collect the plates on your way to the seller.

Delivery by post. DHL Express brings the plates to any address in Europe with track & trace, for €50 per shipment; if your request is complete on a working day (Monday to Thursday), the parcel arrives within 1 working day. See the page export plates by post.

What we need from you

• The Dutch registration number of the vehicle, and the vehicle type if it is not obvious.
• For a light trailer under 750 kg without its own registration: its chassis number (VIN), make and model/type, plus the registration number and country of the towing vehicle; that number goes on the white plate we make for the trailer, with the country code in front.
• The name of the buyer: the person or company buying the vehicle.
• The destination country, so we can check it against the country list of the policy.
• The start date of the 14 days: the day you want to drive off.
• A copy of the buyer's ID when the insurer requires it; we will tell you if that is the case.
• For delivery by post: the full address, a contact name and a phone number for DHL.

Common mistakes to avoid

A start date set too early, so days are lost while the vehicle is still at the seller. A delivery address without a house number or phone number, so DHL cannot deliver. Paying the seller before it is clear who will report the vehicle for export at the RDW. And a green card left in an inbox that cannot be opened on the road: print it, and save the PDF on your phone as well before you leave.