White export number plates in Hengelo for the drive home

Driving your car home from the Netherlands? Then the yellow plates come off and white export plates go on. The number stays the same: a Dutch export registration is the vehicle's existing registration number on a white plate with black letters and digits. At our RDW-approved export desk at Slachthuisweg 135 in Hengelo you get these plates together with temporary third-party insurance, and you take them with you straight away.

We are an RDW-approved export company, not part of the RDW and not an insurer. The insurance that comes with the plates is arranged through our insurance partner.

What happens at the desk

1. Call or WhatsApp ahead, ideally about 20 minutes before you arrive. Walk-ins are welcome Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 16:30; outside those hours, by appointment.
2. Give us the insurance details: start date, destination and route, and details of the policyholder and the driver. For a business buyer also the company name, address and VAT number.
3. Deregistration, if not done yet. With the complete package we first deregister the vehicle for export. You bring valid ID and the registration card and hand in the yellow plates; the full checklist is on our page about export documents.
4. Take the plates. You receive the white plates and the Green Card on the spot. With complete documents a standard desk request is usually ready in about 15 minutes.

When do the 14 days start?

The clock starts at deregistration for export. From that moment the vehicle may be driven on Dutch public roads for 14 days, which is also how long the export registration is valid. Every day between deregistration and departure comes off those 14 days.

So deregister only once your trip is fixed, ideally on the day you leave, and choose the insurance start date to match. If the car leaves on its own wheels right after export, the complete export package is the standard choice.

Watch the APK expiry date

The export registration is valid for 14 days, but never beyond the APK, the Dutch roadworthiness test. If the APK expires within those 14 days, your time on the road ends on that date. With an expired APK the car may not be driven on public roads at all, not even on white plates.

Check the APK date before you come. If there is not enough time left for the trip, the car can go on a trailer or car transporter. The vehicle being carried usually needs no driving insurance, but it still needs the export document.

Rules per vehicle

A motorcycle, scooter or moped must be insured but needs no APK for the export trip. A caravan or trailer needs no insurance of its own, though the towing vehicle does, and an APK only above 3,500 kg.

A car gets two white plates; a motorcycle, scooter, moped, caravan or trailer gets one, at the rear. For trucks, semi-trailers and heavy motorhomes or vans the price is on request.

On the road with white plates

• Keep them legible. An export plate must stay readable in all weather. Fix the plates firmly and keep them clean. The RDW describes the types of Dutch number plates (in Dutch).
• Carry the Green Card. It is your international proof of insurance.
• Check every country. Rules for a Dutch export registration abroad differ per country, so check your destination and every country you drive through. For a drive into Germany on its own wheels, the ADAC says you use an export or transfer registration from the country where the car is, and names the Dutch export kenteken. According to the ADAC, transport on a trailer is always possible. See the ADAC guide to buying a used car abroad (in German).

Price

The white plates come with the export insurance: 14 days of third-party cover, the Green Card and the plates together cost from €100. Outside office hours, for postal delivery and for heavy or non-standard vehicles the price can be higher, and we always confirm it in advance. The overview below also shows the complete package.

More about the cover and what the policy decides is on our page about export insurance in the Netherlands. Heading to Hengelo? Call or WhatsApp +31 6 38199986 so we know you are on the way.