Driving in the Netherlands on a licence from Australia (buitenlands rijbewijs)
The Dutch CBR exams. Unless you hold a 30% ruling (expat scheme) decision, which allows an exchange from any country.
From the RDW rules, verified 2 September 2026. The details, sources and costs are below.
The facts for a licence from Australia
- How long you may drive on it: 185 days from the date you register at a Dutch address (BRP registration). After that, you need a Dutch licence to drive here.
- Exchange: Not directly. Australia is not on the RDW agreement list, so the standard route is the Dutch exams: CBR theory (available in English) and a practical exam. Exception: holders of a 30%-ruling (expat scheme) decision can exchange a licence from any country.
- The 30% ruling (expat scheme): a valid decision lets you exchange a licence from any country, with all its categories, if the licence is still valid and you hold a residence permit.
- Translation: Latin script: no translation needed.
- International Driving Permit: recommended by the RDW when the categories on your licence are not labelled A, B, C, D, E; never required for the 185 days.
- Health declaration: needed before an exchange or the practical exam (Gezondheidsverklaring, €47 via Mijn CBR).
Sources: RDW exchange checklist, RDW, driving with a foreign licence, RDW, exchanging a foreign licence; verified 2 September 2026.
Which International Driving Permit can Australia issue, and do I need one?
- The RDW never requires an International Driving Permit for your 185 days; it advises one when the categories on your licence are not labelled A, B, C, D, E, so that they can be read.
- The permit is a translation of your licence, obtained in the issuing country, and it never extends the 185 days.
- Australia is a party to the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (since 7 December 1954).
- It is not a party to the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic.
- Its permit follows the 1949 model and is valid for one year from the date of issue.
- The Netherlands is a party to both conventions, so the 1949 permit is recognised here.
Sources: RDW, driving with a foreign driving licence (read 7 September 2026), UN Treaty Collection, 1949 Convention on Road Traffic: status (read 7 September 2026), 1949 Convention on Road Traffic, Annex 10 (validity of the permit) (read 7 September 2026).
What the categories on a Australia licence mean here
There is no national Australian licence: each state and territory issues its own. The classes are the same in New South Wales and Queensland, the two states read here (C, R, LR, MR, HR, HC, MC), and none of them is a letter the Dutch licence uses in the same way: a class C car licence reaches 4.5 tonnes and 12 seats, past the Dutch B. That is the case in which the RDW advises an International Driving Permit, so the classes can be read.
| On your licence | What it covers at home | Closest Dutch category |
|---|---|---|
| C (car) | Cars, utes, vans, some light trucks and car-based motor tricycles up to 4.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass, seating up to 12 adults including the driver; also tractors. | BDutch B stops at 3,500 kg and 8 passengers; a 12-seat minibus or a 4.5-tonne truck needs D1 or C1 here. |
| CA (Queensland) | A class C vehicle with an automatic transmission only. | BWith code 78: automatic only. |
| R (rider) | Motorcycles and scooters of any engine size. | A |
| RE (Queensland) | Mopeds and learner-approved motorcycles with 2 or 3 wheels, with or without a trailer. | A2Our judgement: the learner-approved list is set by power to weight, the Dutch A2 by a 35 kW cap. |
| LR (light rigid) | Rigid vehicles over 4.5 and up to 8 tonnes gross vehicle mass, any number of axles, with a trailer up to 9 tonnes; vehicles up to 8 tonnes carrying more than 12 adults; everything in C except motorcycles. | C1 or D1C1 for goods, D1 for a bus. |
| MR (medium rigid) | Rigid vehicles with 2 axles over 8 tonnes gross vehicle mass, with a trailer up to 9 tonnes; everything in LR. | C or D |
| HR (heavy rigid) | Rigid vehicles with 3 or more axles over 8 tonnes gross vehicle mass, with a trailer up to 9 tonnes; articulated buses; everything in MR. | C or D |
| HC (heavy combination) | Articulated vehicles with 3 or more axles, and towing combinations with a trailer over 9 tonnes gross vehicle mass; everything in HR. | CE or DE |
| MC (multi combination) | Road trains, B-doubles and low-loader combinations; everything in HC. | CEThe Netherlands has no class above CE. |
- Automatic only: An Australian licence for automatics only carries condition A: "the holder must drive only a motor vehicle fitted with an automatic transmission" (New South Wales). Queensland prints the car class as CA instead of C. Both mean what Dutch code 78 means.
- Dutch code 78: If you take the Dutch practical exam in an automatic, the Dutch licence gets code 78: automatic only. Removing it means a new practical exam in a manual car.
- Your licence document: A full New South Wales licence is issued for 1, 3 or 5 years; drivers aged 21 to 44 may take a 10-year licence, in person at a Service NSW centre.
The Dutch column is the closest Dutch category, not an official equivalence: the RDW decides on exchange what a category becomes, and via the 30% ruling only the categories on the licence come across. During your 185 days, your own licence and its own categories are what count.
What is our judgement here, and what may be out of date
- The Dutch column is our judgement: class C (4.5 tonnes, 12 seats) to B; LR to C1 or D1; MR and HR to C or D; HC to CE or DE; MC to CE; Queensland RE to A2. Australian classes turn on gross vehicle mass and axles, Dutch ones on mass and seats, so none is an equivalence.
- Only New South Wales and Queensland were read; the other states and territories use the same class letters, but their conditions, codes and licence terms may differ.
- Learner and provisional licences (L, P1, P2) are not covered by the table.
Sources: NSW Government (Transport for NSW), licence classes (read 13 September 2026); Queensland Government, licence types, classes and conditions: class CA and condition A (read 13 September 2026); NSW Government, licence conditions: condition A, automatic transmission (read 13 September 2026); Service NSW, renew or upgrade a NSW driver licence: 1, 3, 5 or 10 years (read 13 September 2026); RDW, rijbewijscategorieën (read 8 September 2026); CBR, wat betekent code 78 (read 8 September 2026).
Specific to licences from Australia
- No Australian state is on the RDW's agreement list, so the route is the CBR exams, or exchange via the 30% ruling. Australian licences show classes such as C or R rather than the European letters; the RDW advises an International Driving Permit. source
A worked example
Registered at a Dutch address on 1 September 2026: you may drive here until 4 March 2027 (185 days). After that you need a Dutch licence.
Computed by the same rules engine as the checker; your own dates give your own deadline. Get yours →
What it costs: the CBR exams route
about €1,408(€947–€1,917)
| Item | Typical | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Health declaration (Gezondheidsverklaring) | €47 | |
| Theory course (English, online or one-day class)estimate | €50 | €30–€129 |
| Theory exam B (English), budgeted for 1.6 attempts on average | €91 | €57–€114 |
| Driving lessons (10–20 × €67.00)estimate | €1,005 | €670–€1,340 |
| Practical exam B, budgeted for 1.5 attempts on average | €215 | €144–€287 |
CBR fees: CBR tariff table 2026; estimates are labelled. Adjust lessons, city and attempts in the checker. Compare the routes →
Timeline
About 8–16 weeks (estimate), in 6 steps:
- Mijn CBR account + health declaration(~4 weeks (CBR processing))
- Book and pass the theory exam
- Prepare with a theory course
- Choose a driving school
- Lessons, then the practical exam(lessons over several weeks; theory certificate stays valid 18 months, estimate)
- Experienced? Plan fewer lessons
Common mistakes with non-EU licences
- Thinking the 185 days start when you arrive. They run from the day you register at a Dutch address (BRP), and after them a Dutch licence is required. source
- Expecting an International Driving Permit to extend the 185 days. It does not; the RDW advises one only so that the categories on your licence can be read. source
- Waiting for the 30% ruling before doing anything. The ruling lets you exchange from any country, but only while the foreign licence is still valid and you hold a residence permit, and the 185 days keep running meanwhile. source
- Letting the licence expire at home. An expired non-EU licence cannot be exchanged on any route; you would take the exams from scratch. source
Why this is confusing
A Australia licence is not "invalid" here. It is valid for exactly 185 days from your registration and then not at all, unless a 30%-ruling decision opens the exchange door. Many people only find out after day 185.
Exams in your language
The CBR car theory exam exists in English; every other language uses an interpreter, booked 14 days ahead. The practical exam allows a sworn interpreter or your own instructor to translate.
Which exams do I need? · Theory exam in English · Theory exam with an interpreter · Interpreter at the practical exam · Do you need Dutch?
Rules version 1.2.2, verified 2 September 2026. Source: RDW. This is guidance, not legal advice. Confirm with the official RDW checklist. Municipal licence fee: at most €54 in 2026. This page as data: JSON; all rules: rules index.