Exchanging a driving licence from United Kingdom (Northern Ireland) in the Netherlands (omwisselen)
Exchange at the gemeente, no exams. All categories, if the licence is valid and you lived there 185 days in the year it was issued.
From the RDW rules, verified 2 September 2026. The details, sources and costs are below.
The facts for a licence from United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)
- 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: Yes, with limits. The Netherlands has an agreement with United Kingdom (Northern Ireland): all licence categories can be exchanged, provided the licence is valid and you lived there at least 185 days in the year it was issued. Other categories are lost on exchange.
- 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).
- Note on the document: Category BE only if a separate BE exam was taken. Provisional licences are excluded. Brexit timing conditions apply if you moved to the Netherlands before 1 January 2021. Confirm via the RDW checklist.
Sources: RDW exchange checklist, RDW, driving with a foreign licence, RDW, exchanging a foreign licence; verified 2 September 2026.
Which International Driving Permit can United Kingdom (Northern Ireland) 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.
- United Kingdom (Northern Ireland) is a party to both UN road traffic conventions: the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic since 28 March 2018 and the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic since 8 July 1957.
- Its permit follows the 1968 model: valid for three years after the date of issue or until your United Kingdom (Northern Ireland) licence expires, whichever comes first.
- The Netherlands is a party to both conventions.
Sources: RDW, driving with a foreign driving licence (read 7 September 2026), UN Treaty Collection, 1968 Convention on Road Traffic: status (read 7 September 2026), UN Treaty Collection, 1949 Convention on Road Traffic: status (read 7 September 2026), 1968 Convention on Road Traffic, Annex 7 (validity of the permit) (read 7 September 2026).
What the categories on a United Kingdom (Northern Ireland) licence mean here
UK categories use the same letters as the Dutch categories, with the same limits for motorcycles, cars, lorries and buses, so the RDW's advice to carry an International Driving Permit (for licences whose categories are not labelled A, B, C, D, E) does not apply. Three things differ: a UK category B may tow a trailer up to 3,500 kg and BE is added to the licence at renewal without a test, a licence issued before 1 January 1997 carries extra entitlements, and the lower-case letters (f, g, h, k, l, p, q) are national categories.
| On your licence | What it covers at home | Closest Dutch category |
|---|---|---|
| AM | Mopeds: 2- or 3-wheeled vehicles with a design speed over 25 km/h and not over 45 km/h, and light quad bikes up to 425 kg. | AM |
| p, q | National moped categories: p is a 2-wheeled vehicle over 45 km/h and up to 50 km/h with an engine up to 50 cc; q is a 2- or 3-wheeled vehicle without pedals, up to 50 cc and 25 km/h. | AMDutch AM stops at 45 km/h. |
| A1 | Light motorbikes up to 125 cc and 11 kW; motor tricycles up to 15 kW. | A1 |
| A2 | Motorbikes up to 35 kW. | A2 |
| A | Motorbikes over 35 kW; motor tricycles over 15 kW. | A |
| B1 | Motor vehicles with 4 wheels up to 400 kg unladen, or 550 kg if built to carry goods. | BThe Netherlands has no B1; Dutch B covers vehicles on four or more wheels up to 3,500 kg. |
| B | Cars and vans up to 3,500 kg (4,250 kg if electric or hydrogen) with up to 8 passenger seats, towing a trailer up to 3,500 kg. | BDutch B allows a trailer only up to 750 kg, or heavier if car and trailer together stay under 3,500 kg; beyond that the Netherlands needs BE. |
| B auto | A category B vehicle, but only an automatic one. | BWith code 78: automatic only. |
| B, licence issued before 1 January 1997 | Also vehicle-and-trailer combinations up to 8,250 kg, and a minibus with a trailer over 750 kg. | B or BEExtra entitlements of an old licence; the RDW decides what comes across. |
| BE | A vehicle up to 3,500 kg with a trailer; the trailer limit depends on the BE "valid from" date on the licence. | BE |
| C1, C1E | Vehicles between 3,500 and 7,500 kg with a trailer up to 750 kg; C1E adds a trailer over 750 kg, up to 12,000 kg in all. | C1 or C1E |
| C, CE | Vehicles over 3,500 kg with a trailer up to 750 kg; CE adds a trailer over 750 kg. | C or CE |
| D1, D1E | Minibuses with up to 16 passenger seats and up to 8 metres long, with a trailer up to 750 kg; D1E adds a trailer over 750 kg, up to 12,000 kg in all. | D1 or D1E |
| D, DE | Any bus with more than 8 passenger seats with a trailer up to 750 kg; DE adds a trailer over 750 kg. | D or DE |
| f | Agricultural tractor. | T |
| g, h, k, l | Road roller (g), tracked vehicles (h), mowing machines or pedestrian-controlled vehicles (k), electrically propelled vehicles (l). | none |
- Automatic only: A UK licence for automatics only carries code 78, "restricted to vehicles with automatic transmission"; older licences show the national code 106 with the same wording. Both mean what Dutch code 78 means. Northern Ireland licences use the same two codes.
- 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 UK photocard licence must be renewed every 10 years.
- Your licence document: From age 70 the licence is renewed every 3 years.
- Your licence document: Lorry and bus entitlements (C and D categories) are renewed every 5 years, and every year from 65.
- Your licence document: Northern Ireland licences are issued by the DVA, not the DVLA. A car or motorcycle licence also runs 10 years; lorry, bus and minibus categories run at most 5 years up to 65 and one year from then.
- Your licence document: Northern Ireland uses the same categories with the same limits: C1 is 3,500 to 7,500 kg, D1 up to 16 passenger seats and 8 metres, D any bus with more than 8 passenger seats.
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
- Category BE: a UK category B holder may tow a trailer up to 3,500 kg, and the DVLA adds BE to the licence at the next renewal without a test. The RDW exchanges BE only if a separate BE exam was taken (see the facts above); we do not know how the RDW treats a BE that was added at renewal. Ask the RDW before counting on BE.
- A licence issued before 1 January 1997 carries entitlements (combinations up to 8,250 kg, minibuses) that the Dutch B does not; the RDW decides what comes across, and we put the row under B and BE as our judgement.
- The Dutch column is our judgement: B1 (quadricycles) to B, the national moped categories p and q (up to 50 km/h) to AM, f (agricultural tractor) to T; g, h, k and l have no Dutch counterpart.
- Paper licences from before the photocard: GOV.UK says a paper licence that is still valid need not be exchanged; we do not state when they expire.
- The category limits are read from the DVLA's pages for Great Britain; the DVA's Northern Ireland pages were read for the lorry and bus categories and the renewal terms, and state the same limits.
Sources: GOV.UK (DVLA), driving licence categories (read 13 September 2026); GOV.UK (DVLA), towing with a car: what category B may tow, BE added at renewal, licences from before 1997 (read 13 September 2026); GOV.UK (DVLA), driving licence codes: 78 and 106, automatic transmission (read 13 September 2026); GOV.UK (DVLA), renew your driving licence: the photocard runs 10 years (read 13 September 2026); GOV.UK (DVLA), renew your driving licence at 70: every 3 years from then (read 13 September 2026); GOV.UK (DVLA), become a qualified lorry or bus driver: renew every 5 years, every year from 65 (read 13 September 2026); nidirect (DVA, Northern Ireland), renew your driving licence: 10 years; lorry and bus 5 years to 65, then 1 year (read 13 September 2026); nidirect (DVA, Northern Ireland), buses and lorries you can drive and minimum ages (read 13 September 2026); RDW, rijbewijscategorieën (read 8 September 2026); CBR, wat betekent code 78 (read 8 September 2026).
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 exchange route
about €116(€111–€121)
| Item | Typical | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Municipal exchange fee (national maximum) | €54 | |
| Health declaration (Gezondheidsverklaring) | €47 | |
| Passport photo (fotomatrix standard)estimate | €15 | €10–€20 |
CBR fees: CBR tariff table 2026; estimates are labelled. Adjust lessons, city and attempts in the checker. Compare the routes →
Timeline
About 3–6 weeks, in 5 steps:
- Health declaration via Mijn CBR(~4 weeks (CBR processing))
- Passport photo
- Gemeente appointment
- Hand in your foreign licence
- Collect your Dutch licence(RDW decides within 15 working days; collect ~5 working days later)
Common mistakes with agreement-country licences
- Counting on all categories coming back. Only the categories on the agreement list are exchanged; the others are waived on a waiver form (afstandsverklaring). source
- Letting the licence expire first. The RDW cannot exchange an expired non-EU licence. source
- Forgetting the residency test. You must have lived in the issuing country for at least 185 days in the year the licence was issued. source
- Driving past day 185 while the exchange is pending. The 185 days run from your registration; the pending application does not extend them. source
Why this is confusing
Three things must all be true for the exchange: the licence is still valid, the category is on the list, and you lived in the issuing country 185 days in the year of issue. The exchange returns only the listed categories.
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.