Tell the municipality about a move in the Netherlands in time, and report your departure before you go.
If you move within the Netherlands, you report the move to the gemeente (municipality) of your new home. Normally you can do this from 4 weeks before the move until 5 days after it, and weekend or holiday extensions apply. You have to deregister when you expect to be abroad for at least 8 months in one year, unless you are a qualifying professional seafarer. For departure, report it to the municipality where you currently live starting 5 days before you leave and up to the day you leave.
The guide deals with moves made by residents who are registered in the Basisregistratie Personen (BRP, Personal Records Database), and with registering again after you return from abroad. It also explains a briefadres (correspondence address) if you do not have a woonadres (residential address) or if you stay in an institution that qualifies.
Which address route applies to you, and your deadline
The BRP route you need depends on where you expect to stay and for how long. Check the dates below before making an appointment with the municipality.
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| Situation | BRP action | Legal window | Main limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Move to another address in the Netherlands | Report to the municipality where the new address is located | From 4 weeks before to 5 days after the move; weekend and holiday extensions apply | After the applicable reporting deadline, the municipality uses the date it received your report as the official move date. |
| No residential address, or a stay in a qualifying institution, while you remain a BRP resident | Ask the municipality for a correspondence address | The address-reporting window also applies to choosing a correspondence address | The municipality checks eligibility. A correspondence address is not a post office box. |
| Expect to spend at least 8 months abroad in a year | Deregister from your current municipality, except qualifying professional seafarers | From 5 days before departure until the departure day | The months need not be consecutive. Keeping a Dutch home alone does not remove the duty. Check the seafarer exception below. |
| Return and expect to spend at least 4 of the next 6 months in the Netherlands | Register as a resident in the municipality where you will live | Within 5 days after arrival | Book ahead. Later registration is allowed only in specific cases: awaiting a required permit without valid residence status, or awaiting an investigation because you cannot prove your identity. See the return guidance below. |
Warning
Report early enough so you can sort out a missing document
If you are moving within the Netherlands, try to report early during the 4-week window. If you are leaving the country, the reporting window starts 5 days before your departure. When you cannot get an appointment before the deadline, contact the municipality and ask how to submit in time. Making an appointment does not necessarily mean you have submitted the declaration.
How to report a move inside the Netherlands
You report your move to the municipality of your new address, even if you are moving within the same municipality. Your BRP record is transferred by the new municipality. You do not have to deregister from your old Dutch address first. The Rijksoverheid (Dutch government) instructions for reporting a move explain the national procedure.
When the 5-day deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday or recognised public holiday, it moves to the next working day. The 5-day period also has to include at least 2 working days, meaning days that are not Saturdays, Sundays or recognised public holidays. If necessary, the period is extended so those days are included. The RvIG (Rijksdienst voor Identiteitsgegevens, National Office for Identity Data) address-change instructions explain these rules under the Algemene termijnenwet (General Time Limits Act).
To report a move within the Netherlands, follow these steps:
- Look at your new municipality’s “verhuizing doorgeven” (report a move) page. Pick an online, postal or counter option and a date that falls inside the reporting window above. Check whether that municipality accepts reports before the moving day.
- Have a valid passport, driving licence, Dutch identity card or residence document ready. If you report online, follow the DigiD (Dutch digital identity) login instructions. Use the Get and use DigiD guide if you need help setting it up.
- Get proof that you live at the new address ready: a rental contract, purchase deed or permission from the main resident. Check which pages, signatures and copies of identity documents the municipality requires.
- Give the old address, the new address and the actual moving date. If the documents and the occupancy do not match, the municipality can ask questions or investigate.
- Keep the online receipt, the form you sent or the counter confirmation. Different municipalities use different confirmation channels and processing times.
- Check the moving date that is recorded in MijnOverheid (your government account). If you report on time, your declared moving date is used. If you report after the applicable deadline, the municipality uses the date it received your report. That date can affect benefits or services. If an organisation makes a decision using the wrong date, contact that organisation.
Who is allowed to report a move for you
You must follow the municipality’s rules on identity and authorisation. One of these reporting routes may apply:
- Someone who is 16 or older reports for themselves.
- Spouses and registered partners who live together can report for one another.
- A parent, guardian or carer reports for a child who is under 18.
- Parents can report for an adult child who lives with them.
- An adult child can report for a parent who lives with them.
- For a person under curatorship, a curator (court-appointed guardian) reports.
- Any other adult needs a written machtiging (authorisation).
If a housemate or unmarried partner wants to report for you, they need written authorisation.
Gemeente Rotterdam (Rotterdam municipality): report a move provides online and postal options and sends confirmation once processing is done. If other people are already registered at the address, Rotterdam requires a verklaring van inwoning (occupancy declaration), even if you own the home. If you need a huisvestingsvergunning (housing permit), you have to attend in person and cannot authorise someone else to go for you.
Your municipality might use a different form, route or processing time. Check its own page before you send any documents.
Proof of address and correspondence addresses
The BRP records the place where you really live. A contract, ownership document or consent from the main resident helps the municipality check that fact; it does not take the place of the fact itself.
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| Living situation | Evidence or route | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| You rent the whole home or a room | Send the signed contract pages that show your name, the address, start date and signatures | The municipality may ask for more evidence if the use or occupancy is unclear. |
| You own the home | Use the purchase deed or the municipality’s stated ownership evidence | A local occupancy form may still be required when other people are registered there. |
| You move in with the main resident | Use that municipality’s signed consent form and any requested protected copy of an identity document | Consent requirements and forms differ; prepare them before your reporting deadline. |
| You have no residential address or stay in a qualifying institution | Ask for a briefadres under the national correspondence-address rules | The municipality assesses the situation. The provider must pass government post to you. |
| A landlord says “no registration” | Report where you actually live and ask the municipality how to prove it | The contract phrase does not remove the BRP duty. Use the address-registration problems guide for investigation and housing routes. |
A correspondence address may be supplied by someone registered at a residential address or by a municipality-approved institution in the Netherlands. It cannot be a post office box. Bring your own identity document, the provider’s signed consent and the provider’s identity document or a copy of it. The provider has to pass government post on to you. If you qualify but cannot find a provider, the municipality must arrange an address for you, for example at the town hall. The municipality may later ask for information to check the arrangement.
Deregistering before you stay abroad for a long time
Unless you are a qualifying professional seafarer, you must deregister if you expect to spend at least two-thirds of a year abroad: 8 months or more. This is the test in article 2.43 of the Wet basisregistratie personen. The months do not have to be consecutive. Simply keeping or owning a Dutch home does not remove the duty.
For example, you plan to spend 5 months abroad in winter and another 4 months abroad in summer in the same year. That totals 9 months, so you must deregister unless the professional-seafarer exception applies, even though you come back between the two stays.
If all three of the following conditions are met, professional seafarers do not have to report their departure:
- During the period you are abroad, you work professionally as a seafarer on a vessel whose home port is in the Netherlands.
- Your expected stay outside the Netherlands is 2 years or less.
- You maintain an address in the Netherlands for the whole time.
This exception is confirmed by the RvIG emigration instructions. The rule is laid down in Article 29 of the Besluit basisregistratie personen. If your departure means you must deregister, review the following tasks:
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| Departure task | What to do | Boundary or evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Use the short window | Submit the departure declaration from 5 days before departure through the day you leave | For this window, NetherlandsWorldwide deregistration steps states that weekends and public holidays count. |
| Use your current municipality | Check its online, written or desk route | Routes vary. Do not assume another municipality’s digital form is available. |
| Only part of the family leaves | The family members leaving must attend in person, including minors, unless an attendance exception applies | Ask which consent documents your municipality needs. If health prevents personal attendance, ask about reporting through a representative. |
| Give the destination | State the destination country and foreign address; if unknown, add the address later | Keep your Registratie Niet-Ingezetenen (RNI, Non-residents Records Database) address current through MyRNI (non-resident details portal) or an RNI desk. The NetherlandsWorldwide instructions for changing your RNI address explain both routes. Updating is recommended so authorities can reach you. |
| Ask for proof | Ask at the desk for an international proof of deregistration if the destination needs it | The proof-of-deregistration rules say some municipalities do not issue it. The deregistration and emigration dates must match. A later RNI extract can serve as proof. |
| Keep your identifiers | The record moves to the RNI | Your burgerservicenummer (BSN, citizen service number) stays valid. Deregistration can affect benefits, insurance, pension and residence rights. |
Warning
Deregistration cannot be replaced by a correspondence address
You are required to deregister if you expect to be abroad for at least 8 months within a year, unless you are a professional seafarer who qualifies for the exception. Brief trips back do not make the year start again. Should your plans change while you are outside the Netherlands, get in touch with the Dutch municipality where you were last registered. The obligation remains even if you keep a Dutch home or correspondence address by itself.
Organisations that still need to be informed
The organisations that receive your BRP data vary according to your circumstances. The BRP data-sharing rules explain who gets it. In MijnOverheid, go to “Identiteit” (Identity) and then “Bekijk gedeelde gegevens” (View shared data). These government organisations may still require a direct notification.
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| Organisation or contract | What the BRP does | What you still do |
|---|---|---|
| Belastingdienst (Tax Administration) and Dienst Toeslagen (Benefits Agency) | They receive the address from the municipality | For a Dutch move, report your new rent for huurtoeslag (rent benefit), or stop it if the new home does not qualify. Follow the moving-home instructions linked in this row. Abroad, huurtoeslag ends; check the separate conditions for other benefits in the Dienst Toeslagen moving-abroad instructions. |
| IND (Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst, Immigration and Naturalisation Service), if you hold a residence permit | If you report a Dutch move on time, the municipality sends your new address to the IND | Report a late Dutch move to the IND yourself. Report a move abroad before departure, including affected children. Children aged 12 or older may report their own change. The IND address-reporting rules explain these duties. |
| DUO (Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs, Dutch education service), if you have student debt | BRP or RNI sharing does not replace DUO’s direct-notice rule for student debt abroad | Give DUO your foreign address yourself, as its repayment instructions require. If you receive digital post, keep your email address correct too. |
| UWV (Uitvoeringsinstituut Werknemersverzekeringen, Employee Insurance Agency) or SVB (Sociale Verzekeringsbank, Social Insurance Bank), if either pays you | A BRP change may reach the organisation, but it does not decide whether payment may continue abroad | Rijksoverheid’s emigration checklist says to report departure directly to UWV or SVB. Check whether your payment can continue abroad. |
Check these separate actions for insurance, pensions, municipal support and private records.
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| Organisation or contract | What the BRP does | What you still do |
|---|---|---|
| Health insurer | Health insurers can receive BRP data | Ask your insurer for the coverage end or continuation date. If your status is unclear, ask SVB for an assessment under the Wet langdurige zorg (Wlz, Long-term Care Act). The Wlz insurance questions explain the route. |
| Pension fund | Pension organisations can receive BRP data | Ask the fund what departure changes and make sure it can contact and pay you abroad. |
| Wet maatschappelijke ondersteuning (Wmo, Social Support Act) support or bijstand (social assistance) from a municipality | The new municipality decides eligibility for its support under separate rules | Ask the new municipality which support, if any, you must apply for again. |
| Private contracts and care providers | BRP sharing may update some care records; check each organisation’s own process | Tell your bank, employer, landlord, energy and internet companies, doctor, dentist and private insurers about the move. Keep their confirmations. |
A separate check with your new municipality is needed for municipal support. If you are doing inburgering (civic integration), use Moving house during inburgering to check your new municipality, your PIP (personal integration and participation plan), your school and any exams you have booked.
In Mijn Inburgering (your civic integration account), you can also check your contact details and DUO letters. The official Mijn Inburgering login page lists which details you are able to change.
Even after an organisation receives your new address, it may still need details about rent, household, work, care or departure. Before you move in with someone, use the Toeslagen (benefits) overview. After moving within the Netherlands, use the Municipal and water-board taxes guide to check local bills.
Address dates, fines and rights of residence
Begin with the date in the BRP and the decision made by the organisation concerned. Check your insurance, benefit and residence status with the organisation responsible.
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| Issue | Possible consequence | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic move reported after the applicable reporting deadline | The municipality records the receipt date, which can change a period used for a benefit or service | Submit your report now, keep proof and ask the organisation that made the decision to explain its dates. |
| Address change reported late or incorrectly | In 2026, the municipality may impose a fine of up to €325 | Read the fine decision. The municipality decides whether to impose a fine; it is not automatic. |
| Municipality doubts who lives at an address | The municipality may start an address investigation, request evidence or visit the home, then correct wrong BRP data | Respond by the stated deadline and keep copies of occupancy evidence. |
| You move abroad | Benefit, pension and Dutch health-insurance outcomes depend on their own rules | Check each organisation. Use the health-insurance guide rather than treating deregistration as an insurance decision. |
| You have a Dutch residence permit or an EU (European Union) residence right | The IND checks your hoofdverblijf (main residence): where you live and spend most of your time. A long absence or moving it abroad can affect your residence right. | Use the IND main-residency rules linked above for your exact category and the residence-permit overview to identify it before booking a long stay. |
Warning
The BRP and the IND apply different tests for absence
For the BRP test, the time you expect to spend abroad is counted. The IND uses different tests for regular, study, highly skilled migrant, researcher, asylum, long-term EU, EU-law and Brexit residence rights. Every one has its own limits and exceptions. Before you plan a long absence, check the rule that applies to the residence right shown on your document.
How to check and correct your address record
A saved form is proof of what you submitted; MijnOverheid shows what is currently in the BRP. Before you contact another organisation about an incorrect address or date, use both.
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| Step | Action | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Keep the receipt | Save the submitted form, attachments and confirmation | An appointment booking alone may not prove that the declaration was filed. |
| Check the BRP | After the move date, open MijnOverheid and check the registered address | Municipal processing times vary. Contact the municipality if the expected confirmation does not arrive. |
| Request a correction | If the address or date is wrong, ask the responsible municipality to correct it and attach evidence | For a declaration received after the applicable reporting deadline, the receipt date is the recorded move date. Evidence of an earlier physical move does not by itself make that date incorrect. |
| Respond to an investigation | Use the deadline and evidence route in the municipality’s letter | A phone call does not replace the requested written response. |
| Submit a bezwaar (objection) | The usual deadline is 6 weeks after the decision is announced. To dispute a correction refusal, address decision or fine, follow the written decision. The Rijksoverheid objection guide explains the route. | Include your name, address, date, the decision, your reasons and signature. Explain the outcome you want and attach evidence where useful. Submitting an objection is free. |
Common address problems
Select the action that fits your present situation.
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| Problem | First action | Do not assume |
|---|---|---|
| You already moved within the Netherlands and missed the applicable reporting deadline | Report to the destination municipality now and keep the receipt | The municipality records the date it receives a late report. |
| You already live abroad but remain registered as a resident | Contact your last Dutch municipality, explain when you left and ask what evidence and route it requires | A retroactive date is not guaranteed. Resolve benefits, insurance and IND duties separately. |
| Your foreign address changes after deregistration | Update the RNI through MyRNI or the RNI route | The old Dutch municipality does not know every later foreign move automatically. |
| You have no fixed home in the Netherlands | Ask the municipality of the proposed provider for a correspondence-address assessment | A stay abroad below the deregistration threshold does not by itself make you eligible. |
| You return and expect to spend at least 4 of the next 6 months here | Book resident registration in your new municipality. Everyone moving with you must attend in person unless a statutory exception applies. If health or imprisonment makes attendance impossible, ask the municipality how to report through a representative. | Register within 5 days after arrival unless one of the two delay exceptions below applies. For a shorter stay, check non-resident registration. Use the BSN and municipality-registration guide to check your route. |
If you do not have valid residence status and are waiting for a required residence permit, you may register more than 5 days after arrival. If you are unable to prove your identity, you may wait until the identity investigation is completed. After that, you must register. These specific exceptions are named in the Rijksoverheid rules on later registration.
Personal attendance may be prevented by health or imprisonment. Ask your municipality which representative is allowed to report for you. In the case of a health exception, the municipality may ask for a written statement from the doctor treating you. The conditions are explained in the RvIG guidance on reporting and personal attendance and in article 30 of the Besluit basisregistratie personen.
When you register as a resident after returning, bring valid identification and proof of occupancy. Ask what additional documents your family needs. There is no charge for resident registration. If you are returning from Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius or Saba, bring proof that you deregistered there. The NetherlandsWorldwide return plan explains how to plan an appointment and which documents are needed. Article 2.38 of the Wet basisregistratie personen sets the return test at no less than two-thirds of the next 6 months.
When a landlord or main resident prevents registration, keep your contract and evidence that you live at the address. For the next step, use the Address registration problems guide. If the municipality is checking an incorrect address, use the Berichtenbox (message box) in MijnOverheid for digital government mail where this is available.
Send your address report within the time window that applies to your situation. Keep your evidence and check MijnOverheid once the municipality has processed it. Inform organisations that have their own reporting duties and read their decisions. Forms and processing times differ from one municipality to another. Before submitting your report, check your municipality’s current page. Use MijnOverheid and Berichtenbox: set up digital government post to check your records and get government letters.
If you have registration problems or move while doing inburgering, use these guides:
Official Sources
- Rijksoverheid: How to report a move to the municipality - The destination municipality, ordinary domestic 4-week-before to 5-day-after window, official date for timely and late reports, valid ID, proof of occupancy, who may report and discretionary fine of up to €325. See RvIG for weekend and holiday deadline extensions.
- Wetten.overheid.nl (Dutch legislation database): Wet basisregistratie personen - Articles 2.38 and 2.43: at least two-thirds of 6 months in the Netherlands or a year abroad. Address-reporting windows, resident representatives, correspondence addresses, corrections and discretionary fines up to €325.
- Rijksoverheid: When to register as a BRP resident - Free resident registration within 5 days. Later registration is allowed while awaiting a required permit without valid residence status, or an investigation because identity cannot be proved; registration follows that investigation. Also covers accompanying family and shorter-stay non-resident registration.
- Rijksoverheid: Registering at a briefadres - Eligibility without a residential address or in an institution, no PO box, municipality assessment, possible providers, mandatory municipal fallback and required identity and consent documents.
- Rijksoverheid: When to deregister from the BRP - The public guidance on extended absence, keeping a Dutch home, non-resident status and later foreign-address updates. For the exact statutory threshold, see article 2.43 of the Wet basisregistratie personen.
- NetherlandsWorldwide: How to deregister when going abroad - The 5-day departure window, weekends and holidays, municipal variation, in-person rule when part of the family stays, already-abroad action, RNI transfer, valid BSN, later foreign address and notified organisations.
- NetherlandsWorldwide: Requesting proof of deregistration - The at-the-desk and same-date conditions, municipal variation, and the later RNI-extract route after deregistration.
- NetherlandsWorldwide: Changing RNI details - The routes for keeping a foreign address, email address and telephone number current through MyRNI or an RNI desk.
- Rijksoverheid: Who receives BRP data - That recipients and data depend on personal situation, example authorised organisations, the MijnOverheid shared-data view and the free municipality disclosure request.
- Rijksoverheid: Address investigations - Signals, possible investigation and home visit, correction of wrong records, government consequences and checking the registered address in MijnOverheid.
- Rijksoverheid: Objecting to a government decision - The usual 6-week objection period, required contents, free procedure and instruction to follow the decision for its exact route.
- Gemeente Rotterdam: Reporting a move - A Rotterdam example of online and postal routes, confirmation and an occupancy declaration when others are registered. A housing-permit applicant must attend personally and cannot authorise another person.
- Gemeente Den Haag: Reporting departure abroad - A named municipal example of digital, written and desk routes, attendance when part of a family leaves, destination details, processing, MijnOverheid checking and proof.
- Dienst Toeslagen: Moving home - That the address comes from the municipality, while a claimant reports new rent or stops rent benefit for a non-qualifying home.
- Dienst Toeslagen: Moving abroad - That the foreign address comes through the municipality, rent benefit ends abroad and healthcare, childcare and child-budget routes depend on separate conditions.
- Rijksoverheid: Residence-permit address reporting - Timely domestic address changes pass to the IND. A late domestic report and a move abroad need direct notice; children aged 12 or older may report their own change.
- IND: Main residency - Permit-specific absence standards, signals, exceptions and the possible withdrawal or non-extension of a residence right.
- Rijksoverheid: Emigration checklist - Departure details, DigiD preparation, health-insurance and pension checks, and direct reporting to UWV or SVB for a benefit.
- DUO: Repaying debt from abroad - The direct foreign-address duty for student debt, correct email for digital post, and the risk of unnoticed repayment arrears.
- SVB: Wlz insurance questions - That Dutch health-insurance status abroad depends on what the person does and may require an insurer check or an SVB Wlz assessment.
- NetherlandsWorldwide: Returning to the Netherlands - Appointment planning, the 5-day registration rule, core documents, accompanying-family attendance guidance, and proof needed when returning from the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom. Statutory attendance exceptions are covered by the Besluit and RvIG sources.
- DigiD: login methods - The official digital identity service and available login methods.
- MijnOverheid: personal records and government post - Viewing municipality registration and receiving digital post through the Berichtenbox.
- NetherlandsWorldwide: Changing your RNI address - Foreign-address updates through MyRNI with DigiD or an RNI desk; updating is recommended, not compulsory.
- Inburgeren.nl (official civic integration website): Mijn Inburgering login - Viewing and changing contact details and reading DUO letters in Mijn Inburgering.
- Gemeente Het Hogeland: Moving notification checklist - Practical examples of direct notice to banks, employers, utilities, care providers and insurers.
- RvIG: Emigration instructions - The inclusive two-thirds-of-a-year departure threshold, nonconsecutive absence and the professional-seafarer exception: Dutch home port, expected absence no more than 2 years and a Dutch address throughout.
- RvIG: Address reporting and personal attendance - Resident-registration and departure attendance, representatives, health and imprisonment exceptions, and possible medical evidence.
- Staatsblad (Dutch Bulletin of Acts and Decrees) 2013, 493: Besluit basisregistratie personen - Articles 29 and 30: the professional-seafarer departure exception and statutory representation and personal-attendance exceptions, checked against current RvIG instructions.
- NetherlandsWorldwide: Registratie Niet-Ingezetenen - The non-resident register, its relationship to the BRP and routes for registration, details and extracts.
- Belastingdienst: Official homepage - The official Tax Administration website and services.
- UWV: Official homepage - The official Employee Insurance Agency website.
- SVB: Official homepage - The official Social Insurance Bank website and benefit services.
- RvIG: Address-change deadlines and recorded moving dates - The usual domestic reporting window, weekend and recognised-holiday extensions, at least 2 working days in the 5-day period and the recorded date for reports received after the applicable deadline.