Begin by contacting your employer, educational institution, or recognition authority.
If the job is non-regulated, ask your employer if it requires an IDW evaluation. If you plan to study, get in touch with the institution first. For a gereglementeerd beroep (regulated profession), contact the recognition authority for that profession. A paid IDW evaluation in 2026 costs €148.83 for a single diploma. IDW’s current estimate is 6 working weeks for the first check and another 8 working weeks for evaluation.
Pick a route based on your goal.
When you hold a foreign diploma, use your purpose to find the first contact listed in the table. A regulated profession means a job that has legal qualification requirements.
Wide tables can be scrolled sideways.
| Your purpose | First step |
|---|---|
| Apply for a non-regulated job | Ask the employer whether it needs an IDW evaluation before you order one. |
| Apply to a Dutch study programme | Contact your institution first. It decides admission, exemptions and language requirements. See IDW guidance on evaluation for study. |
| Work in a regulated profession | Search the regulated professions database and contact the authority shown for the Netherlands. |
| You cannot provide all education documents | If you have or had refugee status, upload what you safely have. IDW decides which assessment is possible. The missing-document section explains the options. In other cases, IDW asks for a statement from your school that the document is no longer available. The statement must be in your name. |
Credential evaluation and professional recognition serve different purposes.
A diplomawaardering (credential evaluation) compares your education level. Erkenning van beroepskwalificaties (recognition of professional qualifications) determines whether you are allowed to practise a regulated profession or use its protected title. Recognition is required for permanent work in a regulated profession. For temporary or occasional work, a prior declaration may be used instead. Before you begin, check the rules of the relevant authority.
See what you get from an IDW evaluation.
An IDW evaluation compares your foreign programme to a Dutch level. Dutch levels include mbo (secondary vocational education), hbo (higher professional education), and wo (research university education). The Dutch school system guide explains these levels.
Your application is submitted through IDW. Nuffic (Dutch organisation for internationalisation in education) assesses higher-education diplomas and most secondary-school diplomas. SBB (vocational education and business cooperation organisation) assesses vmbo (pre-vocational secondary education) and mbo diplomas.
An evaluation comes with these limits:
- An evaluation is official advice. It does not have legal binding force and does not create automatic rights.
- Your permission to work depends on your residence document and immigration route. See the work rights by residence permit guide.
- An evaluation does not guarantee a job, a salary scale, admission, or exemptions. The employer or institution decides those matters.
- For a regulated profession, the competent authority decides whether you are allowed to work in it.
For a standard evaluation, your diploma has to be nationally recognised and obtained through regular education at an institution that the country’s government recognises. IDW requires a programme of at least 1,000 hours. Short courses, unrecognised diplomas, Dutch diplomas, and work experience are not covered by this service.
If you finished a programme but the diploma has not yet been issued, request a statement in your name from your institution that confirms you will receive the diploma later. If payment is required before the diploma is released, the statement must also confirm that you applied and paid.
Get ready for a paid work application.
For a non-regulated job, apply if your employer requests it or if you want a comparison with a Dutch level. An employer or organisation can also apply if you give permission. IDW evaluates one diploma for each application. Before you submit, check all the following document requirements:
- Upload clear colour scans of both the diploma or certificate and the full grade list or diploma supplement.
- Upload a passport, residence permit, or identity card that will stay valid for at least 3 months.
- For extra requirements, check IDW’s country-specific document list.
- If your diploma, grade list, or supplement is not in Dutch, English, German, French, or Afrikaans, include a certified translation made by a sworn translator. IDW will accept a school-issued English version if you also upload the original document.
Include these supporting documents if they apply to you:
- For a master’s degree, add your bachelor’s certificate and transcripts.
- For a PhD (doctorate), add your bachelor’s and master’s certificates and transcripts.
- If previous study provided exemptions, include the diploma and transcripts from that study.
- If the name on your diploma differs from the name on your identity document, provide proof of the name change.
Upload a scan of the original document.
When applying to IDW, upload a scan of the original document. According to the IDW FAQ, do not include an apostille (official authenticity certificate) or any translation of that apostille. A school or professional authority may follow different authentication and translation rules. Follow that body’s instructions separately.
Review the costs and free options.
In October 2026, a personal paid evaluation costs €148.83. Before you pay, check whether one of the free or funded routes below applies to you.
Wide tables can be scrolled sideways.
| Route | Cost and condition |
|---|---|
| Work or personal study evaluation | €148.83 including VAT (value added tax) in 2026, for one diploma per application. |
| UWV (Employee Insurance Agency) benefit route | UWV can pay for eligible benefit recipients. Your UWV WERKbedrijf (employment service) contact must approve the request and send IDW an inkooporder (purchase order). Ask your contact before applying. |
| Inburgering (civic integration), naturalisation or permanent residence | One evaluation may be free under the IDW free-route conditions. For inburgering, your DUO (Dutch education service) letter must say you had to start on or after 1 January 2015. For naturalisation or a permanent-residence application, DUO decides eligibility. |
| Dutch education institution | Most government-funded institutions can request free advice for a prospective student. You receive no personal IDW report through that route. |
For instance, if an employer requests an evaluation of your master’s diploma, you submit one application and pay €148.83 in 2026. You still upload your bachelor’s documents together with that application.
The free route that applies to you decides which DUO letter, residence document, proof of your BSN (citizen service number), and education documents you must provide. Read IDW’s document list for your situation. For a free evaluation for inburgering, naturalisation, or permanent residence, no certified translation is required.
If you have already received an inburgeringsdiploma (civic integration diploma), IDW states that these free routes are no longer available to you. The special free route for refugees from Ukraine ended on 1 January 2025. You may still qualify under another route.
Use diploma evidence in your labour-market portfolio.
ONA (Oriëntatie op de Nederlandse Arbeidsmarkt, Dutch labour market orientation) is one of the inburgering exams. An Indicatie Onderwijsniveau (ION, indication of education level) estimates your education level. IDW can issue an ION if you have or had refugee status and no longer have any education documents that you can safely obtain. The missing-document section explains the options.
Resultaatkaart 1 (result card 1), vraag 3 (question 3), has the option “Ik heb geen diplomawaardering/ION nodig, want:” (I need no credential evaluation or education-level indication, because:). If that option fits your situation, tick the box and write your reason. If you tick that you have a diplomawaardering or ION, DUO asks you to add a copy to your ONA portfolio.
DUO’s ONA toelichting (instructions for the result cards) directs you to the Informatiecentrum Diplomawaardering. You now apply through IDW; IcDW checks each application first. The instructions state that a diplomawaardering is free. Follow IDW’s current eligibility rules in the cost table above: the inburgering route requires a DUO start date on or after 1 January 2015 and ends after you receive your inburgeringsdiploma.
If the job you select on card 1 is regulated, the competent authority for that job decides whether you may work in it. The ONA portfolio and result cards guide explains all 8 result cards.
Speak to the institution before you pay for study.
If you already know which programme you want, send your diploma to the institution first. The institution decides admission and exemptions, and it may require a language test. Most government-funded institutions can ask Nuffic or SBB for free advice. If you want to know your diploma’s Dutch level before choosing a programme, you can request a personal paid evaluation.
Apply in Mijn IDW
After you choose the work, study, or inburgering route, follow these steps in the order shown. Only send original documents by post if IDW asks you to.
- Look at the document list for your route.
- Create a Mijn IDW account.
- Fill in one application for one diploma.
- Upload the scans that are requested.
- For a paid route, pay using the link that is emailed to you after submission. IDW lists iDEAL (Dutch online payment service) and credit card as payment options.
- Watch your account and email for requests for documents.
- Reply by providing the requested documents.
- When the signed PDF (digital document) is ready, download your own copy.
According to IDW’s processing notice, the initial check is estimated at 6 working weeks, and evaluation then takes an estimated 8 working weeks. A file that is complete from the start therefore takes about 14 working weeks in total. That total comes from adding the two estimates; it is not a promised completion date.
If documents are missing or unclear, your application returns to the initial-check queue for about another 6 working weeks. IDW may also ask for more information during evaluation. Before you plan a job or enrolment date, check the live notice.
The evaluation stays valid. The PDF and the related application stay available in Mijn IDW for 3 years after they are issued. After that, IDW removes them from your account, so keep your own copy.
If you have or had refugee status, apply even with missing documents.
If you have or had refugee status and cannot safely request missing education documents from the country where you studied, you may still apply to IDW. Do not put yourself or another person at risk in order to obtain papers. Upload the diploma, grade lists, and other education or work evidence that you have safely. Explain what documents are missing.
Use the Nuffic guidance for refugees when documents are lost or your study was interrupted. IDW decides which result it can give based on your evidence. There are four possible results:
Wide tables can be scrolled sideways.
| Result | What it is | When IDW can give it |
|---|---|---|
| Diplomawaardering | A comparison with a Dutch level | Enough diploma evidence is available |
| Opleidingswaardering (education evaluation) | A comparison of the part you completed with part of a Dutch programme. | You completed at least 1 year of the programme; IDW assesses whether an evaluation is possible |
| Indicatie Onderwijsniveau (ION) | An estimate based on what you tell IDW about your study | You have or had refugee status and have no education documents left that you can safely obtain |
| Bericht geen waardering (notice of no evaluation) | A notice that no evaluation can be made | The available information is not enough |
Contact the authority for a regulated profession.
Begin by searching for your exact profession in the regulated professions database. The route you need depends on your profession, the country where you qualified, and whether the work is permanent or temporary. The Business.gov professional qualifications overview explains the main routes.
A professional qualified in the EU (European Union), EEA (European Economic Area), or Switzerland who does temporary or occasional work may need a prior declaration rather than full recognition. Health and public-order professions can also require recognition before temporary work. Contact the authority before you start. To choose the authority you should contact, find your profession below:
Wide tables can be scrolled sideways.
| Profession | Authority or route |
|---|---|
| Doctor, nurse, dentist, pharmacist, physiotherapist and other BIG-register (Dutch healthcare professionals register) profession | Use the BIG-register foreign diploma procedures and advice wizard. |
| Teacher | Use DUO’s foreign teacher diploma route. |
| Childcare worker with an EEA or Swiss diploma | Check DUO’s childcare qualification route and its residence and training conditions. |
| Another regulated profession | Contact the authority listed for the Netherlands in the regulated professions database. |
| Non-regulated profession | Professional recognition is not required. Ask the employer whether an IDW evaluation is useful. |
Use the BIG route that applies to your country and profession.
BIG registration is required for patient care in 11 healthcare professions. It protects professional titles and the permission to carry out certain reserved procedures independently. Your foreign diploma must be recognised first. Professionals from Europe or Switzerland may instead qualify for temporary-service permission. That route requires permission before work begins and does not provide a BIG registration number.
The BIG advice wizard helps you select one of these three routes:
- Automatische erkenning met BIG-registratie, meaning automatic recognition with BIG registration, applies to designated EEA or Swiss diplomas in medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, midwifery and nursing.
- Erkenning van beroepskwalificaties, or recognition of professional qualifications, covers EEA or Swiss qualifications that are not eligible for automatic recognition.
- Verklaring van vakbekwaamheid, a certificate of competence, is usually for qualifications obtained outside the EEA and Switzerland. For exceptions that depend on the country, consult the BIG advice wizard.
To register with BIG, you must show proof of Dutch. Under the certificate-of-competence route, the levels you need vary by profession:
Wide tables can be scrolled from side to side.
| Professional level | Examples | Dutch level |
|---|---|---|
| Mbo | Nurse | B1 |
| Hbo | Physiotherapist, midwife | B2 |
| Academic | Doctor, dentist, pharmacist | B2+ (above B2 and below C1) |
Under the certificate-of-competence route, you must also prove that you can read English. The exception is verzorgende individuele gezondheidszorg (VIG, individual healthcare assistant). See the BIG language proof requirements. These rules apply only to the certificate-of-competence route.
For the certificate-of-competence route, the average time is 6 months to 1.5 years once BIG has received your completed application. Extra training may take 3 months to 2 years.
In 2026, applying and the commission assessment cost nothing. Tests and training can involve costs. See BIG registration costs €85 later.
For BIG registration after recognition of professional qualifications, you face additional work-experience or training requirements when your diploma is at least 5 years old. The same requirements apply when your recognition decision is more than 5 years old.
For BIG registration after a certificate of competence, additional work-experience or training requirements apply when that certificate is more than 5 years old.
Applying to DUO for teacher recognition
If you want to teach permanently, submit your application online via DUO. There is no fee. DUO assesses all five conditions:
- You have finished teacher training.
- Your training is at least at Dutch higher-education level.
- The diploma gives you authorisation to teach in the country where you earned it.
- That authorisation corresponds to the Dutch authorisation you are requesting.
- Your training was focused on that authorisation.
If online application is not possible, use the paper form from DUO. The Dutch DUO instructions separate diplomas from the EEA or Switzerland from diplomas obtained outside those countries. Select the form that matches your case.
For teaching that is temporary or occasional, DUO provides a separate registration of intention at no cost. You must have an EU residence permit and a diploma from the EEA or Switzerland. Your diploma must allow you to teach in the country that issued it and correspond to the Dutch authorisation you request. If your diploma comes from outside the EEA or Switzerland, you need recognition.
Certain roles in primary education and special education impose extra language requirements when the diploma was obtained outside the EEA. For the proof needed in your teaching language, use the current DUO page and form.
How to resolve frequent issues with decisions
Choose the route that fits the decision or error in question:
- When there is a factual mistake in your IDW evaluation, ask for a correction through Mijn IDW.
- If you do not agree with the IDW evaluation, file a complaint in Mijn IDW within 6 working weeks from the date shown on it. IDW expects to process the complaint in about 8 working weeks.
- When a professional authority denies recognition, consult its decision letter to find the objection procedure and deadline.
- If you object to an institution’s decision on admission or exemption, follow that institution’s own review or complaint procedure.
For a professional-recognition decision, an objection is usually due within 6 weeks. BIG counts the 6 weeks from the date at the top of its decision letter. The BIG objection and appeal instructions explain how to file an objection and later seek court review.
Confirm your route before applying
Check all five points before you submit:
- State the purpose in writing: work, study, a regulated profession or, if you have or have had refugee status, an assessment for missing documents.
- Before you pay for an IDW evaluation, ask your employer or the institution.
- If your goal is work, find out whether your profession is regulated before you apply to IDW.
- Use the document, translation and authentication rules set by the body that will decide your case.
- Take the current processing time into account, respond to requests for documents, and keep your own copy of every submission and decision.
To continue with your next task, use these guides:
- Documents to arrange before moving to the Netherlands
- Work rights by residence permit in the Netherlands
- Dutch CV and job application guide
Official Sources
- IDW: evaluation for work - Optional use for non-regulated work, required documents, translations, fee, one-diploma rule and complaint route.
- IDW: evaluation for study - Institution-first advice, admission limits, paid personal evaluation and document rules.
- IDW: free inburgering routes - Route-specific eligibility, documents, the one-free-evaluation rule, and the missing-document options and Indicatie Onderwijsniveau for people who have or had refugee status.
- IDW: frequently asked questions - The 2026 fee including VAT, translation exception, no-apostille rule, three-year removal of the evaluation and application from Mijn IDW, and Ukraine-route change.
- IDW: required documents - The five languages that need no certified translation (Dutch, English, German, French, Afrikaans), the school statement when a document can no longer be obtained, and no certified translation for the free inburgering route. PhD evaluations also require the bachelor’s and master’s certificates and transcripts.
- IDW: current processing times - The approximately 6-working-week initial check by IcDW, 8-working-week evaluation and repeat initial-check queue when documents are missing.
- Nuffic: applying for a credential evaluation - The Nuffic and SBB roles and the non-binding status of an evaluation.
- Nuffic: guidance for refugees - Alternative assessments when documents are lost or a programme was interrupted.
- SBB: evaluation for education institutions - Free advice for funded vocational institutions and alternative education assessments.
- Business.gov: professional qualifications - Regulated and non-regulated professions, jurisdiction and temporary-service distinctions.
- EU regulated professions database - The profession search and competent authority for the Netherlands.
- BIG-register: foreign diploma procedures - The three healthcare recognition routes and route-selection advice.
- BIG-register: language requirements - Route-specific Dutch and English proof for the certificate-of-competence procedure.
- BIG-register: timing and costs - Average certificate-of-competence timing, possible additional training and the €85 registration fee.
- BIG-register: objections and review - The 6-week objection deadline and later court-review route.
- DUO: working as a teacher with a foreign diploma - Permanent recognition, temporary teaching, five conditions, forms, language conditions and no application fee.
- DUO: ONA toelichting resultaatkaarten - Card 1, vraag 3: the IcDW name, the claim that a diplomawaardering is free, the ION for asielgerechtigden (people granted asylum) and the copy of a diplomawaardering or ION in the ONA portfolio.
- DUO: ONA resultaatkaart 1, beroepenoriëntatie (career orientation) - The vraag 3 options for a diplomawaardering or ION, including “Ik heb geen diplomawaardering/ION nodig, want:”.
- IDW: diplomas and unfinished programmes - National recognition and at least 1,000 study hours; exclusions, a statement for a diploma not yet issued, and at least one completed year for an education evaluation.
- IDW: Dutch processing notice - Original-language confirmation of the 6- and 8-working-week processing estimates and repeat queue.
- IDW: Dutch free-route conditions - Original-language eligibility and the cutoff after receiving an inburgeringsdiploma.
- IDW: country-specific documents - Additional documents required for each diploma country.
- Mijn IDW: application account - Official account portal for IDW applications.
- BIG-register: protected professions - Eleven regulated healthcare professions, protected titles, reserved procedures and foreign-diploma recognition.
- BIG-register: automatic recognition - Designated EEA or Swiss diplomas for five professions and combined recognition and registration.
- BIG-register: recognition of professional qualifications - Recognition of qualifications that are not automatically recognised. BIG’s commission guidance confirms the EEA and Swiss scope.
- BIG-register: certificate of competence - Generally for qualifications obtained outside the EEA and Switzerland; use the advice wizard for country-specific exceptions. The 6–18-month estimate starts after receipt of a complete application.
- BIG-register: registration after recognition - Professional-qualification route: diploma at least 5 years old or recognition more than 5 years old; additional work-experience or training requirements for BIG registration.
- BIG-register: temporary work - European and Swiss temporary-service permission, required before work starts, without BIG registration.
- DUO: Dutch teacher recognition instructions - Online application, fallback forms, EEA and Swiss boundaries, temporary-work conditions and teaching-language requirements.
- DUO: working in childcare - Separate childcare recognition route for EEA or Swiss qualifications and its residence and training conditions.
- NederlandWereldwijd (NetherlandsWorldwide, Dutch government information service): evaluation for work - Regular education at a government-recognised institution. Use IDW for current document, fee and processing rules.
- DUO: knowledge exams and ONA - ONA is a civic integration exam and its eight result cards form the portfolio with supporting evidence.
- DUO: civic integration service - Official DUO service for civic integration information and letters.
- UWV: official website - Official UWV service website; evaluation-funding conditions are sourced to IDW’s document list.
- BIG-register: Dutch registration requirements - The eleven professions for which BIG registration is required.
- BIG-register: who needs registration - The eleven professions, patient-work scope, protected titles and temporary-service exception.
- BIG-register: country rules for recognition - Professional-qualification recognition for EEA and Swiss diplomas and the certificate-of-competence route for qualifications outside that area.
- BIG-register: registration after professional-qualification recognition - Additional registration requirements when the diploma is at least 5 years old or recognition is more than 5 years old.
- BIG-register: registration after a certificate of competence - Additional registration requirements when the certificate of competence is more than 5 years old.
- BIG-register: British diploma exceptions - Country-specific recognition routes for British diplomas, depending on profession and issue date.