Which service should you use right now?
For the first ten days of your baby’s life, speak to your verloskundige about the baby’s health. If someone has another illness or pain, phone your huisarts (general practitioner, GP). For a child’s growth and Rijksvaccinatieprogramma (RVP, National Immunisation Programme) vaccinations, get in touch with jeugdgezondheidszorg (JGZ, youth health care); there is no charge for this care. Your regional GGD is responsible for residence-permit tuberculosis (TB) tests and infection control. Check regional sexual-health appointments, travel vaccines and fees through the GGD finder.
This guide serves newcomers and parents in the Netherlands. GGD means Gemeentelijke Gezondheidsdienst (municipal public-health service). Under JGZ, a consultatiebureau gives preventive care to young children. JGZ is arranged by your gemeente (municipality) through its GGD, a Centrum voor Jeugd en Gezin (CJG, Centre for Youth and Family), or another provider. Illness is diagnosed and treated by your huisarts.
Which service should you use?
Find the service below that fits your question. Before booking, check the appointment rules of your own provider and any cost.
Wide tables can be scrolled from side to side.
| What you need | First service to contact | Main limit or cost |
|---|---|---|
| Child growth, development, parenting or RVP vaccination | Local JGZ; consultatiebureau for young children | Preventive JGZ care and programme vaccinations are free |
| Illness, pain, symptoms or a diagnosis | Huisarts; verloskundige for your baby’s health during the first ten days | With Dutch basic health insurance, GP consultations are covered; tests, medicines and hospital care can have other costs |
| Pregnancy, birth or the first weeks after birth | Verloskundige; huisarts for unrelated illness | Use maternity care rather than a GGD appointment |
| A school health invitation | Local JGZ organisation | The preventive check is free and voluntary |
| A residence-permit TB test | Regional GGD | Only if the permit instructions say you need it; ask your GGD about booking, the test and the fee |
| A GGD call about contact with an infectious disease | The GGD named in the call or letter | Follow its investigation instructions; use the huisarts for illness |
| A sexually transmitted infection (STI) test or sexual-health question | Huisarts for everyone; GGD sexual health centre if you meet its criteria and it has space | Accepted GGD care is free; GP laboratory tests can use your eigen risico (compulsory deductible) |
| Travel advice or a travel vaccination | Most GGDs or a private vaccination clinic | Normally paid; check prices and insurance reimbursement |
| Urgent or life-threatening care | Huisarts, huisartsenpost (GP out-of-hours service), or 112 | Use these urgent-care routes rather than a GGD or JGZ appointment |
Who delivers public health care and child health care?
The gemeente records residents and births. It has responsibility for local public health and JGZ. The 25 regional GGDs manage infectious diseases, keep track of public health, and offer other regional services. JGZ monitors children’s physical, mental and social development. The huisarts treats medical problems of individuals. RIVM (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment) runs national programmes including the RVP and receives public-health data.
Look on your gemeente’s website to find your JGZ provider. For adult public-health services, use the GGD finder. Different organisations may provide these services in your region.
What takes place after your baby is born?
You must register your baby’s birth with the municipality where the birth happened within three days. The birth day itself is not counted. Weekends and public holidays may lengthen the deadline, giving you at least two working days. The municipality passes the baby’s details to RIVM so that JGZ can arrange newborn screening.
The hielprik (heel-prick test) is normally done in the first week, often at home or in hospital. If your baby has not received it within seven days, phone the regional RIVM office shown in the heel-prick contact guidance. The gehoortest (hearing test) is also usually given at home during the first week. In some regions, babies are invited to a clinic a few weeks later. Both tests are free and voluntary.
Your baby is usually invited by the consultatiebureau at around one month. A jeugdarts (youth doctor) or jeugdverpleegkundige (youth nurse) records growth and development. They talk with you about feeding, sleep, language and parenting. They provide RVP vaccinations and can send your child for extra support. JGZ gives preventive care. In your baby’s first ten days, contact the verloskundige about the baby’s health. After that, phone the huisarts for illness or new symptoms.
What takes place during a school health check?
JGZ carries on through primary and secondary school. The invitation explains if your child fills in a questionnaire, has measurements taken, or talks with a youth health professional. Taking part is voluntary. A school may provide the room and the timetable. JGZ examines your child. The school does not get your child’s individual result. If you have questions or objections, contact the JGZ organisation named in the invitation.
Who is allowed to view your child’s health record?
The Digitaal Dossier Jeugdgezondheidszorg (DD JGZ, Digital Youth Health Care Record) contains your child’s growth, development and JGZ notes. Only the JGZ doctor, nurse or assistant who cares for your child can open it. A huisarts, hospital, school or gemeente does not receive automatic access. JGZ usually requests consent before sharing information with another care provider. Information may be shared without consent when it is necessary for required infectious-disease reporting, or to investigate or stop domestic violence or child abuse.
When health professionals suspect abuse, they must follow the meldcode (domestic violence and child abuse reporting code). The process may involve discussing concerns, asking for advice and reporting to Veilig Thuis (domestic violence and child abuse advice and reporting service). You can request anonymous advice through Rijksoverheid (Dutch government) child-safety guidance. Call 112 if a child is in immediate danger.
How can you arrange vaccinations for your child?
RIVM organises the RVP, and JGZ provides the vaccinations. Vaccinations in the programme are free and voluntary. The ages and products for vaccination can change. Check what your child is offered by using the current RIVM vaccination schedule. The invitation gives the local place and time. To change an appointment or discuss a vaccination, contact the JGZ named in the invitation.
If your child moves to the Netherlands from another country, a regional RIVM office requests a copy of their vaccination record. RIVM then sends a list of the vaccinations your child can still receive. Should you not respond, RIVM sends an invitation based on your child’s age. Bring every foreign vaccination record, even if it is in another language. If you receive no request or invitation, ask local JGZ how to send the records. Let JGZ assess which vaccinations your child needs.
Vaccination and data sharing are two separate choices
You may accept vaccination but refuse identifiable data sharing with RIVM. JGZ has to ask about these choices separately. It always sends anonymous vaccination data. If you do not give permission to identify your child, RIVM cannot match the vaccination to their record. Tell staff what you have chosen and keep the vaccination certificate.
Whom do you contact during pregnancy and after birth?
A verloskundige is your first point of contact for pregnancy, birth and the first weeks after birth. After a positive pregnancy test, you can register without a GP referral. De Verloskundige (Dutch midwives’ information site) explains the GP’s role during pregnancy. In the first ten days after birth, use the midwife’s route for concerns about your baby. You can ask the midwife about your own health until six weeks after birth. After the early handover, the huisarts deals with illness, and the consultatiebureau follows growth, development and vaccinations. The pregnancy and birth guide explains prenatal screening, birth registration and maternity care.
How can you arrange a TB test for a residence permit?
The IND (Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst, immigration and naturalisation service) TB requirements apply to certain applicants for a regular residence permit. Exemptions cover nationality, age and a recent test taken in the Netherlands. Check the current list for your situation. Asylum residence permits have different requirements.
If you signed the IND declaration of intent, you have to take the test within three months after you receive your residence permit. If you miss that period, your permit may be cancelled. The completed referral form must also reach the IND within those three months. Follow these steps:
- Fill in part 1 of IND TB referral form 7604 (PDF, about 300 KB) as much as you can before you book.
- Make your booking with your regional GGD early enough to meet the deadline.
- Bring the referral form to your appointment.
- Ask the GGD to confirm that the completed form was sent to the IND in time.
The GGD determines which test is suitable for your situation. Ask your GGD about the fee, documents, payment, accessibility and any follow-up. A different region may have another price or test method.
Why has the GGD been in touch with you about an infection?
Certain infectious diseases have to be reported to the GGD by doctors and laboratories. The GGD then evaluates the risk, tries to trace the source, and determines whether people who had contact need information or protective measures. You might be contacted either as the patient or because you were exposed. Do what the GGD tells you in its call or letter. If you become ill or need treatment, contact the huisarts. For national monitoring, RIVM receives a pseudonymised report: identifying details are replaced, so RIVM does not know who you are.
Can you get a free STI test at the GGD?
A huisarts can help with STI testing or other sexual-health questions. The GGD’s Centrum Seksuele Gezondheid (CSG, sexual health centre) provides extra care for specific groups when both conditions apply: higher STI risk and an obstacle to GP care. People under 25 are among the intended groups, but age by itself does not secure a testing appointment. National funding is capped, and access also depends on eligibility and appointment availability. Check the rules at your regional GGD before visiting a clinic.
Under this scheme, if the GGD accepts you, you pay nothing for the consultation, the test, or any treatment given there. You may request anonymous care. If you do not qualify, or if the GGD has no room, go to the huisarts. With Dutch basic health insurance, the GP consultation is not charged to your compulsory deductible. Laboratory tests or medicines can be charged to it.
For people younger than 25, Sense (sexual health advice service) provides free, confidential discussions about sexuality and includes addresses by region. Before you make an appointment with a private clinic, ask what it costs.
How do you go about booking travel vaccinations?
Travel advice and vaccinations are available from most GGDs. GGD Reisvaccinaties (GGD travel vaccinations) shows which locations take part, gives country details, and explains how to book. You can also use a private vaccination clinic. Usually, travel vaccines are not covered by the free national programmes. Ask the provider what it charges for the consultation and the vaccine. Some costs might be paid back by your insurer, so review your policy before you book.
What should you do if there is a problem with an appointment?
What happens if you do not receive an invitation, or if you move?
Registering a birth, or being listed in the Basisregistratie Personen (BRP, Personal Records Database), allows organisations to send invitations. Should you not receive an invitation for child health care, look up the local JGZ on the gemeente website and request an appointment. When you move, inform both the JGZ organisation you are leaving and the new one. Ask them how the DD JGZ will be transferred. Hold on to vaccination certificates and records from abroad until the new provider says they have received them. For a heel prick on a newborn, follow the seven-day contact rule described above.
How can you request support with language or accessibility?
Before the appointment, tell the provider what support you need for language, communication, mobility or sensory needs. The provider assesses whether you need an interpreter. It also assesses whether you need a professional interpreter. Ask who will arrange the interpreter and whether you have to pay. If the conversation concerns consent, sexual health, child safety, or another complex or sensitive subject, ask for a professional interpreter. Do not use a child as an interpreter. The interpreter guidance permits exceptions for clear emergencies or simple requests.
How can you make a complaint about care?
Start by asking the organisation that provided the service to explain the problem or put it right. If this does not help, request its independent klachtenfunctionaris (complaints officer). If you would rather not speak to the provider directly, you can also contact the complaints officer. This assistance is free. If your complaint is about a heel prick or hearing test, contact the testing organisation about how it performed the test. Contact RIVM about the national programme. Keep copies of correspondence, dates, names, and a note of what you want the provider to change.
Whom should you call when you need urgent medical help?
When the GP practice is open, call the huisarts for urgent medical help. Outside those hours, first call the regional huisartsenpost. For a life-threatening emergency, call 112. During pregnancy or in the first days after birth, also follow your midwifery practice’s urgent number and instructions. The emergency-care guide explains these routes and costs.
To find other public-health services, begin by entering your postcode in the GGD finder. For preventive child care, locate JGZ through your gemeente’s website. Before booking, confirm that you have the right provider and check any fee.
For registration and school arrangements, continue with these guides:
- BSN (citizen service number) and municipality registration
- The Dutch school system: primary and secondary school
Official Sources
- GGD GHOR Nederland (national association of public-health and regional emergency medical services): Wat doet een GGD - The national role of the 25 regional GGDs, their statutory public-health tasks, municipal responsibility, and regional variation in additional services.
- GGD GHOR Nederland: Jeugdgezondheidszorg - Free preventive youth health care, consultatiebureau and school-age services, and the fact that a municipality may use a GGD, CJG, or another JGZ organisation.
- GGD.nl: Find your regional GGD - The national postcode and town search for the responsible regional GGD.
- Rijksoverheid: Questions about the health and development of a child aged 0–4 - Free consultatiebureau advice, growth and development follow-up, vaccinations, and the invitation around one month after birth.
- Rijksoverheid: What is the Digital Youth Health Care Record? - What the DD JGZ contains, who can access it, consent for sharing, and the handover to school-age JGZ.
- Rijksoverheid: How to register a birth - The duty to register a birth within three days and the weekend and public-holiday extensions.
- PNS (RIVM’s prenatal and newborn screening website): The heel prick test - Timing, home and hospital routes, voluntary participation, cost, results, privacy, and what to do if the test has not happened within seven days.
- PNS (RIVM): The hearing test - Timing, regional home or clinic routes, voluntary participation, cost, results, records, and follow-up.
- RIVM: National Immunisation Programme - The current vaccination schedule, voluntary participation, free programme vaccinations, and records in MijnRIVM (vaccination and screening portal).
- Rijksvaccinatieprogramma: Communication, registration and invitations - Separate consent for vaccination and identifiable data exchange, central invitations, and the process for vaccination records from abroad.
- De Verloskundige: Appointments with the midwife - The midwife’s prenatal, birth and postnatal role and the handover to the GP and consultatiebureau after birth.
- IND: Requirements that apply to everyone - The current TB-test requirement for regular residence permits and the exemption categories.
- IND: Declaration of intent to undergo a TB test (7603) - The three-month deadline after receiving the permit, the possible residence consequence, and the referral-form instruction.
- RIVM: Mandatory reporting of infectious diseases - Reporting by doctors and laboratories, the GGD’s source and contact investigation, protective measures, and pseudonymised reporting to RIVM.
- Rijksoverheid: Sexual health care - Universal access through the GP and free or anonymous supplementary GGD care for specific groups, subject to availability.
- RIVM: Aanvullende Seksuele Gezondheidszorg (ASG, supplementary sexual health care) - The target groups, priority rules, adjusted testing policy for young people, and the financial cap on GGD sexual-health care.
- Sense: Help and advice - Regional STI-testing addresses and free confidential sexual-health consultations for people under 25.
- GGD GHOR Nederland: Travel health care - Travel advice and vaccination at most, but not all, GGDs and the regional appointment route.
- Rijksoverheid: Are vaccinations free? - Which government vaccination programmes are free and that travel and other non-programme vaccines are normally paid, with possible reimbursement.
- Rijksoverheid: Sharing a medical record - The normal consent rule and the public-health and safeguarding exceptions for sharing health information.
- Rijksoverheid: What to do if you suspect child abuse - The 112 route for immediate danger and anonymous advice from Veilig Thuis.
- KNMG (Royal Dutch Medical Association): Quality standard for interpreter use in health care - How a provider assesses the need for an interpreter, when a professional interpreter is needed, and why children should not interpret for adults.
- Rijksoverheid: Complaints about a doctor or care provider - The provider-first complaint route and the free independent complaints officer.
- Rijksoverheid: GP out-of-hours service or emergency department? - Calling the GP out-of-hours service first and calling 112 in a life-threatening emergency.
- Rijksoverheid: Costs on a GP invoice - That GP consultations do not use the compulsory deductible, while tests, medicines and referred care can.
- IND: TB test referral form (7604) - Complete part 1 before booking, take the form to the GGD, and ensure the completed form reaches the IND within three months after receiving the permit.
- De Verloskundige: The GP’s role during pregnancy and after birth - You can register directly with a midwifery practice without a GP referral; the GP handles illness unrelated to pregnancy.
- NCJ (Dutch Centre for Youth Health): Basispakket Jeugdgezondheidszorg (basic youth health care package) - JGZ follows growth and development, advises on feeding, sleep and parenting, and arranges extra support or referral when needed.
- Rijksoverheid: Meldcode huiselijk geweld en kindermishandeling - The professional reporting-code steps: assess signs, seek advice, discuss concerns and decide whether to arrange help or report.
- Rijksvaccinatieprogramma: Your consent - Vaccination and identifiable data sharing need separate consent; you can accept vaccination without agreeing to identifiable data sharing.
- GGD Reisvaccinaties: Travel advice and appointments - Participating GGD locations, country advice, appointments and tariffs by GGD.
- IND: Appendix exemption from a TB test (7644) - The current list of nationalities exempt from the residence-permit TB test.
- GGD Amsterdam: TB examination for the IND - Amsterdam’s local booking, documents, charges and test methods; use your own GGD’s instructions outside this region.
- GGD GHOR Nederland: About the association - The association represents municipal public-health services and regional medical emergency organisations.
- KNMG: About the Royal Dutch Medical Association - The official English name of KNMG.