Finding and using a huisarts (general practitioner, GP) in the Netherlands

Sign up with a local practice, and for most health issues contact the GP first

After you have settled, ask a huisartsenpraktijk (GP practice) close to you to sign you up. GP care covered by insurance does not carry a mandatory eigen risico (deductible). Phone your practice to book an appointment or to get urgent advice. When the practice is closed and your problem cannot wait, reach the huisartsen-spoedpost (out-of-hours GP service). In case of life-threatening danger, dial 112.

This guide is meant for newcomers who live in the Netherlands, including those who are still sorting out documents or insurance. For most physical and mental-health problems, your huisarts is the first person to contact. Being registered gives you one practice that keeps track of your health and arranges follow-up care. Some care can also be accessed directly, as the table below shows. If you need emergency help, use the urgent-care routes even when you are not registered.

Sign up with a practice close to you

Signing up with a GP is advised, but it is not required. Rijksoverheid (Dutch government) guidance on choosing a GP sets out the rule. To find a practice, take these steps:

1. Look for three practices close to your postcode.
2. Ask every practice if it takes patients who live at your address.
3. Check if the practice has a contract with your insurer for the policy you have.
4. Send in your registration using the method the practice asks for.

A practice may refuse you if it is full, if the travel distance is too great, or if you have care wishes the GP cannot agree to. Have the following information and documents ready. Ask the practice which items it needs for registration; bring your medical records and medicine details to your first appointment:

• The address where you live and your postcode
• A valid passport, identity card, residence document, or another form of identification the practice accepts
• Your burgerservicenummer (citizen service number, BSN)
• The name of your insurer, your policy number, and your type of policy
• Any medical records you already have, along with an up-to-date list of your medicines and allergies
• The apotheek (pharmacy) where you want your prescriptions to go

Some practices let you register online. Ask if the practice uses a form or offers an introductory appointment where you can talk about your needs.

If you switch GP later, inform both practices and ask your old practice to send your record to the new one. Your approval is needed to transfer the record.

When every practice tells you it is full

If practices near you are full, ask your zorgverzekeraar (health insurer) for zorgbemiddeling (care mediation). SKGZ (health-insurance complaints and disputes foundation) guidance on finding a GP states that the insurer must help. Even so, shortages can still mean you cannot register. Keep the case number and check back.

If you are an asylum seeker staying in COA reception, contact GZA (asylum-seeker healthcare service) for GP care. Your healthcare is arranged through RMA (asylum-seeker medical-care scheme). Covered care has no deductible and no personal contribution. Rules about providers, referrals, and authorisation still apply.

Make an appointment and describe your symptoms

Each practice decides its own phone times, portal, and opening arrangements. Thuisarts (Dutch medical advice website) guidance on GP appointments explains the choices. You can phone for advice. Many practices also offer online appointments or an e-consult (secure online consultation). A doktersassistent (GP assistant) asks about your symptoms to judge how urgent they are and to decide whom you need to see and what kind of appointment you need. The assistant has medical training and must keep information confidential.

Use an e-consult only for suitable questions that are not urgent

Do not use an e-consult for new symptoms, for emotional or psychological problems, or for a problem that may need an examination. Messages may not be read right away. For urgent symptoms, phone; when the practice is closed, follow its out-of-hours instructions; for immediate danger, call 112.

When you speak with the assistant, mention these points if they apply to you:

• Explain what the problem is, when it began, and what has changed
• If relevant, mention medicines, allergies, pregnancy, and recent travel
• State clearly if you are concerned about a specific danger or about rapid worsening
• If you have several problems or need language support, ask for more time
• Ask what change would mean you should call again, and how soon to do so

A normal GP consultation usually lasts 10 to 15 minutes. If you need more time, ask for 20 or 30 minutes. The practice decides what it can schedule.

Home visits are for urgent cases or for people who cannot come in for medical reasons. If that applies to you, ask the assistant about a home visit.

You are allowed to bring someone with you to your appointment. Thuisarts guidance on GP visits explains how to talk about your expectations. The doctor should give you clear information and make decisions together with you. Ask: What are my options? What are the benefits and risks? What does that mean for me? Before you leave, say the plan back in your own words and confirm when you should call again.

Arrange language support

Tell the practice if you need language support. Ask if the clinician can speak your language or can arrange a professional interpreter. If the practice agrees, an adult you trust may support you. Do not ask a child to interpret sensitive medical information.

For asylum seekers, the GP can arrange a free interpreter by using the number on the COA-zorgpas (asylum healthcare card). For Ukrainian refugees, the free interpreter route covers Ukrainian or Russian. For other patients, a regional fund may pay. If there is no regional fund, the GP covers the interpreter cost. Ask the practice which route it uses. The Nederlandse Zorgautoriteit (Dutch Healthcare Authority, NZa) describes these ways of funding.

Learn which care begins with the GP

Your GP deals with most health questions. The table shows which care starts somewhere else and when you may need a referral. Direct access does not guarantee that insurance will cover it.

You can scroll wide tables from side to side.

For hospital care that is planned, check the Zorginstituut Nederland (Dutch National Health Care Institute) specialist-care rules before you book. A valid verwijzing (referral) is usually needed. Your GP or another treating doctor that your policy allows can refer you. Your policy also sets rules about choosing a provider. Urgent specialist care is an exception to the referral requirement. If you do not have a valid referral, the medisch specialist may delay care or you may have to pay. You cannot later claim a self-paid visit from the insurer.

The GP gives a referral only if it is medically necessary. If the GP refuses, the GP must explain why. Say what worries you, ask about alternatives, and agree on when to call again.

If you are unsure about a diagnosis or treatment, talk about getting a second opinion. Ask the treating doctor for a referral. The Rijksoverheid second-opinion rules require the treating doctor to cooperate unless there are serious objections. The doctor must explain those objections. First ask your insurer about reimbursement.

For milder mental-health problems, the GP may work with a POH-GGZ (mental-health practice support worker). Specialist geestelijke gezondheidszorg (mental-health care, GGZ) usually requires a referral. Ask which provider has a contract, how long you may have to wait, and what you may have to pay.

If illness or disability affects your inburgering (civic integration) exams, look at adapted exams for illness or disability.

Talk about medicines and repeat prescriptions

Sign up with a nearby apotheek so the GP knows where to send prescriptions. Give both the GP and the pharmacy a list of all your medicines: prescribed, over-the-counter, and foreign.

Dutch doctors may advise waiting to see if a minor illness gets better without medicine, especially if antibiotics would not help. Ask how recovery should go and when to call again.

For repeat prescriptions, there might be a different phone number, email address, or online portal you can use. A GP must approve the request first; only then does the prescription go to the pharmacy.

Keep GP care separate from tests, medicines, and hospital care

With a basisverzekering (Dutch basic health-insurance policy), GP care and out-of-hours GP care have no compulsory deductible. For people aged 18 or older, the compulsory deductible is €385 in 2026. Rijksoverheid guidance on GP costs explains which costs can count toward that amount.

You can scroll wide tables from side to side.

For children under 18, care in the basic package has no compulsory deductible. Coverage limits and personal contributions can still vary by service.

For example, in 2026 an insured GP consultation does not use any of your €385 compulsory deductible. If the GP then orders a blood test, the test can use what is left of your deductible.

A provider that does not have a contract with your insurer may leave part of the bill for you to pay, depending on your policy. If you do not have Dutch insurance, or if the practice cannot bill your insurer directly, you may need to pay first. Ask for the rate and an itemised invoice, then ask your insurer about reimbursement. The eigen risico guide explains the money rules. The health-insurance coverage guide explains common gaps.

Pick the urgent-care route before you travel

Choose the service based on how urgent the problem is and whether your practice is open. If there is life-threatening danger, call 112. For other urgent problems, contact the GP service before you travel.

You can scroll wide tables from side to side.

Thuisarts guidance on emergencies explains who to contact. Out-of-hours phone numbers and online contact options vary by region. Save the local number from your practice website or answering machine. If you are not sure whether a problem can wait, call the relevant GP service for advice. Follow its instructions about where to go. For life-threatening danger, call 112.

In a mental-health crisis, contact the GP or the out-of-hours GP service right away. The service can bring in the regional crisis team. If you are thinking about suicide, 113 Zelfmoordpreventie (Suicide Prevention) offers free, anonymous phone and chat help day and night. The 113 phone number works from inside the Netherlands. If anyone is in immediate danger, call 112.

Use your rights as a patient and protect your medical record

The GP, the assistant, and other practice staff must keep information confidential. Tell them about sensitive symptoms, medicines, violence, substance use, or mental health when it affects your care. Before you agree to a referral or to electronic exchange, ask who will receive the information. You have these rights as a patient:

• Get clear information and make decisions together. You may refuse a treatment that is proposed.
• Ask to look at or copy your medical record. You can also ask who has viewed it.
• Ask to have factual errors corrected.
• Find out what is involved in getting a second opinion, and ask about the requirements for referral or insurance.

If you object to details in your medical record, you have the option of asking for your own statement to be included.

Your provider has one month from the date you ask to view or copy your medical record in which to act. It can withhold information when releasing it would violate someone else's privacy, but it has to give a reason. The Rijksoverheid medical-record access rules established this deadline and this exception.

Usually, your consent is needed before your data is shared electronically with another provider. In some cases, information may be disclosed without consent because it is allowed or required. Ask the practice what you have agreed to share and how you can change that decision. Ask what the out-of-hours service is able to view. The consent rules for sharing medical records sets out the exceptions. Rijksoverheid patient-rights guidance covers privacy and confidentiality.

Fix common problems with registration and documents

When registration is not possible or your paperwork is not complete, choose the option below that matches your circumstances.

What can you do if no practice close by will take you?

If a practice is unable to register you, try the following contacts and steps:

• Get in touch with multiple practices and give them your postcode and health insurer information. Tell them you do not have a GP.
• Request care mediation from your insurer, and note down the case number.
• Check with your gemeente (municipality) if a cliëntondersteuner (independent client supporter) is available to assist you.
• If a practice turns you down, ask why.

When the refusal reason does not appear valid, get in touch with your insurer or the regional Zorgbelang (patient-support organisation). The regional organisations are listed on its website.

In the Netherlands, everyone is entitled to GP care. However, you cannot require one particular practice that is full to take you as a patient. Continue asking your insurer to help you locate a practice. If your health issue turns urgent before registration is sorted out, follow the urgent-care route.

What should you do if you need care before you are registered?

Ask a practice close to you if it can provide a one-time passantenconsult (consultation for a non-registered patient). Under the NZa rules, this rate applies to incidental and acute care when your own GP cannot reasonably give it. Ask the practice how it will charge you. Ask your insurer what part it will reimburse. Keep the invoice. If you need urgent care while practices are closed, contact the out-of-hours GP service first.

What if you do not have a BSN or Dutch insurance?

Explain to the practice what identification, registration and insurance documents you can provide. The practice might require you to pay upfront. Keep an itemised invoice, and ask your insurer or scheme about reimbursement. Insurance obligations and exceptions vary for residents, workers, students, visitors and those covered by special schemes. The health-insurance guide explains the deadline and exceptions.

Urgent medical assistance takes priority over identification. According to Rijksoverheid, you must show identification within 14 days after treatment. If there is a life-threatening danger, call 112 even when your paperwork is not complete.

If you do not have lawful residence, ordinary Dutch basic health insurance is not available to you. You can still receive medically necessary care, and your doctor determines what is necessary. Usually, you must pay the costs yourself. If you are unable to pay, tell the provider and ask whether the CAK reimbursement scheme applies.

Choose the correct complaint route

When you disagree with a care decision, ask the GP to explain the decision, what other options exist and when you should contact them again. For issues involving conduct, communication, privacy or the quality of care, use the Rijksoverheid healthcare complaint route. The usual steps are set out below. If you would rather not talk to the GP or practice, you can go directly to the klachtenfunctionaris (complaints officer).

1. Bring the matter up with the GP or practice, and state what result you are seeking.
2. Request the practice's free, independent klachtenfunctionaris.
3. Should the complaint still be unresolved, ask the provider which recognised geschilleninstantie (healthcare disputes body) it is affiliated with.
4. If you want that body to decide the complaint, submit a case to it.

Your provider has to deal with your complaint within 6 weeks. It is allowed one extension of 4 weeks.

Once a healthcare disputes body decides, both parties are bound by that decision; after that, a court cannot review the complaint itself.

If your complaint concerns coverage, care mediation or an invoice from the insurer, first submit it to the insurer. If the issue is still not resolved, use the Rijksoverheid health-insurer complaint route to reach SKGZ.

The healthcare complaint page also explains the tuchtcollege (disciplinary tribunal) for complaints about professional conduct. For advice, it lists the Landelijk Meldpunt Zorg (national healthcare complaints advice point).

Have your GP contact details handy

Store the practice's number for appointments, its urgent line, the way to request repeat prescriptions and the local out-of-hours number. Write down whom to contact about language support, longer appointments, access to your records or a complaint. If your problem cannot wait until registration is completed, use the urgent-care route.

For insurance rules and tasks after arrival, use these guides:

• Eigen risico: which costs use the deductible
• Dutch health insurance: registration, deadline and exceptions
• First 90 days in the Netherlands: arrival checklist

Official Sources

• Thuisarts: Role of the GP in the Netherlands - The GP is the first contact for physical and mental health. The GP coordinates care and records and is the usual link to medisch specialisten in hospitals.
• Thuisarts: For what questions can I see my GP? - Examples of GP care, the assistant’s role, and care usually arranged directly, such as dental, physiotherapy and perinatal care.
• Thuisarts: Choosing a GP - How to find and register with a practice, common refusal grounds, the documents to bring, pharmacy registration and transfer of records.
• Thuisarts: Asking questions and making an appointment - Practice contact methods, the assistant’s assessment of urgency, e-consult limits, typical consultation length, longer appointments and home visits.
• Thuisarts: What happens during a GP visit? - How to prepare, bring a support person, discuss expectations, decide together and rely on medical confidentiality.
• Thuisarts: Use of medication in the Netherlands - Why Dutch doctors may prescribe less medication, when waiting to see whether symptoms improve is appropriate, and how to discuss concerns about antibiotics or no prescription.
• Thuisarts: In case of emergency - The routes for 112, the weekday GP, the out-of-hours GP service, mental-health crises and suicidal thoughts.
• Thuisarts: What does it cost to visit the GP? - GP reimbursement, possible costs with a GP who has no contract with your insurer, direct payment without Dutch insurance, and possible medicine or test costs.
• Rijksoverheid: Choosing or changing a GP - Registration is recommended but not compulsory, practices may refuse in stated situations, and the insurer can help search and mediate.
• Rijksoverheid: When is a referral letter needed? - Specialist-care referral rules, self-pay consequences, the GP’s duty to explain refusal, and direct-access allied health professions.
• Zorginstituut Nederland: Care from a medisch specialist under the Zorgverzekeringswet (Health Insurance Act, Zvw) - A referral can come from the GP or another treating doctor allowed by the policy, urgent specialist care is an exception, and policy conditions and the deductible apply.
• Rijksoverheid: Do I pay GP costs myself? - GP and out-of-hours GP care do not use the compulsory deductible, while ordered tests and prescribed medicines can do so.
• Rijksoverheid: When does the compulsory deductible apply? - The compulsory deductible is €385 in 2026 for adults, GP care is excluded, and children under 18 have no compulsory deductible.
• Rijksoverheid: Out-of-hours GP or hospital emergency department? - Contact the out-of-hours GP service before attending the hospital emergency department, except in a life-threatening emergency when 112 is the route.
• Rijksoverheid: Identification in healthcare - Patients must show valid ID in healthcare. Urgent help comes first; identification must follow within 14 days. Providers check the citizen service number.
• Rijksoverheid: Mental-health help through the GP or GGZ - The GP and mental-health practice support worker can treat milder problems and refer to mental-health care when needed.
• SKGZ: No GP—what now? - Steps when no practice can register you: contact several practices, ask the insurer for mediation, ask the municipality for support, or request a one-time consultation.
• Nederlandse Zorgautoriteit: Rules for a passant consultation - The passant rate is for incidental and acute care when care by the patient’s own GP is not reasonably available.
• Rijksoverheid: Rights and duties during medical treatment - Rights to clear information, shared decisions, refusal, records, privacy and a second opinion.
• Rijksoverheid: Access to your medical record - Patients can inspect or copy their record and find out who viewed it. Providers must act within one month; another person’s privacy can limit access.
• Rijksoverheid: Consent for sharing a medical record - How consent for record sharing works and examples of limited situations in which sharing without consent is allowed or required.
• Rijksoverheid: How to obtain a second opinion - Discuss a second opinion with the treating doctor, request a referral, and check insurer reimbursement.
• Rijksoverheid: Complaining about a doctor or healthcare institution - The route through the provider, free klachtenfunctionaris, six-week response period, possible four-week extension and recognised disputes body.
• Rijksoverheid: Complaining about a health insurer - Complain to the insurer first and use SKGZ if the insurer’s handling does not resolve the dispute.
• 113 Suicide Prevention: English help - Free anonymous phone and chat help day and night, with 112 for immediate danger and the 113 phone number available from within the Netherlands.
• Thuisarts: Planning an introductory appointment with a GP - An introductory appointment lets you discuss personal needs before deciding whether to register.
• Thuisarts: Contact with the GP practice - Dutch guidance on contact options, e-consult limits and GP approval of repeat prescriptions.
• Thuisarts: Advice during pregnancy - Contact a midwife directly for routine pregnancy care and tell treating doctors and the pharmacist you are pregnant.
• Nederlandse Zorgautoriteit: Interpreter funding - GP interpreter funding for asylum seekers with a COA care-card number, Ukrainian refugees using Ukrainian or Russian, and other patients. Without a regional fund, the GP bears the cost.
• KNMG (Royal Dutch Medical Association): Interpreter guidance - The linked professional standard explains interpreter choices and advises against children interpreting sensitive medical information.
• Rijksoverheid: Correcting a medical record - Ask to correct inaccurate or incomplete information and add a personal statement if you disagree with a diagnosis.
• Rijksoverheid: Dental-care coverage - Routine dental check-ups for adults are outside basic insurance; some dental treatments are covered.
• Rijksoverheid: Basic health-insurance package in 2026 - Coverage and deductible rules for GP, hospital, dental and allied-health care; maternity-care contributions and policy differences.
• Rijksoverheid: Medicine reimbursement - Medicine coverage, preferred products, medical-need exceptions, deductible and possible personal contributions.
• Zorginstituut Nederland: Direct access to primary care - Primary care such as a GP or tandarts can be accessed without a referral.
• Rijksoverheid: Who needs Dutch basic health insurance - Insurance duties and exceptions for people living or working in the Netherlands, foreign students and people covered through international organisations.
• Zorgbelang: Regional patient support - Regional organisations and their contact details for patient advice and support.
• Regionaal Tuchtcollege voor de Gezondheidszorg (Regional Healthcare Disciplinary Tribunal): Medical-record statement - Paragraphs 5.16–5.17 confirm that a patient’s statement can be added about disputed information in a medical record, even when the doctor disagrees.
• Landelijk Meldpunt Zorg: Advice about healthcare complaints - Information and advice on healthcare complaints, with official contact options.
• Rijksoverheid: Hoe is de gezondheidszorg van asielzoekers geregeld? - If you are an asylum seeker in COA reception, contact GZA (asylum-seeker healthcare service) for GP care. Your healthcare is arranged through RMA (asylum-seeker medical-care scheme). Covered care has no deductible or personal contribution. Provider, referral and authorisation rules still apply.
• Regelhulp: Onverzekerbare vreemdelingen - Without lawful residence, you cannot obtain ordinary Dutch basic health insurance. You can receive medically necessary care; your doctor decides what is necessary. You normally pay the costs yourself. Tell the provider if you cannot pay and ask whether the CAK reimbursement scheme applies.
• RMA: Regeling Medische zorg Asielzoekers - If you are an asylum seeker in COA reception, contact GZA (asylum-seeker healthcare service) for GP care. Your healthcare is arranged through RMA (asylum-seeker medical-care scheme). Covered care has no deductible or personal contribution. Provider, referral and authorisation rules still apply.
• Thuisarts: Iemand die ik goed ken heeft een psychische crisis. Wat moet ik doen? - Urgent contact with the treating professional or GP service during a mental-health crisis.