Can I apply for a green card digitally?
Nowadays, the green card is available digitally from almost every insurer. Fewer and fewer insurers send the green card by mail, but make sure you can download it digitally. You get the green card automatically after taking out a car insurance policy. Your insurer or intermediary will let you know where you can download the green card. You can then print the green card yourself. In the Netherlands you are not obliged to keep the green card in the car. If you go abroad with the car, however, in some countries it is mandatory to have it with you.
Does the green card have to be a document/pass or is it also valid digitally?
Nowadays, the green card is less and less a document or a pass. Since 1 July 2020, the Green Card no longer needs to be printed on green paper, but may also be printed on white paper. Therefore, the Green Card is no longer green. It was also decided that the green card may also be shared electronically. Because of this, more and more insurers send the green card only digitally. You can then print the document yourself. This does not have to be in colour, but can be in black and white. Although it is not compulsory in the Netherlands to carry your green card in your car, it is recommended that you do so. On the green card you will also find important telephone numbers that you may need in case of breakdown or damage. You can also choose to save the digital green card on your phone, for example as a PDF file or as a screenshot.
In many European countries, the original green card is no longer required, and a digital green card is also accepted. This is the case in all EU countries, as well as Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
Digital green card not accepted in all countries
In some European countries it is compulsory to carry the original green card. A digital green card is not accepted. This is the case, for example, in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iran, Macedonia, Morocco, Moldavia, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia, Tunisia, Turkey and Ukraine. If you are driving your car to or through one of these countries, you will need an original green card. In Bulgaria, an original green card is not compulsory, but recommended.
Requesting a green card digitally: how does it work?
Most insurers therefore no longer send the green card by post, but send it digitally via e-mail. You can then print the green card yourself and save it. It is often also possible to download the card from your personal environment on the insurer's website. You will automatically receive the green card after taking out your car insurance and every year, as long as the insurance is renewed.
Related pages about the green card
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