What should you do if your license plate is lost or misplaced?

No more new licence plates in case of loss or theft of licence plates.

If you lose your registration papers, you do not have to purchase new ones (from 22 September 2008). The same applies the other way round: if you lose your licence plate due to loss or theft, you no longer need to apply for new papers.

Until this date, they had to do so. That procedure was unnecessarily expensive for vehicle owners and caused the RDW to perform extra actions. That is why RDW has arranged for the vehicle registration certificate and vehicle number plates to each have their own duplicate code. If one of them goes missing, all you have to do is replace the missing product.

Duplicate code

The duplicate code is a numerical addition that appears on the registration plate and the registration papers. Until now, when the registration certificate was replaced, they both had the same duplicate code. This link was introduced to combat the misuse of stolen or lost registration plates and certificates.

Read how to request a new registration certificate here.
Source: www.rdw.nl

Conditions for online application for new registration certificate

You can only apply for a new registration certificate if:

• The vehicle is in your name, or someone else is applying for it on your behalf.

Processing time for online applications

Application before 8 p.m.: RDW sends registration certificate the next business day.
Application after 8 p.m. and on weekends: RDW sends registration certificate within 2 working days.
Application Friday after 8 p.m.: RDW sends registration certificate the following Tuesday.

Process for applying for new license plate

Registration card

If you no longer have the registration certificate, you must apply to the RDW for a new registration card. The RDW will send you the new registration card and a new registration code. The registration card will have the same registration number but a different document number.
The costs are €34.50 (January 2023).

Registration code

If you still have the registration card but no longer have the registration code, you can request a new registration code via the RDW website.
The RDW will send the code to the address of the registered owner/holder. The cost for this is (expected to be) € 20.00.

Applying for a registration card urgently

If you no longer have a vehicle registration certificate and/or registration code but need a replacement certificate, a new registration code or both on the same day, you can choose for an urgent application. The costs for an urgent delivery of a registration card with registration code are €200.00. No money will be refunded if the old registration card and/or code is found later.