Before you start

BRP registration at your address and a BSN — the exchange cannot be lodged before this
A foreign licence that is currently valid, not expired and not suspended
For the test-free route: an active expat ruling decision, yours or that of the family member you live with
For most non-EU exchanges: a CBR Certificate of Fitness obtained through the online Gezondheidsverklaring

Step-by-step

1
Register first, then count 185 days
For a non-EU/EEA licence the grace period runs from your municipal registration date. People who spend two months in temporary or corporate housing before registering often assume the clock started when they landed and lose weeks. Note the registration date somewhere you will see it and work backwards — the RDW cannot expedite an exchange.
In personWho: You, at the Holland Expat Center South or a gemeente counterWeek 1Free
2
Check your licence's status on the RDW exchange list
The RDW publishes exactly which countries are designated and which categories transfer. Many designated countries transfer car category B only, so motorcycle or trailer entitlements are quietly dropped. Check the category detail, not just whether your country appears.
OnlineWho: YouSame dayFree
3
Complete the CBR health declaration if your route needs one
Buy and complete the Gezondheidsverklaring through Mijn CBR. A clean declaration is normally approved quickly; declaring a condition can trigger a medical review that takes months. Start it before you book the counter appointment rather than after, because the certificate is what you will be asked for.
OnlineWho: You, via Mijn CBRDays if clean; up to several months if reviewedCBR fee, €46.90 in 2026
4
Lodge the exchange at a gemeente Eindhoven counter and surrender the old licence
Take your foreign licence, ID or residence permit, a passport photo to the Dutch matrix standard, the CBR certificate and, if using it, the expat ruling decision. The gemeente forwards it to the RDW and keeps your foreign licence. You collect the Dutch card about a week after the notification letter.
In personWho: You, at gemeente Eindhoven; decided by the RDWRDW needs at least 15 working days, then collectionGemeente issuing fee, capped nationally at €53.65 in 2026
5
Decide whether you actually want the car
Eindhoven is flatter, less congested and more car-tolerant than the Randstad, and the Brainport campuses in Veldhoven and on the southern ring were built around parking. But the centre operates paid parking with resident permits by zone, the ring road is the only way across town at rush hour, and the Dommel cycle route reaches the High Tech Campus in about fifteen minutes without a single traffic light. Most people who commute south end up on a bike or an e-bike regardless of what they drive at weekends.
OnlineWho: YouBefore buying a carPermit priced by zone

Documents you’ll need

Valid foreign driving licence, with a sworn translation if it is not in Latin script
Passport or residence permit, plus BSN and BRP registration
Passport photo to the Dutch photo-matrix standard
CBR Certificate of Fitness, for most non-EU exchanges
Expat ruling decision letter, for the test-free route

Things most newcomers don’t know

The 185-day clock runs from municipal registration, and corporate housing is what breaks it.

Newcomers reasonably assume the grace period starts on arrival or on the licence's own expiry date. It starts on the day the gemeente registers you. Brainport employers routinely put new arrivals in serviced apartments for the first two or three months, and people often do not register until they sign a permanent lease — which resets nothing, it just means the clock starts late and everyone miscounts it. The RDW is explicit that you may not keep driving while an application is in progress.

Source: RDW; Rijksoverheid

The expat ruling turns a non-exchangeable licence into a paperwork exercise, and here that applies to most arrivals.

A US, Canadian, Indian, Chinese, Korean or Brazilian licence is normally not exchangeable and means sitting the Dutch tests from scratch. Holders of the expat ruling, together with a partner and adult children registered at the same address, may exchange any valid foreign licence without a test. Given how many Eindhoven internationals arrive on that ruling, the practical advice is simple: do the exchange early in the ruling's life, not late, because the entitlement expires with it.

Source: RDW

A designated country often buys you category B only, and the lost categories are not obvious until the card arrives.

The RDW list sets transferable categories country by country, and motorcycle entitlements in particular are frequently dropped. People discover this when the Dutch licence turns up without a category they had held for twenty years, by which point the original has already been surrendered and the only route back is a Dutch test.

Source: RDW

Driving in Brabant is genuinely easier than in the Randstad, which changes the calculation rather than removing it.

There is no metro or tram, the region is polycentric, and a lot of Brainport employment sits in Veldhoven, Best and Helmond rather than in the city. That makes a car more defensible here than in Amsterdam or Utrecht. What still argues against it is that the southern campuses are 15–25 minutes from the centre by bike on separated paths, the ring road congests predictably at shift change, and central resident permits are zoned and priced accordingly.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Counting the 185 days from arrival rather than from the BRP registration date, which corporate housing makes especially easy.
Surrendering a licence with motorcycle entitlements without first checking which categories your country actually transfers.
Leaving the CBR health declaration until after booking the gemeente appointment and turning up without the certificate.
Assuming a US, Canadian, Indian or Chinese licence is exchangeable without the expat ruling — it is not.
Letting the expat ruling lapse before doing the exchange, and losing a test-free entitlement you were entitled to for five years.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.