When should I register with the Personal Records Database as a resident?

Register when you come to live in the Netherlands

You must register with the municipality:

• at your permanent home address;
• at a correspondence address, if you don’t have a permanent home address. For example, if you work as inland waterways crew or are staying in an institution (prison, psychiatric institution or women’s refuge).

You must register within 5 days of arriving in the Netherlands. If your partner and/or children have also come to live in the Netherlands, they must come with you to the municipality. You will be given a citizen service number (BSN) when you register. You will need this number when you contact the government, for example to ask for care or pay taxes.

Registration in the BRP: exceptions

You cannot always register with the BRP immediately.

You must legally be a resident in the Netherlands. This means you may need to apply for a residence permit first.

Your identity will need to be confirmed. This may mean extra investigation, or you may need to submit more information

Adding or changing data in the Personal Records Database

Some residents’ data is automatically added to or changed in the BRP. If you marry in the Netherlands, for instance, the Registrar of Births, Deaths, Marriages and Registered Partnerships will inform the municipality. When you register the birth of your child, he or she will automatically be registered in the BRP. This is only possible if both parents are registered in the BRP on the day the child is born. You must register some changes yourself,  for example your new address if you move house.

You do not live in the Netherlands or will be staying for less than 4 months

If you do not live in the Netherlands or will be staying for less than 4 months, you can register as a non-resident in the Non-residents Records Database (RNI) using your address abroad. You will be given a BSN, which you will usually need when you contact the government, for example to ask for care or pay taxes.

Registration when moving within the Netherlands

If you are moving to another municipality in the Netherlands, you must register with your new municipality. The municipality you are leaving will make sure you are deregistered. A move to a new address in the same municipality must also be registered. Sometimes this can be done online.

Your data in the BRP is incorrect

If your data in the BRP is wrong or incomplete, you can ask for it to be changed. Take documentary evidence and your identity documents to the municipality with you. Your evidence – for instance a birth or marriage certificate – must show that the information in the BRP is wrong.