Export certificate and Dutch papers you need to register a car in Spain

Deregistering a car for export produces three documents:

• Export certificate (kentekenbewijs deel II): for the person the export is registered to, usually the buyer. In English it is also called registration certificate part II.
• Registration card (kentekencard) with one corner cut off: also for the buyer, and it travels with the car.
• Indemnification certificate (vrijwaringsbewijs): for the seller, as proof that the registration in their name has ended.

According to the RDW, the Dutch owner's insurance obligation, APK obligation and Dutch road tax stop after the export.

For a car from another EU country, Spain asks for the original registration documents: part I and, if one was issued, part II. For a Dutch car, that means the registration card and the export certificate. The RDW puts it this way: the export certificate and the registration card together are needed to register the vehicle abroad. You will also need:

• the CoC or a ficha reducida for the ITV inspection;
• the invoice with the seller's VAT number, if you buy from a dealer;
• a purchase contract with a Spanish translation, if you buy from a private seller.

The order of the Spanish appointments is explained on registering a car in Spain.

To deregister the car, we need identification for the person the export is registered to, the registration card with its registration code (tenaamstellingscode) and the yellow number plates, which are handed in at the desk. If the car will be driven to Spain, also give us the start date, destination and route for the insurance.

Not every car has a registration card yet. For older vehicles, bring the old paper parts instead: the tenaamstellingsbewijs (part 1B) and the overschrijvingsbewijs. If the yellow plates have been lost, the RDW says new ones must first be made by an approved number plate manufacturer. If anything is missing, your visit takes longer, so ask us beforehand what to bring.

When you buy a car in the Netherlands, it is not transferred into the foreign buyer's name in the Dutch register. The RDW advises that the buyer exports the vehicle in their own name. You receive the export certificate in your name and the seller receives the indemnification certificate: in practice, that is how the change of ownership works on export.

If you cannot come to the Netherlands, the RDW allows a contact person there to arrange the export. A company name on the export certificate is only possible at one of the RDW's own locations.

Before registration, the ITV station wants to see proof of type approval: the CoC. If it is missing, the station accepts a ficha reducida, which according to the DGT is a document signed by a qualified engineer, equivalent to the CoC, and often the quicker and cheaper option. Cars from before 2002 need an individual type approval by an engineer. On request we offer CoC support.

Can't come to Hengelo? Then we prepare the export online. The yellow Dutch plates do have to reach us physically: you send them by post or courier, and we start once they arrive. We then send the export papers insured and tracked, including to an address in Spain: about 5 working days with standard DHL, or about 1 working day with DHL Express. Sending by post costs more than visiting the desk.

Is the car itself already in Spain? We can still provide the export certificate, through a different procedure that runs entirely by post, without a visit to the desk. Contact us first and we will tell you what we need and what it costs.

The export document costs from €50. The price can be higher outside office hours, for postal delivery or for heavy or unusual vehicles; you always know it in advance. If the car will be driven, you also need Dutch export plates with insurance. All rates are on the cost of importing a car to Spain.