White Dutch export number plates for the journey to Spain

The export registration is your car's existing Dutch registration number, on white plates instead of yellow. According to the RDW, an export plate is white with black letters and numbers and must stay legible in any weather. You hand in the yellow plates at our desk; if they are lost, you first have new ones made by an approved number plate manufacturer.

The white plates come with temporary export insurance: 14 days of third-party cover with a Green Card, which you also receive as a PDF by email. We are not an insurer; we arrange the cover through our insurance partner. The policy and the Green Card determine which countries and which driver you are covered for. The export certificate and registration card are separate; read about them on Dutch car export documents.

Can't come to Hengelo? We prepare everything online. Once your yellow plates reach us by post or courier, we send papers and white plates insured and tracked, also abroad: about 5 working days with DHL, or about 1 working day with DHL Express.

A car, van or motorhome gets two white plates. A motorcycle, scooter, moped, caravan or trailer has one, at the rear. A trailer up to 750 kg without its own registration follows a special rule: we insure it on its chassis number, and the white plate carries the registration number of the vehicle towing it. More on exporting a motorhome or caravan to Spain.

The RDW is clear about the Dutch side. After deregistration for export you may drive on Dutch public roads for another 14 days. The export registration is valid for those 14 days, but never beyond the expiry of the APK; without a valid APK you may not use the road at all. A car, van or motorhome must be insured and have a valid APK for the export journey. A motorcycle, scooter or moped needs insurance but no APK.

So deregister shortly before you leave: the 14 days start counting at the moment of deregistration.

For travel abroad, the RDW says the rules for a Dutch export registration differ from country to country. Your Europe points out that temporary number plates are not harmonised in the EU: make sure your insurance is valid and that the plates are recognised in every country you drive through.

For Spain itself, the DGT says that in principle you may not drive the car until it is registered. The exceptions are Spanish green plates (placas verdes), provided the car is insured, and temporary plates from the country of origin, as long as they are valid and the vehicle is insured. If you become resident in Spain, the car must be on Spanish plates within one month; how that works is on registering a car in Spain.

The export registration itself is not extended: the 14 days in the Netherlands stay 14 days, never beyond the APK. The export insurance, however, can be extended, 14 days at a time and subject to the insurer's approval. That helps when the ITV inspection or the Tráfico appointment is slow to come round. Whether you may keep driving on the white plates after that depends on the Spanish rules, so check beforehand.

If you are unsure about the rules on the route, transport is the safe choice. If the car travels on a car transporter, trailer or low-loader, it usually needs no driving insurance. The export document is still required: the DGT asks for the car to have been deregistered for export in its country of origin.

Export insurance with white plates costs from €100, without the export document. The complete export package with export document, indemnification certificate, insurance, Green Card and plates costs from €150. The price can be higher outside office hours, for postal delivery or for heavy or unusual vehicles. You always know it in advance; all rates are on the cost of importing a car to Spain.