How to change your address after moving in NL

When you move house inside the Netherlands you report the move to your municipality (gemeente), which updates your address in the Personal Records Database (Basisregistratie Personen, BRP). The BRP is the record that public bodies work from, so almost everything else follows from getting this one entry right. This guide covers a move within the Netherlands: reporting it, who may report it for you, and what to check afterwards.

This guide applies if you are registered as a resident in the BRP and are moving to another address in the Netherlands, whether inside the same municipality or to a different one. If you are arriving in the Netherlands for the first time, you are registering rather than changing an address, which is a different process. If you are leaving the Netherlands to live abroad, you deregister instead, and that has its own rules and its own window. Have your identity document and proof that you may live at the new address ready before you start.

Who you report to, how you report and the reporting window itself all differ depending on which of these three you are doing, so identify your case before you fix a date.

• Moving within the same municipality

  You report the new address to the municipality you already live in. Rijksoverheid.nl states that a move can be reported by post, at the counter or online, but the channel and the form are set by each municipality, so check your own municipality's page for which of the three it offers. The window is 4 weeks before the move to 5 days after it.

• Moving to a different municipality in the Netherlands

  You report to the municipality you are moving to, not the one you are leaving. The new municipality updates your address in the BRP and the municipality you are leaving handles your deregistration from its own records. The same window applies: 4 weeks before to 5 days after.

• Moving abroad

  This is deregistration, not an address change, and this guide does not cover it. You must report it if you will be abroad for more than 8 months within one year, even if not in one continuous period. Government.nl states you deregister in person at your municipality 5 days or fewer before your departure and not earlier, so there is no grace period after you have left. After deregistration your data moves to the non-residents part of the BRP, the Registratie Niet-ingezetenen (RNI).

1. 1

   Work out which municipality you must report to

   If you are moving within your current municipality, you report the new address there. If you are moving to a different municipality, you report to the municipality you are moving to, and the municipality you are leaving handles the deregistration side. If you are moving out of the Netherlands altogether, this is deregistration rather than an address change and the rules in this guide do not apply.

   Do this: Identify the municipality you are moving to and open its own page on reporting a move.

   Processing time

   A few minutes.

   Common mistake: Reporting to the municipality you are leaving is a common error when moving between municipalities. Government.nl is explicit that the new municipality updates your address in the BRP.

   Official source

   Government.nl · How do I inform the municipality of a change of address?
2. 2

   Fix a reporting date inside the legal window

   You may inform the municipality from 4 weeks before your moving date until 5 days after it. Inside that window, the moving date you give is treated as the date your address changed. If you report more than 5 days after moving, the date on which you inform the municipality is treated as the moving date instead, which leaves the BRP showing you at the old address for longer than was true.

   Do this: Put a reminder in your calendar for the moving date itself so the report is filed no later than 5 days after it.

   Processing time

   The window opens 4 weeks before the move and closes 5 days after it.

   Common mistake: People assume a late report is backdated to the actual moving day. It is not. Late reporting also exposes you to a municipal fine of up to €325 for not reporting important changes on time (maximum published by Rijksoverheid.nl, checked 1 September 2026).

   Official source

   Rijksoverheid · Hoe kan ik mijn verhuizing doorgeven aan de gemeente?
3. 3

   Collect your identity document and proof of occupancy

   Rijksoverheid.nl lists two things you need: a valid identity document, and proof that you live at the address. The identity document may be a passport, driving licence, Dutch identity card or residence document. Proof of occupancy is a rental contract or deed of sale, or, where the address is not in your name, a declaration of consent from the main occupant (hoofdbewoner). This last route is what applies when you move into a room or a shared house.

   Do this: Scan or photograph your identity document and your rental contract, deed of sale or the main occupant's signed declaration of consent.

   Documents needed

   • Valid passport, driving licence, Dutch identity card or residence document
   • Rental contract (huurcontract) or deed of sale (koopakte)
   • Declaration of consent from the main occupant (toestemmingsverklaring van de hoofdbewoner) where the address is not in your name

   Processing time

   Depends on how quickly your landlord or the main occupant signs, so ask before the moving date rather than after it.

   Common mistake: Moving into a shared house without asking the main occupant to sign the consent declaration first is what stalls these reports. Your municipality may publish its own consent declaration form, so check its page before you have anything signed.

   Official source

   Rijksoverheid · Hoe kan ik mijn verhuizing doorgeven aan de gemeente?
4. 4

   File the report with the municipality

   Rijksoverheid.nl lists three channels for reporting a move: by post, at the counter, or online. Which of them your municipality actually offers, and the form it uses, are set locally, so the exact steps differ from one municipality to another. Not everyone may report for everyone else: the list covers people aged 18 and over for themselves, children aged 16 or 17 for themselves, cohabiting spouses or registered partners for each other, a parent, guardian or carer for children under 18, parents for children aged 18 or over who still live at home, people aged 18 or over for parents who live with them, a guardian for someone under guardianship, and an authorised representative.

   Do this: Submit your municipality's change of address form with your identity document and proof of occupancy attached.

   Documents needed

   • Valid identity document
   • Proof of occupancy or the main occupant's declaration of consent
   • Written authorisation, if someone outside the listed family relationships is reporting for you

   Cost

   Any charge for counter services varies by municipality, and no national fee is published.

   Processing time

   A short online form where your municipality offers one, longer if you have to book and attend a counter appointment.

   Common mistake: Housemates do not appear on the list of people who may report for one another. If a housemate is filing on your behalf, they need a written authorisation (machtiging), otherwise the report can be refused.

   Official source

   Rijksoverheid · Hoe kan ik mijn verhuizing doorgeven aan de gemeente?
5. 5

   Check the new address is in the BRP before you rely on post

   The BRP holds the personal data of people living in the Netherlands, and only organisations with a public or social function can access it. Government bodies work from that address, so anything they post to you goes to whatever the BRP currently says. DigiD is the clearest example: the letter with your activation code is sent to the address listed in the BRP and arrives within five working days, and you can request a replacement code only once.

   Do this: Confirm with your municipality that the new address is registered, and only then apply for anything that arrives by post.

   Processing time

   A DigiD activation letter arrives within five working days of the request.

   Common mistake: Requesting a DigiD activation code shortly before or during a move sends the letter to the old address. You get one replacement code; after that you have to reapply for DigiD from the start.

   Official source

   DigiD · Activating DigiD
6. 6

   If you hold a residence permit, confirm the IND has the address

   Foreign citizens holding a residence permit must inform the municipality when they move. For a move within the Netherlands, telling the municipality on time is enough: the municipality passes the new address to the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) for you, so a separate notification is not needed. If you did not report to the municipality on time, that route no longer covers you and you must notify the IND yourself. A move out of the Netherlands is handled differently again, and the IND may impose a fine if you fail to report your departure.

   Do this: If you reported to the municipality inside the window, do nothing further; if you were late, notify the IND yourself using its notification form.

   Documents needed

   • Your residence document details

   Processing time

   Do this as soon as you know the municipal report was late.

   Common mistake: Assuming the municipality has passed on a late report. The automatic route is tied to reporting on time, so a late municipal report leaves the IND obligation sitting with you.

   Official source

   Government.nl · Obligation of foreign citizens to report a change of address

• A valid identity document: passport, driving licence, Dutch identity card or residence document (vreemdelingendocument)
• Proof of occupancy: a rental contract (huurcontract) or deed of sale (koopakte)
• Where you are moving in with someone else, a declaration of consent from the main occupant (toestemmingsverklaring van de hoofdbewoner) instead of a contract in your own name
• DigiD, if your municipality offers an online form
• A written authorisation (machtiging) if someone who is not your spouse, registered partner, parent or child is reporting the move for you

• Reporting a move: no national fee is published, and any charge for counter services is set by your own municipality, so check its page.
• Reporting late: municipalities may impose a fine of up to €325 for not reporting important changes on time (maximum published by Rijksoverheid.nl, checked 1 September 2026).

You may report from 4 weeks before your moving date until 5 days after it. Inside that window the moving date you give is the date recorded; after it, the date of your report is recorded instead. Organisations with a public or social function draw your address from the BRP, so once the entry is updated the government bodies that use it are working from the new address. Government.nl does not publish which other organisations sit inside that category, so do not assume anyone else has been told: give your new address directly to your health insurer, bank, employer's payroll, landlord and utility suppliers.

Requirements depend on your situation. Check the latest requirements with the relevant authority.

• Reporting after the 5-day window and assuming the moving date still counts. It does not: the municipality records the date you reported, so the BRP will show you at the old address for longer than you actually were.
• Reporting to the municipality you are leaving. When you move to a different municipality you report to the one you are moving to, and the one you leave deregisters you.
• Applying for or activating DigiD around a moving date. The activation letter goes to the address held in the BRP, so a letter issued before the change is posted to the old address and you can only request a replacement code once.
• Turning up without proof that you may live at the address. If your name is not on a rental contract or deed, the main occupant's written declaration of consent is what takes its place.
• Treating a move out of the Netherlands as an address change. Leaving is deregistration, done in person, no earlier than 5 days before departure, and it triggers the 8-months-in-a-year rule.

• Ask your municipality for an extract (uittreksel) from the BRP if you need written proof of your new registered address.
• Give your new address directly to your health insurer, bank, employer's payroll and, where relevant, your landlord and utility suppliers, rather than assuming the municipal update reached them.
• If you receive huurtoeslag or zorgtoeslag, check with Dienst Toeslagen whether the new rent or household composition changes what you are entitled to.
• If you hold a residence permit, confirm the IND holds the new address, and notify the IND yourself if you reported to the municipality late.