Which Dutch export papers you receive and what Portugal asks for

• The buyer, or the person in whose name the export is arranged, receives the export certificate, also called kentekenbewijs deel II (the Dutch registration certificate part II), plus the registration card (kentekencard) with a corner cut off. With older papers, this is the tenaamstellingsbewijs deel 1B.
• The seller receives the vrijwaringsbewijs: the proof that the registration has stopped. It protects the seller and does not appear in the Portuguese document lists.

According to the RDW, the export certificate and the registration card are needed together for registration abroad, and you hand them to the foreign authority that registers the vehicle. After the export, the Dutch owner's insurance obligation, APK (the Dutch roadworthiness test) and road tax stop.

Customs asks for the 'Certificado de matrícula estrangeiro ou documento equivalente' (the foreign registration certificate or an equivalent document) with the DAV, the customs vehicle declaration. The IMT asks for the foreign registration certificate as an original or as a copy certified by customs. The original goes to the IMT within 10 days of the DAV, and the other original documents must be kept for four years.

The Portuguese sources speak of a single registration certificate and do not name the Dutch papers. Practical advice: bring the registration card and the export certificate both as originals, plus the CoC. The whole route is on our page about how to import a car to Portugal.

With the CoC, the owner applies online to the IMT for the national homologation number, and customs needs that number. Without a CoC and without national homologation, the IMT asks for the homologation of the country of origin and its fee is higher; see our cost overview for Portugal. If the CO2 emissions are not on the CoC, the inspection centre (CITV) measures them.

Missing a CoC? We offer CoC guidance on request, as the route varies by manufacturer and importer.

For customs: an invoice (fatura comercial) or, for a purchase from a private seller, a declaração de venda. If the car arrives on a lorry, also the transport document (CMR) and proof of payment. The IMT asks for proof of identity; check in advance whether you need a Portuguese tax number (NIF).

Selling to a buyer who lives abroad? The car is not transferred into the buyer's name in the Dutch register. Following the RDW, the buyer exports it in their own name: they receive the export certificate, you receive the vrijwaringsbewijs. If the buyer cannot come to the Netherlands, a contact person here may arrange the export. A business buyer gives us the company name, address and VAT number; for Portuguese customs, a purchase from a company needs a commercial invoice (fatura comercial). Still looking for a buyer? See selling a car for export.

The checklist below shows what to bring. In short: an ID of the person in whose name the export is arranged, the registration card with its code, the yellow Dutch plates (they are handed in), the current mileage and the buyer's full address abroad. No plates any more? Then have new ones made first by an approved number plate manufacturer. With complete papers, a standard application is usually ready in about 15 minutes.

Online preparation is possible: you send the yellow Dutch plates by post or courier and we start once they arrive. Documents and plates are sent insured with tracking, also to Portugal.

Is the car already in Portugal, for example taken there on Dutch plates? Then the export with kentekenbewijs deel II can be done entirely remotely, by post: DHL standard takes about 5 working days, DHL Express about 1 working day. Contact our export desk first to hear what is needed and what it costs. For the trip itself, see white export plates and export insurance.