What if DUO misses its decision deadline?
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Detailed explanation, checklist and sources
First check the correct deadline and extension notices. If it has expired, send DUO the official notice-of-default form. DUO then has two weeks after receipt; a penalty and court appeal for failure to decide may follow.
On this page
1. Your situation
Keep application/objection, receipt and correspondence. DUO’s general citizen-application period is eight weeks; objections six weeks after the objection period ends. This is not the same for every product.
2. Conditions
Exceptions: teacher grant thirteen weeks after applications close, mbo instructor grant eight weeks afterwards, second-teacher-course subsidy in January of the funded year, away-from-home-grant revision twelve months after request. Check the specific rules and letter.
3. Preparation
Extensions or missing-information requests can change the end date. Ask DUO which date applies and why. A payment delay is not automatically a late decision; do not send default notice prematurely.
4. Apply
Use Formulier dwangsom bij niet tijdig beslissen by email or post to the form’s address. Away-from-home-grant revision has a separate form. Institutions use DUO Zakelijk. Keep form, attachments and receipt; our preparation sends nothing.
5. Decision
DUO has two weeks after receipt to decide. A valid notice can then trigger the statutory penalty, at most 42 days and €1,442 according to the source. Premature or incorrect notice guarantees no payment.
6. Next steps
After those two weeks, appeal directly to the court for failure to decide, without first objecting against silence. If upheld, DUO must decide within two weeks according to the source. If a substantive decision arrives, check its separate objection/appeal route and deadline.
Is default notice post-only like an objection?
No. DUO allows email or post to the official form’s address. A substantive objection uses a different submission route.
Documents to prepare
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For each event, note the date, what happened and where the evidence is kept. Example: 3 October — letter received — correspondence folder.
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DUO · Te laat beslissen ↗Sources may be in Dutch. General information about Dutch law, not individual legal advice.