How do I apply for or replace a Dutch identity card?
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Detailed explanation, checklist and sources
Apply in person at the municipality where you are registered. Children must attend too. An old Dutch identity card is not extended: you apply for a new one. Check your documents, consent for a child under 12, fees and available appointments first.
On this page
- Choose the correct document route
- Prepare documents and a photograph
- Check parental responsibility and age
- Check the fee for your situation
- Plan the application and collection
- Report loss or theft first
- Check the card and keep your preparation
- Can my 12-year-old apply for an identity card independently?
- Documents to prepare
- Sources
1. Choose the correct document route
This guide concerns Dutch identity cards for Dutch nationals living in the European Netherlands. A residence permit is not a Dutch identity card. If you live abroad or have no fixed address, use the official route to a designated application location. For travel, check whether the destination accepts the card; unlike a passport, it is not a worldwide travel document.
Rijksoverheid · Aanvraag en ophalen ↗
Rijksoverheid · Verschil met paspoort ↗
NederlandWereldwijd · Aanvraag vanuit buitenland ↗
Wet op de Nederlandse identiteitskaart · artikelen 11,15–24 en27 ↗
2. Prepare documents and a photograph
Read your municipality's application page and arrange the required appointment. Bring all Dutch and foreign passports and identity cards issued in your name, including expired documents, and a recent colour photograph meeting official requirements. Municipalities require a photograph no more than six months old. Ask about missing documents beforehand: booking online does not complete an application.
Rijksoverheid · Aanvraag en ophalen ↗
Wet op de Nederlandse identiteitskaart · artikelen 11,15–24 en27 ↗
Gemeente Stichtse Vecht · voorbeeld lokale aanvraagvoorwaarden ↗
3. Check parental responsibility and age
The child must attend personally. Under 12, consent is required from everyone with parental responsibility, not automatically every biological parent. Follow the municipality's consent process and identification requirements. From age 12, an identity card does not require parental consent; a passport does until 18. If a person sharing parental responsibility refuses, substitute court consent may be needed; obtain advice on the appropriate procedure.
Rijksoverheid · Kind en toestemming ↗
Rijksoverheid · Verschil met paspoort ↗
Wet op de Nederlandse identiteitskaart · artikelen 11,15–24 en27 ↗
4. Check the fee for your situation
For an ordinary card for Netherlands residents, the 2026 maximum fee is €43.20 when applying under 18 and €80.10 from age 18. Your municipality sets the actual charge; urgent processing or delivery may cost extra. Non-resident and overseas applications have different fees. Ordinary validity is five years when applying under 18 and ten years from 18.
5. Plan the application and collection
Allow for both appointment waiting time and processing. National guidance says about five working days, but your municipality may specify a different collection date. Check urgent processing, the local cut-off and additional charges beforehand; arrival before your journey is not guaranteed. Follow your municipality’s collection appointment. If you do not collect the document within three months after it is made available for issue, it is permanently withdrawn from circulation. Check whether collection appointments or delivery are available.
Rijksoverheid · Aanvraag en ophalen ↗
Gemeente Stichtse Vecht · voorbeeld lokale aanvraagvoorwaarden ↗
Wet op de Nederlandse identiteitskaart · actuele tekst artikel27 ↗
Wet op de Nederlandse identiteitskaart · artikelen 11,15–24 en27 ↗
6. Report loss or theft first
Report a missing or stolen card to your municipality; the loss declaration is needed for replacement. In the Netherlands, a police report is not compulsory for this. Also ask the DigiD helpdesk to block the lost card's DigiD login function. If a card registered as missing turns up, do not use it: hand it in. If still abroad, follow the official overseas loss and emergency-document route.
7. Check the card and keep your preparation
For collection, bring the collection receipt and old card as instructed; children must attend too. Check the name, date of birth and validity immediately and report errors to the issuer. Record missing documents or consent and the agreed date in your preparation. If a disability prevents attendance, discuss arrangements with the municipality. Our help request can prepare a legal issue, but does not apply for a card on your behalf.
Rijksoverheid · Aanvraag en ophalen ↗
Wet op de Nederlandse identiteitskaart · artikelen 11,15–24 en27 ↗
Gemeente Stichtse Vecht · voorbeeld lokale aanvraagvoorwaarden ↗
Can my 12-year-old apply for an identity card independently?
From age 12 a Dutch identity card requires no consent from parents or other holders of parental responsibility. The child must attend and bring the required documents. Passport consent remains necessary until 18. Consent to travel with a minor is a different issue from consent to apply for a document.
Documents to prepare
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Dutch nationality, residence and correct application location
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- Dutch nationality, residence and correct application location
- All available travel documents, including expired ones
- Recent colour photograph meeting official requirements
- Under 12: parental responsibility, consent and required identification
- Current municipal fee, urgency and appointment date
- Collection receipt and date, and loss declaration if needed
Contact with a lawyer
You can use the chat and information without a phone number. A contact request requires a phone number, a verified email address and your wish for telephone contact. Our team assesses which partner fits your question. Data is shared only under the stated consent procedure. A partner or engagement is not guaranteed.
View the current application processSources
Need personal assistance? Request a lawyer through our chat. We explain the next step; submitting a request does not engage a lawyer. The links below support the legal information.
Rijksoverheid · Aanvraag en ophalen ↗Rijksoverheid · Kosten en geldigheid 2026 ↗Rijksoverheid · Kind en toestemming ↗Rijksoverheid · Vermissing en DigiD ↗Rijksoverheid · Verschil met paspoort ↗NederlandWereldwijd · Aanvraag vanuit buitenland ↗Wet op de Nederlandse identiteitskaart · artikelen 11,15–24 en27 ↗Inwerkingtreding Wet op de Nederlandse identiteitskaart · 1 oktober 2026 ↗Besluit Nederlandse identiteitskaart · tarieven ↗Gemeente Stichtse Vecht · voorbeeld lokale aanvraagvoorwaarden ↗Wet op de Nederlandse identiteitskaart · actuele tekst artikel27 ↗Sources may be in Dutch. General information about Dutch law, not individual legal advice.