The RDW has announced that it is temporarily no longer necessary to have physical identification take place when importing a car. The national government has instituted a modified procedure in response to the corona crisis.
In order to contain the spread of the coronavirus, non-essential activities should be carried out at home as much as possible. Especially contact with many different people should be avoided. The physical identification of import cars therefore no longer fits that picture. The RDW has therefore decided to largely suspend this for the time being. From now on it is still possible for companies to import cars without physically passing an inspection station. The cars are registered on the basis of forwarded identification.
Only RDW-recognized companies can use the new procedure. Imported passenger cars (category M1) can be digitally registered with the RDW centrally, using an EU registration certificate or a CVO (Certificate of Conformity). A car is then assessed on the basis of that data. Photos of the car must also be provided and the car must already have been demonstrably sold. If the weather permits, random checks will be carried out afterwards. Where necessary, physical checks are still occasionally carried out. The full procedure and conditions are available on the RDW website.