Test drive checklist: insurance and driving licence rules in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands, a test drive in a registered car is covered by that car's own compulsory liability insurance, not by a policy tied to the driver. The Wet aansprakelijkheidsverzekering motorrijtuigen (WAM), the Dutch motor liability insurance act, ties the insurance duty to the vehicle's registration plate, so cover automatically follows whoever is driving with permission, including a prospective buyer. That cover only applies while the car itself is legally allowed on public roads: a registration under a driving ban permits no test drive at all.

The driver also needs a valid category B licence, and a 17-year-old holding a 2toDrive licence must have their registered coach sitting next to them.

Applies to: the Netherlands, vehicles with a Dutch registration. Source: the Wet aansprakelijkheidsverzekering motorrijtuigen (wetten.overheid.nl) and the RDW (rdw.nl), fetched directly. Checked: August 2026. Main exception: a driving ban on the car rules out a test drive entirely, whatever the insurance would otherwise cover.

Who is insured during a test drive

Article 2, paragraph 1 of the WAM places the insurance duty on "de bezitter van een motorrijtuig en degene op wiens naam dit in het kentekenregister is ingeschreven" (the possessor of a vehicle and whoever it is registered to). During a test drive the car is normally still registered to the seller, so that duty sits with them, not with you.

That insurance is not limited to the owner. Article 3, paragraph 1 WAM states that cover extends to "de burgerrechtelijke aansprakelijkheid ... van iedere bezitter, houder en bestuurder van het verzekerde motorrijtuig, alsmede van degenen die daarmede worden vervoerd" (the civil liability of every possessor, holder and driver of the insured vehicle, and anyone carried in it). A test driver is a "bestuurder" under that article. Damage you cause to another vehicle, a cyclist or a lamp post during the test drive is covered by the car's own policy, which follows the vehicle, not whoever is behind the wheel.

That WA policy doesn't cover everything automatically, and that shows up in three places. First, your own injury: article 4, paragraph 1 WAM states the insurance "behoeft niet te dekken de aansprakelijkheid voor schade toegebracht aan de bestuurder van het motorrijtuig dat het ongeval veroorzaakt" (does not need to cover injury to the driver who caused the accident). Cause a crash as the test driver and injure yourself, and that policy need not pay out for it. Second, the car itself: the WAM only regulates liability towards third parties. Whether a scratch, a dent or worse to the test car is separately covered depends on the owner's own comprehensive (casco) policy, and terms vary by insurer.

Third, and this doesn't touch the third party but does touch you: insurers commonly write driver conditions into the policy, such as a minimum age, a minimum time licensed, or a named-driver clause. If the test driver doesn't meet those, the injured third party stays fully protected regardless, article 11 WAM bars the insurer from raising policy exclusions against that third party, but the insurer can then pursue the test driver directly afterward under the right of recourse in article 15 WAM. Many recognised dealers also have a test driver sign a test-drive declaration, with an excess for any casco damage to the test car itself. Ask about both, the policy's driver conditions and any test-drive declaration with an excess, before you get in, not after something happens.

When a test drive is off the table regardless

A driving ban, still commonly called a "WOK status", stops this whole question before it starts. The RDW is explicit: once registered, the vehicle may not be driven on public roads until repairs pass inspection at an RDW station. The only exception is the day of the booked inspection appointment, driving there and back, insured that day too. There is no exception for a test drive. Checking for a driving ban yourself, and what lifting one costs, is covered in our guide to WOK status.

Driving licence: what to bring

As the driver, you need a valid category B licence. According to Rijksoverheid.nl, you can sit the theory exam from age 16, take driving lessons from 16.5, and sit the practical exam and get your licence from age 17 through the 2toDrive scheme. That route carries a condition easy to overlook during a test drive: a driver who qualified this way must always drive with a registered coach until their 18th birthday. The RDW's page on supervised driving is explicit: "Als je de weg op gaat, moet je altijd je coach, je rijbewijs en je begeleiderspas bij je hebben" (whenever you drive, you must have your coach, your licence and your pass with you). That coach must be registered with the RDW in advance and listed on the pass. A salesperson along for the ride does not automatically count: without that person on the pass, the test drive is not permitted for a 17-year-old driver.

Test drives at a dealer: the handelaarskenteken

With a private seller, a test drive normally runs on the car's own registration, with its liability cover attached. At a registered dealer this can work differently: a car in dealer stock is not yet registered to a buyer, so it does not always carry its own insurance. For that there is the handelaarskenteken, the green trade plate a business recognised by the RDW can apply for. The RDW lists a test drive as a permitted use, describing the plate as intended "voor een proefrit of als u bijvoorbeeld met een voertuig naar een keuring moet" (for a test drive, or when you need to take a vehicle to an inspection). The driver has to carry the trade plate certificate, and the plate cannot be used for private driving. On green plates, the insurance sits with the plate, not the car you end up buying.

What changes once you buy

While you are only test-driving, the insurance duty sits with the seller. Once the registration is transferred into your name, that duty moves to you. The RDW is specific: from the moment of transfer, the vehicle must be insured in your name, and you may drive it immediately, before you even have the physical registration certificate, which you only need to carry after 14 days. Arrange insurance before you take the car away.

What this means for you as a buyer

Before a test drive with a private seller, ask whether the car is insured and whether it has ever carried a driving ban. At a dealer, ask whether you will drive on the car's own registration or on trade plates, since that determines which policy covers any damage. If you or your test driver are 17 with a 2toDrive licence, arrange for a registered coach to come along, not just any staff member. For the rest of the test drive, from a cold start to speed, our country-neutral test drive checklist applies without change.

A Plateop report for a Dutch registration shows, where that data is available, whether the car currently shows as WAM-insured on the vehicle register. If it shows as uninsured, the report flags it as a point of attention: that often means the car has been off the road for a while, which can affect tyres, brakes and the battery. Check any car before you buy at plateop.com.