How do you check for an outstanding recall via the RDW?

You check for an open recall on a specific car for free via the RDW licence-plate check at ovi.rdw.nl: enter the plate and look under the "Overzicht" tab, in the "Terugroepacties" section. That check shows whether a reported, not-yet-resolved action is outstanding for this exact car, and it works on any Dutch plate, including one you don't own yet. The web tool itself doesn't spell out what the defect actually is; the underlying open data does link it at plate level, through a table that points from each plate to the manufacturer's reference code.

Applies to: the Netherlands, RDW vehicle register. Source: RDW (rdw.nl, opendata.rdw.nl), consulted directly. Checked: August 2026. Main exception: manufacturers aren't legally required to supply the RDW with a list of affected chassis numbers, so that linking table's coverage isn't complete: if a plate is in it, the exact action can be pinned down with certainty; if it isn't (yet), that doesn't rule an action out.

How to check a car for an outstanding recall

The RDW licence-plate check is the fastest step, and it needs no account or login. Enter a Dutch plate, open "Overzicht", and scroll to "Terugroepacties". A listing there means the manufacturer or importer has told the RDW this specific car needs repair. Because the check works on any Dutch plate, you can run it before making an offer, not only after buying.

The RDW also keeps a separate, searchable register of every action ever reported, including ones already resolved. That register is searched by make and model, independent of any one plate.

What the open recall register shows separately

The underlying data is also published as free open data, no API key required, split across three tables. Terugroep_actie (just over 5,200 rows) describes each reported action on its own: the defect, its category, the practical consequences, the repair advice, RDW's risk rating, and the date owners had to be informed. Terugroep_voertuig_merk_type (just over 10,000 rows) links each action to the make and model it covers, for instance "Volkswagen" and "Golf". Terugroep_actie_status (nearly 5.8 million rows) then links, per plate, which action applies and whether its status is open or resolved.

That third table is genuinely built at plate level. The gap isn't in how the register is designed; it's in how complete and current that link turns out to be in practice.

What the missing VIN requirement does, and doesn't, limit

Manufacturers, as the RDW itself stated in August 2026, aren't yet legally required to supply the RDW with a recall's chassis-number (VIN) list of affected cars, even though the RDW itself calls that information essential for accurate, complete registration. That affects the linking table's coverage, not the link itself: if a plate appears in Terugroep_actie_status with status "open", that same row also carries the manufacturer's reference code, and that reference code points straight to the matching row in Terugroep_actie, complete with the exact defect, RDW's risk rating, and the repair advice. For a plate that's in the table, the precise action can genuinely be pinned down from the open data with certainty, no dealer required. That's also why the RDW's own licence-plate check doesn't spell out the defect next to the yes/no flag: the web tool is built for a simple signal, not for working out the underlying link itself.

The real gap sits on the other side. Because manufacturers aren't required to supply every affected chassis number, a car that genuinely falls under an action can still be missing from the linking table, or show up there late. For a popular model with dozens of actions across generations, engine variants and model years, that means: if your plate isn't in the table, or isn't there yet, that doesn't rule out an outstanding action for that make and model. That's the reason to verify with the dealer when in doubt, not because the open data can't make the link when the row is actually there.

The role of the importer and the dealer

The manufacturer is responsible for informing the owner, and in practice that's usually handled by the Dutch importer. The RDW supplies the importer with the registered owner's address details, and can send the letter itself on the importer's behalf. The repair has to happen at a company the manufacturer designates, usually the brand dealer, and that repair is free of charge for the owner, whoever that is at the time. Once the manufacturer reports the fix to the RDW, the listing disappears from the licence-plate check.

What an outstanding recall means for a purchase

An open recall doesn't by itself block a registration transfer, and it isn't a driving ban: the car can still be driven and change hands. It is a manufacturer-acknowledged defect with possible consequences for safety, the environment, or how the car functions, one the RDW says can't wait for the next scheduled service. Buy a car with that status and you also take on the dealer appointment, even though the appointment itself costs nothing. The RDW and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management are currently looking, together with the EU, at whether compliance could eventually be enforced through the MOT (APK), but no legal obligation to act on a recall exists yet.

What this means for you as a buyer

Check the specific car's plate before you make an offer, not after: the RDW licence-plate check is free and needs no account. If a recall shows up, ask the seller for the manufacturer's reference code and whether a dealer appointment has already been made, since the dealer, not the open data, can confirm exactly what the defect is. Factor the appointment into your timeline even though the repair itself is free, and be extra alert with a popular model that had a long production run, where the register can easily show ten or more separate actions under the same make and model. A Plateop report shows, where available, whether a specific car has an open recall according to the vehicle register, together with the known actions for that make and model. Which of those actions applies precisely to this plate, the report currently still matches by make and model, not by the reference code from the linking table above: confirm that with the dealer before you make an offer. Check any car before you buy at plateop.com.