No. For the sale and purchase of vehicles, you will almost always need RDW recognition for your business stock. This recognition allows you to temporarily register vehicles in your company's name instead of your personal name, which is essential for trading.

To be eligible, you must, among other things:

• Registered with the Chamber of Commerce (KvK), with the business description that you purchase or manufacture vehicles with the aim of selling them
• As a sole trader, be at least 18 years old and live in the Netherlands
• To have a physical location where your business's stock can be stored (not the public highway).

Depending on your activities, you may also require other authorisations, such as:

• Export Recognitionto drive vehicles from your stock
• Acknowledgement of MOT: if you yourself want to carry out inspections
• Appointment (TV)for re-registering licence plates

The RDW aims to process an application within 15 working days. For processing notifications (such as deregistration), you will subsequently need an accredited RDW provider.

Start-up costs vary considerably. Expect a range of €25,000 to €250,000+, depending on your concept. The main cost items are:

A small trader working from home or a small site with little stock is at the lower end of this bandwidth. A car dealership with a showroom, workshop and larger stock will quickly be heading towards €100,000+.

Two insurances are legally required as soon as you start a car dealership:

1. Business Liability Insurance (AVB). Covers damage to third parties that occurs during your business operations, for example during a test drive.
2. Insurance for your company vehicle stock, according to the Motor Vehicles Liability Insurance Act (WAM). Mandatory as soon as you make use of the RDW business vehicle stock recognition, as vehicles in your stock are often not individually insured (yet).

Furthermore, garage insurance is strongly recommended, but not legally required. It covers, among other things:

• Damage or theft during a test drive
• Transport damage to vehicles from your stock
• Unforeseen damage during repair or maintenance

Furthermore, for self-employed individuals, it is also advisable to consider occupational disability insurance and legal expenses insurance, given the financial risks associated with the car trade.

This can only happen if development plan whether your local authority permits home-based businesses. Car dealing often falls under a stricter category than a regular “home-based business” because it involves:

• Storage of vehicles (business stock) on your premises
• Potential nuisance for local residents (traffic, noise, visual impact)
• Sometimes a mandatory Environmental permit for the use of the land

Therefore, always contact the Spatial Planning department or Environmental Services of your municipality in advance. They will verify if your plans conform to the zoning plan and can indicate whether an exemption or permit is required. If you start without permission, you risk enforcement proceedings and a penalty payment.

For the trade in cars (buying and selling), no specific diploma is legally required. You can buy and sell cars with just a registration at the Chamber of Commerce. However, if you also wish to carry out technical work, such as maintenance, repairs, or MOT inspections, then there are requirements:

• For MOT recognition by the RDW, at least one employee must have a recognised inspector's diploma (for instance, a WFT or Innovam qualification, depending on the vehicle type).
• For garage work, professional competence is often required to meet insurance and warranty requirements, even though this is not always explicitly stipulated by law.

In short: pure trading is possible without a diploma, but as soon as you work on or inspect vehicles, you need recognised professional qualifications.

More and more car buyers and owners are orienting themselves online, which makes a professional website indispensable. With a website of VWE you encourage visitors to contact you, yielding valuable leads. And because the latest techniques have been applied, your website is easy to find in search engines such as Google. We take the entire process of building the website off your hands, so you can focus on your new business!

How do I arrange RDW approvals? Once you have applied for the necessary RDW approvals, you need a provider to make RDW notifications. Through VWE, you can quickly and easily process all the necessary RDW notifications: exemption (ORV), MOT, registration (TV), dismantling and export. With our EasyKey and mobile website for exoneration, it is even possible to exonerate on the road. But even if the approvals are not yet in place, we will be happy to advise you! Click here for an overview of the RDW approvals and to apply for an approval.

In addition to handling vehicle ownership transfers, we also provide supplementary services. For example, you can apply for a new registration certificate or suspend a registration if you are not using the vehicle temporarily. We are here to help you with all kinds of administrative matters related to vehicles.

In short, if you are buying a car or another vehicle from a private seller, don’t forget to arrange the transfer of ownership into your name. Visit our Vehicle Registration Office (Kentekenloket) and benefit from the convenience and expert support we provide.