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Register foreign documents

You will need to make an appointment if you want to provide the municipality with foreign documents. Make an online appointment by clicking the button or call 14 036 (from abroad: +31 36 539 99 11). We will then include your documents in the Personal Records Database (PRD).

A life event that has taken place abroad, such as birth, marriage, divorce, death, recognition of adoption, name change has to be registered in the PRD. Documents of these events should be submitted to the municipality where you live.

The documents have to meet certain requirements in order to be accepted in the Netherlands:

  • Original foreign document (not a copy)
  • Unlaminated
  • Produced in the country where the life event took place
  • Produced and issued by a competent authority
  • If the document is not written in Dutch, English, French or German, then the document needs to be translated by a certified translator
  • The document has to comply with the legalisation requirements 

Which foreign documents do we include in the PRD? 

  • Birth certificate
  • Marriage certificate
  • Partnership registration certificate
  • Divorce certificate or decree
  • Death certificate
  • Adoption certificate
  • Certificate of name change
  • Act of recognition 

Marriage or registered partnership certificate (Personal declaration – no sham marriage)

Non-Dutch people living in the Netherlands who wish to get married need to complete a Personal declaration – no sham marriage. This document can be found at the municipality where you wish to marry. For more information on whether you need a Personal declaration - no sham marriage, please visit the website of the central government.

You will make a statement when you want to register your foreign marriage or registered partnership in the PRD. You will always have to book an appointment for this. Both parties will have to make a statement, even when one of you is Dutch.

You can download the Personal declaration – no sham marriage (in Dutch, pdf, 61,5 kB) or pick it up at city hall. 

Converting a certificate into a Dutch certificate

After the meeting, we will include your certificate in the PRD. Afterwards, if you so choose, you can convert the certificate into a Dutch certificate at the Den Haag Municipality.

Needed for your appointment 

  • Original document
  • Your presence during the appointment
  • Your document must meet legalisation requirements
  • Only documents in the Dutch, English, German and French language won’t require translation by a certified translator

Application for someone else

You will need to bring the following to your appointment:

  • Completed authorisation form (pdf, 90,1 kB)
  • Copy of your passport and/or identity card (if you have one)
  • Copy of the front and back of your residence permit (if you have one)
  • The original document
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