Registering in the Netherlands: BRP and BSN

The rule: five days, four months

Anyone who plans to stay in the Netherlands for more than four months has to register with the municipality they live in. Rotterdam’s international centre states the deadline plainly: within five days of your arrival you register your presence in the municipal personal records database, the Basisregistratie Personen or BRP (Rotterdam International Center, read 6 Oct 2026). The rule applies to EU and non-EU citizens alike.

Five days is short, and it counts from arrival, not from the day you sign a lease. The registration needs proof of address, so the housing question has to be answered first.

Why it matters: the BSN

The registration is what lets the municipality issue your citizen service number, the Burgerservicenummer or BSN. Rotterdam calls the BSN “absolutely vital for all residents of the Netherlands”. The page does not list every use, so we do not either. What it does say is that the first registration is the step that triggers the number, which is why the order of your first week matters.

About 308,000 people immigrated to the Netherlands in 2025, after 316,000 in 2024 and 336,000 in 2023 (CBS StatLine 83474ENG, recorded in our research on 5 October 2026). Book the appointment early.

What to bring

Rotterdam’s list is the one we could source. Other municipalities may differ in details. It reads:

1. A passport or national identity card. An EU driving licence is not accepted.
2. A completed application form, one for each person.
3. Proof of residence: a rental contract, a tenancy agreement, a declaration from the main occupant, a property purchase agreement or a written statement from a hotel manager.
4. A residence permit, if you are not an EU citizen.
5. Birth or marriage certificates, in the original with legalised translations where they apply.
6. A housing permit, if one is required in your neighbourhood.

Registrations in Rotterdam are in person at the city hall, by appointment, and free of charge. Highly skilled migrants there can use a one-stop service that combines the immigration office (IND) and the municipal registration. Other municipalities run their own appointment systems and forms. Look up your municipality’s page for its current list before you go.

The tenancy agreement is the key document

Because proof of residence is on the list, your rental paperwork has to be in order. Under Dutch rules, tenancy agreements dated 1 July 2023 or later must be in writing, and a landlord has to give you written information about the home, its use, repairs and who to contact in a dispute (Government of the Netherlands, tenants’ step-by-step plan).

Ask the landlord, before you sign, whether you may register at the address, and whether the neighbourhood needs a housing permit. We did not find an official statement that every landlord has to allow registration, so ask and get the answer in writing.

For the rest of the rental rules, see our guide to renting a home in the Netherlands.

A five-day plan

1. Before you travel. Find out which municipality you will live in, and read its page on registering. Note the documents you need, and order translations of certificates if they apply.
2. The day you arrive. Check what your municipality accepts as proof of address on day one. If it is a tenancy agreement, have it signed and in your bag.
3. Day 1 or 2. Book the appointment. Take the passport or ID, the form for each person and the residence permit if you need one.
4. At the counter. Ask when the BSN is confirmed to you and in what form.
5. After the registration. Arrange health insurance. SKGZ says anyone legally obliged to insure must enrol within four months of arriving, and an employee’s cover has to start on the first day of work (SKGZ).

If you would rather have help

Relocation agencies in the Netherlands sell settling-in help. One agency in Rotterdam lists BSN help at EUR 250 on top of its home search fee, and EUR 150 for a bank account (own site, recorded 5 October 2026, prices excluding 21% VAT). Many agencies work for employers first, and few publish prices for private clients. If you ask for a quote, ask whether the appointment, the translations and the follow-up are included.

What we could not source

We did not find an official statement of how long municipalities take to give an appointment, nor of the rules for stays shorter than four months. This guide gives neither. Your municipality’s website, or the immigration office (IND) if your permit came through it, is the place to ask.