Guides
The process, the costs, exchanging a licence and the practical exam — with figures checked at source.
Lesson 24. Which language to take the theory exam in
Dutch, English or with an interpreter — what each form costs, what it solves, and why the concepts stay Dutch either way.
What a driving licence really costs
All the CBR's 2026 rates, plus the items people forget to count.
Lesson 3. Basic vocabulary
The sixty-odd Dutch words without which an exam question cannot be read — with pronunciation, the legal definition and what each one is confused with.
Lesson 7. Special roads and special manoeuvres
Motorway and expressway, joining and leaving, turning round and reversing, roadworks, level crossings, tunnels and bridges, residential yards, and the convoys and processions you do not cut through.
Lesson 9. The system behind the signs
How Dutch traffic signs actually work — series A to L, shape and colour, zones and plates, road markings, traffic lights, police signals, and the order of authority in art. 62 to art. 64 and art. 84.
Lesson 27. The final check: are you ready for the exam
How a mock exam in full regime measures whether you are ready, which result counts as readiness, what to do when a part goes wrong, and how many days before your date this belongs.
Lesson 4. How the exam works
The whole shape of the theory exam — numbers, question forms, language, booking, timing and the traps hidden in the wording.
Lesson 25. The last week before the exam
How to use the mock exam, the progress tree and the exam-language mode on this site in your final week — and what not to do in that week.
Lesson 15. Mandatory signs: chapter D and the compulsory direction of travel
The seven round blue signs D1 to D7 — what they impose, what they precisely do not regulate, how far they reach and how the arrow on the road surface does the same job.
Lesson 21. Hazard perception
The whole hazard perception topic — brake, ease off or do nothing, stopping within your sight, position on the road, priority, living zones, level crossings, weather, fatigue and vulnerable road users.
Lesson 1. How the Dutch road is put together
Road, carriageway, lane, cycle path, pavement, verge, driveway, home zone, built-up area, expressway and motorway — what counts as what, and why every other rule depends on it.
Lesson 17. Parking signs: chapter E from stilstaan to parking disc
Every sign from E1 to E13 — the red prohibitions, the blue permissions, the parking disc zone and the disabled parking card — together with the places the law forbids on its own.
Lesson 22. Braking distance and stopping distance
The whole braking part of the exam — reaction, braking and stopping distance, wet roads, following distance, the speed figures the law names, sight and lights, and the requirements for tyres and brakes.
Lesson 23. Risk situations: speed, visibility and attention
The whole risk chapter of the exam — choosing speed by what you can see, reaction and braking distance, visibility and weather, lights and windows, fatigue, distraction and the phone.
Lesson 16. Speed and speed zones: chapter A, the zone and the erf
Where a maximum speed comes from — the law, the sign, the zone and the erf — with the five signs of chapter A, the 30 and 60 zone, the advisory speed, the electronic signalling gantry and the rule that the lowest speed counts.
Lesson 8. Safe driving and emergencies
Everything the exam asks about seating and mirrors, seat belts and child restraints, fatigue and phones, visibility, weather and lights, breaking down at the roadside, and what the law demands after a crash.
Lesson 10. Responsible and economical driving: speed, alcohol and fuel
The whole responsible-driving topic — choosing your speed by what you can see, defensive driving and distraction, alcohol, drugs and medicines with the limits of art. 8 WVW, and where economical driving stops.
Lesson 14. Prohibition signs: chapters C and F
Every geslotenverklaring from C1 to C22F and every other prohibition from F1 to F22 — who they bind, how far they reach and where they stop.
Lesson 20. Traffic lights and the traffic controller: who decides what you do
Every light on the exam — three-colour, two-colour, tram/bus, lane, level crossing, bridge and pedestrian — plus the flashing amber light, the instructions of the traffic controller and the order of authority that puts all of it in place.
Lesson 12. Vehicle knowledge: lights, dashboard, visibility and load
What the law demands of the car itself — the compulsory lights and the moment they must be on, the warning lamps, windows and mirrors, tyres and brakes, securing and overhanging load, the trailer and the environmental zone.
Lesson 6. Priority: who goes first
The whole priority chapter of the Dutch theory exam — the order of authority, signs, shark's teeth, lights, right-hand rule, turning, roundabouts, driveways, tram and bus, pedestrians and emergency vehicles.
Lesson 13. Priority signs: the seven signs of chapter B
The whole B group — priority road, priority junction, give way and stop — plus shark's teeth, the stop line and the ranking of sign, light and police instruction.
Lesson 18. Warning, information and the type of road: J, K, L, G and H
The triangles of chapter J, the wayfinding boards of K and the information signs of L, together with the signs that tell you what kind of road you are on — G and H — and the rule that is really behind each of them.
Lesson 5. Using the road: place, speed, overtaking and stopping
Everything the exam asks about ordinary driving — speed limits by road and by vehicle, overtaking on the left and on the right, where each road user belongs, merging and changing lanes, special lanes, stopping and parking.
Lesson 2. Road users
Who counts as a driver and who as a pedestrian, which vehicle categories art. 1 RVV defines, where each group rides, which speed belongs to which category and who wears a helmet.
Lesson 19. Road markings: the lines that divide the road
Everything that lies on the road surface — solid and broken lines, shark's teeth, the stop line, block marking, cycle lane, bus lane, yellow lines, the chevron area and arrows — together with the articles their meaning comes from.
Lesson 11. Legislation: driving licence, registration, insurance and punishment
The legal side of the exam — which laws there are, the words of art. 1, who may drive, what you must show, APK and insurance, alcohol and the breath test, and what an offence costs you.
Lesson 26. Finding and clearing your weak spots
How the trainer points out your weak topics, in what order you clear them and how you can tell that a topic is done.
Exchanging a foreign driving licence in the Netherlands
185 days, fifteen years for the EU, the 30% ruling, and what to do when exchange is not possible. Checked with the RDW.
Ready for the practical exam
What the examiner assesses, which mistakes are most often fatal, and what rights you have during the exam.
From zero to a licence — the whole process
Every step from theory to licence, with the ages, deadlines and amounts the CBR and the law actually apply.