Road transportThe Euro licence (community licence) is the business licence for transport companies. Companies that are active in the professional road transport of goods, must have a Euro licence. Do you want to start a company in professional road transport of goods in the Netherlands than you must first apply for a Euro licence with the NIWO. Professional road transport of goods is the transport of goods against payment by order of third parties. The licence obligation applies for national and international transport with vehicles with a load capacity of more than 500 kg. The load capacity is mentioned on the vehicle registration document. Not just lorries but also delivery vans often have a licence obligation due to their load capacity.
Searching in the list Euro licence holders
At the business desk of the NIWO you can check if a Dutch company has a Euro licence. Some companies on this list only have a domestic licence for transport in the Netherlands, it's called NATvergunning.
The address of the list is: -> https://ondernemersloket.niwo.nl/home/publicatie/zoek-vergunninghouders
Transport options
Companies with a Euro licence are obliged to have a least one vehicle. A licence certificate (or: certified copy) is required for this vehicle. With a Euro licence certificate onboard your vehicles you may perform transport within the borders of the European Union, only on cabotage (national transport in another member state) restrictions are imposed. If you want to transport outside the European Union, you will also require, apart from the Euro licence, an additional journey permit or a CEMT licence.
Validity
The Euro licence is valid for five years and can then be extended. You must always comply with the licence conditions. Adjustments in your company may have consequences. For example, if a transport manager (with professional certificate) resigns, you must arrange a replacement.
Model of the Euro licence
The current model of the Euro licence exists since 1 April 2011. Old models have now expired so therefore no longer valid. The Euro licence contains authenticity features, such as the words ‘origineel’ and ‘kopie’ in silver print, a typical guilloche pattern background and the use of micro text that reads the licence number if you use a magnifying glass. The Euro licence has a light blue colour, you can find an example under 'Specimen'.