Temporary export insurance with a Green Card for your trip to Belgium

The export insurance is temporary motor third-party liability insurance (WA in Dutch): it covers damage you cause to others, for 14 days. It comes with the white export plates, as a package from €100, or together with the export document in the complete package from €150. You receive the Green Card at our desk in Hengelo and also by e-mail as a PDF, with the confirmation.

The policy and the Green Card determine which countries and which driver are covered, so check both before you set off. Searching for temporary car insurance for this trip? This is it: a temporary policy for the journey and the formalities, not a Belgian car policy.

The Green Card proves that the vehicle has at least the compulsory third-party cover of the country you are in. According to the Council of Bureaux, the Green Card system covers 47 countries. Keep it with the car's papers during the trip, together with the export certificate. If you are stopped on the way, those two documents show that the car is insured and that it has left the Dutch register.

For the registration, the DIV asks for the vignette of your insurer in box Z as proof of your car insurance. That has to be a Belgian policy: the Brussels Expat Welcome Desk says that before driving, you must take out Belgian third-party liability insurance. You arrange it yourself with a Belgian insurer or broker, who often handles the registration through WebDIV as well. We don't sell Belgian insurance and we don't submit the DIV registration.

According to NederlandWereldwijd, your car insurance is no longer valid once the car has been removed from the Dutch vehicle register, and you need temporary insurance until it is registered in the new country. After deregistration for export, the Dutch owner no longer has to insure the car, keep a valid APK (the Dutch roadworthiness test) or pay motor vehicle tax. Choose a start date for the export insurance that leaves no gap in cover.

The E705 validation, an inspection appointment, a validation or individual approval, or the DIV can take longer than 14 days. You can then extend the insurance, 14 days at a time, from €120 per extension and after the insurer agrees. Apply before the current cover ends so the new cover follows on. The plates themselves stay at 14 days on Dutch roads and never longer than the APK; see extending your export insurance for the conditions.

A caravan or trailer also needs export insurance. Up to 750 kg we arrange the insurance on its chassis number, with a white plate bearing the towing vehicle's registration number; heavier ones keep their own registration and get one white plate. More on our page about taking a motorhome, caravan or trailer to Belgium.

If the car travels on a trailer or with a transport company, it usually needs no driving insurance, though the export document is still required.

Tell us the start date you want, the destination and route, and the details of the policyholder and the driver. For a business buyer we also need the company name, address and VAT number. Bring the documents listed on our page about Dutch car export documents; with everything complete, a standard application at the desk is usually ready in about 15 minutes. Arranging it remotely? We e-mail the Green Card and send the plates insured with tracking, also abroad.