Lawyer at a police interview in the Netherlands

Contact us before you reply to an invitation or go to the police station. If you are calling about someone who is being held right now, say so at the start of the call.

• You received a letter or phone call from the police inviting you for an interview as a suspect (verdachte).
• A partner, family member or employee has been arrested and is at the police station.
• The police are at your door with questions or a search warrant.
• You want to know whether remaining silent is wise in your situation.
• You have been taken into police custody and will be brought before the examining magistrate (rechter-commissaris).
• You were released after the interview and are waiting for the decision of the Public Prosecution Service (Openbaar Ministerie).

If you are invited, you have not been arrested and you are in principle not obliged to attend. If you do not go, the police may arrest you instead, so discuss your reply with a lawyer first.

When you are stopped or arrested, the police must tell you which offence you are suspected of, at the latest before the first interview (Article 27c of the Dutch Code of Criminal Procedure, Sv). That information is the starting point for deciding how to approach the interview.

After an arrest, the police may hold you for questioning (ophouden voor onderzoek) for nine hours for offences that allow pre-trial detention, and six hours for other offences (Article 56a Sv). The hours between midnight and 9 a.m. do not count.

After that, a public prosecutor can order police custody (inverzekeringstelling) for offences that allow pre-trial detention. The order lasts up to three days and can be extended once by three days in cases of urgent necessity (Articles 57 and 58 Sv). You must be brought before the examining magistrate no later than three days and eighteen hours after your arrest (Article 59a Sv). The magistrate can order detention (bewaring) for up to fourteen days (Article 64 Sv). Our guide on arrest and police custody explains each step.

You are not obliged to answer questions, and the police must tell you so before the interview starts: the caution (cautie, Article 29 Sv). The officer may not do anything aimed at obtaining a statement that is not given freely.

If you do not speak or understand Dutch well enough, you are entitled to an interpreter free of charge. Whether remaining silent is wise depends on what is in the file and what you can explain. We discuss this before the interview, so that you make a deliberate choice. Read more in our article on the right to remain silent.

If you are arrested, you have the right to consult a lawyer for up to thirty minutes before the first interview (Article 28c Sv), and to have your lawyer present during the interview. For vulnerable suspects and for serious offences carrying twelve years' imprisonment or more, the assistant public prosecutor arranges a lawyer for you (Article 28b Sv).

You may always choose your own lawyer. If you want Law & More to assist you, tell the police so, or ask a family member to call us. If you are invited rather than arrested, you arrange a lawyer yourself before the interview.

1. First contact: tell us briefly what is going on and whether someone is being held. We let you know within one working day, and in urgent cases straight away, whether we can help.
2. Advice and cost estimate: we advise on the approach that suits your situation and give you an estimate of the costs in advance.
3. The interview: we attend the interview and monitor the time limits for questioning, police custody and the hearing before the examining magistrate.
4. After the interview: we set out the next steps, such as a decision not to prosecute (sepot), a penalty order (strafbeschikking) or a summons to appear in court.

Law & More does not work on a legal aid basis (toevoeging), except within the duty lawyer scheme (piketdienst) for arrested suspects. Our article on what a criminal lawyer costs explains who pays in which situation.

Your case is handled by Tom Meevis and Jade Vaneerdewegh. You can find them on our team page. For criminal cases in general, see our criminal lawyer page.