A Dutch registered partnership (geregistreerd partnerschap) is close to marriage in almost every legal respect, but it ends differently. Without joint minor children you can end it out of court, through an agreement signed with a lawyer or civil-law notary; with minor children, only the court can dissolve it. This article sets out both routes, the property, pension and maintenance consequences, and the international issues that often affect internationals in the Netherlands.
Table of contents
What is a registered partnership?
The registered partnership exists since 1 January 1998 and is entered into before the registrar of civil status (ambtenaar van de burgerlijke stand). You can be in only one registered partnership at a time and cannot be married and registered at once (Article 1:80a of the Dutch Civil Code, BW).
Under Article 1:80b BW the rules on the rights and duties of spouses, the community of property and marriage conditions apply correspondingly. The one exception: separation from bed and board (scheiding van tafel en bed) does not exist for registered partners. Under Article 1:199 BW, the male registered partner of the mother is the legal father by operation of law, as a husband would be.
| Point | Marriage | Registered partnership | Cohabitation agreement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal status | Yes, deed at the registrar | Yes, deed at the registrar | No status; contract only |
| Default property regime | Limited community (Article 1:94 BW) | Limited community (Article 1:94 BW) | Nothing automatic |
| Ending it | Court, always | Out of court if no minor children; otherwise court | Under the contract |
| Separation from bed and board | Available | Not available (Article 1:80b BW) | Not applicable |
| Recognition abroad | Broad | Patchy | Very limited |
Can you end it without going to court?
Yes, if you have no joint minor children. Under Article 1:80c BW the partnership ends by mutual consent when the registrar registers a declaration signed by both of you and by at least one lawyer (advocaat) or civil-law notary (notaris).
One lawyer or notary acting for both of you is enough. The declaration is a short instrument for the registrar; the substantive arrangements are in a separate termination agreement.
What must the termination agreement contain?
Under Article 1:80d BW the agreement must at least state that the partnership has irretrievably broken down (duurzaam ontwricht) and that you both wish to end it. It may also cover partner maintenance, the use of the home and household effects, the division of the community or the settlement of partnership conditions, and pension equalisation.
Those further subjects are not required for validity, but leaving them out is rarely wise. An unresolved pension entitlement or an undivided jointly owned house will resurface later, when the leverage of a negotiated settlement has gone.
What is the three-month deadline?
The declaration must reach the registrar within three months of the date the agreement was concluded (Article 1:80d BW). If that period lapses, the partnership simply continues and you need a fresh agreement and declaration, which requires both partners to cooperate again.
The declaration goes to the registrar of the municipality where you entered into the partnership; for a partnership entered into abroad, the municipality of The Hague is competent. The partnership ends on registration, not on signature. For income tax, the Belastingdienst treats the fiscal partnership as ending once you both sign the agreement and no longer share a BRP address.
When must you go to court?
The out-of-court route is closed where you jointly exercise parental authority over one or more joint children, or over children under Articles 1:253sa or 1:253t BW (Article 1:80c BW). The partnership can then only be dissolved (ontbinding) by the court, through a lawyer.
Under Article 1:80e BW the divorce provisions apply correspondingly. You may file a joint petition, which is faster and cheaper, or one partner may apply alone on the ground of irretrievable breakdown. The dissolution takes effect when the court’s decision is registered, which must happen within six months of the decision becoming final.
A petition concerning minor children must include a parenting plan (ouderschapsplan) under Article 815 of the Code of Civil Procedure (Rv). It covers the division of care and upbringing, how you inform and consult each other, and the costs of care and upbringing, that is, child maintenance. If a joint plan cannot be produced, the petition must explain why.
What happens to your property?
For partnerships entered into on or after 1 January 2018, the default is the limited community of property under Article 1:94 BW. Property each of you owned before the partnership, and gifts and inheritances, stay private; what you build up during the partnership is shared equally. Older partnerships keep the former general community of property.
Partnership conditions (partnerschapsvoorwaarden) must be made by notarial deed and can be entered in the matrimonial property register (Articles 1:115 and 1:116 BW). If you have them, ending the partnership means settling the conditions, typically a set-off clause, rather than dividing a community. Joint debts remain joint towards creditors: a mortgage lender is not bound by your termination agreement.
How is your pension divided?
Ending a registered partnership counts as a separation under the Pension Rights Equalisation (Divorce) Act (Wet verevening pensioenrechten bij scheiding, WVPS). By default each of you is entitled to half of the old-age pension the other accrued during the partnership, payable when that pension starts.
- Notify the pension provider on the statutory form within two years of the termination; the provider then pays your share directly. After two years the entitlement remains, but you must claim it from your ex-partner.
- Equalisation can be excluded or varied in partnership conditions or in the termination agreement.
- Conversion (conversie) gives the entitled partner an independent pension right of their own, but requires the pension provider’s cooperation.
Separately, the ex-partner generally keeps a claim to a special partner’s pension (bijzonder partnerpensioen) for the period before termination.
Do you have to pay or receive partner maintenance?
Partner maintenance (partneralimentatie) applies as in a divorce (Article 1:80e BW). Entitlement depends on need on one side and capacity to pay on the other; the amount follows the Dutch maintenance guidelines (Trema-normen).
Under Article 1:157 BW, maintenance runs for half the duration of the partnership, with a maximum of five years. It runs longer if a child under twelve is involved (until the youngest turns twelve), or if the partnership lasted over fifteen years and the recipient is within ten years of state pension (AOW) age (until AOW age). A transitional rule gives ten years to recipients born on or before 1 January 1970 after a partnership of over fifteen years.
Maintenance ends if the recipient remarries, enters a new registered partnership or cohabits as if married. In the termination agreement you are free to agree a different duration or waive maintenance altogether.
Can you convert the partnership into a marriage?
Yes. Under Article 1:80g BW the registrar draws up a deed of conversion, and the marriage begins when that deed is entered in the register; your history as a couple runs on for property and pension purposes. The reverse is no longer possible: converting a marriage into a registered partnership (the “flash divorce” or flitsscheiding) was abolished on 1 March 2009.
What if you live abroad or have a foreign partner?
A Dutch registered partnership is not recognised everywhere. EU Member States without a comparable status, and many countries outside the EU, may treat you as unmarried, which affects residence rights, inheritance and tax. If you plan to move abroad, converting into a marriage under Article 1:80g BW before you go is the usual advice.
The Brussels IIb Regulation does not cover registered partnerships, so Dutch jurisdiction follows national rules, principally Article 4 Rv, which looks mainly at where each of you habitually resides and at your nationality. Under Article 10:86 BW, Dutch law governs the ending of a partnership entered into in the Netherlands. The property consequences generally fall under EU Regulation 2016/1104; maintenance has its own EU and Hague instruments.
If your residence permit depends on the relationship, ending it affects the basis for the permit and you must report the change to the IND. Take immigration advice before signing a termination agreement.
What should you check if you have no minor children?
The out-of-court route is quicker, but the three-month registration deadline in Article 1:80d BW is strict.
- Does the agreement state that the partnership has irretrievably broken down and that you both wish to end it?
- Have you settled the home, the community or partnership conditions, and the mortgage?
- Have you agreed on pension equalisation and on partner maintenance, including its duration?
- Who files the declaration with the registrar, and before which date?
- Have you notified the pension provider within two years and changed your BRP address?
What should you check if you have minor children?
Only the court can dissolve the partnership, and the petition requires a parenting plan under Article 815 Rv.
- Have you agreed the care arrangement and where the children will live?
- Have you calculated child maintenance on the basis of both incomes?
- Can you file a joint petition, or does one of you apply alone?
- Will the court decision be registered within six months of becoming final?
- Does a move abroad with the children require the other parent’s consent or court permission?
What can we do for you when ending a registered partnership?
Our family lawyers assist with both routes, for Dutch and international couples.
- We draft the termination agreement and the declaration and file it with the registrar within the three-month deadline.
- We draft the joint petition for dissolution and the parenting plan.
- We draw up an overview of the community or settle the partnership conditions.
- We calculate partner and child maintenance under the Trema guidelines.
- We check jurisdiction, applicable law and recognition abroad before you sign.
Summary
- Without joint minor children you can end a registered partnership out of court, with a lawyer or notary and registration within three months.
- With joint minor children, only the court can dissolve it, and the petition must include a parenting plan.
- Property, pension equalisation and partner maintenance follow the divorce rules, but you can shape them in the termination agreement.
- You can convert a registered partnership into a marriage, but not the other way round.
- With a foreign element, check recognition, jurisdiction and applicable law before you sign.
Frequently asked questions
Can we end our registered partnership without a lawyer?
No. Article 1:80c BW requires the declaration to be signed by both partners and by at least one lawyer or civil-law notary. Without minor children you avoid the court, but not professional involvement; one lawyer or notary acting for both of you is sufficient.
What happens if we miss the three-month deadline?
The declaration can no longer be registered on that agreement and the partnership continues. You need a new agreement and declaration, filed within a fresh three months, which requires your partner’s cooperation; otherwise only dissolution by the court remains.
We have a child of sixteen. Can we still avoid court?
No. The out-of-court route is excluded whenever you jointly exercise parental authority over a joint child under eighteen (Article 1:80c BW). You apply to the court for dissolution with a parenting plan under Article 815 Rv; a joint petition keeps the process quick.
Is a registered partnership recognised in my home country?
Often not. Several EU Member States have no equivalent status, and recognition outside the EU is inconsistent. Converting the partnership into a marriage under Article 1:80g BW is the usual solution for couples who plan to relocate.
How is the pension dealt with if we say nothing about it?
The WVPS default applies: each partner is entitled to half of the old-age pension the other accrued during the partnership. Notify the pension provider within two years of the termination to have the share paid directly.
