A criminal record in the Netherlands is the information about you in the Judicial Documentation System (Justitieel Documentatiesysteem), the central register of criminal cases kept by the Ministry of Justice and Security. It does not only contain court convictions: penalty orders, out-of-court settlements and decisions not to prosecute can also be registered, while many minor traffic fines are not.
What people call a strafblad is in fact an extract from that register. Its consequences reach well beyond the criminal courts, most visibly when you apply for a Certificate of Conduct (Verklaring Omtrent het Gedrag, VOG) and the screening turns up something you had half forgotten.
What is registered on a criminal record?
Every crime (misdrijf) is registered, whatever the outcome. Minor offences (overtredingen) are registered only in certain cases, depending on the offence and on how it was dealt with.
Dutch criminal law distinguishes between crimes, such as theft, assault and fraud, and minor offences, such as most traffic and public order violations. The rules are laid down in the Judicial and Criminal Records Act (Wet justitiële en strafvorderlijke gegevens, Wjsg) and the decree based on it. For a minor offence, registration generally follows when a court imposes a custodial sentence or community service, or when a fine above the threshold of 130 euros is imposed by a court or through a penalty order (strafbeschikking). A number of more serious minor offences, for example certain serious speeding offences and weapons offences, are always registered.
That threshold explains why people are often surprised by their extract. An ordinary traffic fine under the Administrative Enforcement of Traffic Regulations Act (Wet Mulder) is an administrative sanction and does not appear. A penalty order accepted without much thought quite possibly will. The way a case is dealt with therefore matters as much as the conduct itself.
What are the consequences of having a criminal record?
The most common consequence is that a VOG is refused. A criminal record can also affect regulated professions, residence applications and insurance.
A VOG states that your judicial past is no objection to a particular position or activity. Employers in education, healthcare, childcare, finance and transport often require one. Justis screens your judicial data against the risks of the specific position, which is why the same entry can be harmless for one job and decisive for another. Our article on the VOG procedure explains how that assessment works and what to do if the certificate is refused.
Beyond employment, a criminal record can stand in the way of certain regulated professions and can play a role in an application for a residence permit or naturalisation. Insurers may ask about a criminal past when you take out a policy. If they ask, you must answer truthfully, and an honest answer can lead to a refusal or different terms. None of these consequences follows automatically from the entry itself. Each is a separate decision by a separate body, but each of them starts with the register.
How can you find out what is on your criminal record?
You can ask to see your own judicial data at the Judicial Information Service (Justitiële Informatiedienst, Justid) of the Ministry of Justice and Security. It is best to do this before a job application rather than after it.
This is particularly useful if you have ever accepted a penalty order or paid a substantial fine without taking advice. You then know in advance what Justis will see when you apply for a VOG, and you can prepare an explanation where needed.
You make the request in writing to Justid, by email or by post, with a copy of your passport or identity card. You will receive a response within six weeks. If the request is granted, you collect the overview (Overzicht Justitiële Gegevens) at a district court near you. You cannot use this overview as a VOG.
If you believe the register contains an error, you can ask Justid to correct it. Justid decides on such a request in writing. Correction is limited to putting right what is factually incorrect. It is not a route to having an accurate but inconvenient entry removed.
How long does information stay on a criminal record?
Judicial data are not kept forever. Under Article 6 of the Wjsg, data on minor offences are in principle destroyed after five years, or after ten years if a custodial sentence, community service order or a higher-category corporate fine was imposed. Under Article 4, data on crimes are destroyed after twenty years for offences carrying a statutory maximum of under six years, with longer periods, up to eighty years for the most serious cases, for more serious offences.
For minor offences the period becomes ten years when a custodial sentence or community service was imposed. For crimes it becomes thirty years when the offence carries a maximum prison sentence of six years or more. For sexual offences the period is eighty years. The periods generally run from the final decision or from the moment the sentence has been fully served or paid. The same periods apply to penalty orders once they have been fully executed, which means that leaving a fine partly unpaid keeps the entry on the register longer than most people expect.
Retention is not the same as visibility. In a VOG screening Justis looks back over a review period that depends on the position, usually four years. An entry that is still formally registered will therefore not necessarily be held against you.
What should you do if you receive a fine or a penalty order?
Do not simply pay. Check first whether the penalty order is justified, because the deadline for challenging it is short.
Paying seems simpler than objecting, and that is precisely the trap. A penalty order that you do not challenge becomes final and is registered as a criminal disposal. Under Article 257e of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Wetboek van Strafvordering, Sv) you have fourteen days to lodge an objection (verzet) with the Public Prosecution Service (OM). Someone who assumes the matter is closed once the payment is made easily misses that deadline.
There are good reasons to have the file assessed first. The public prosecutor can be wrong about the facts or about your guilt, and a judge may take a different view. A lawyer can check whether the sanction is justified, advise on whether an objection is worth lodging, draft it and represent you at the hearing. The point is not to contest everything, but to make the decision knowingly rather than by default. Our overview of the Dutch criminal justice system sets out how the stages fit together.
Can a criminal record affect your residence permit or naturalisation?
Yes, but not automatically. The Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) assesses each case individually.
For a regular residence permit, the IND weighs the seriousness of the offence against how long you have lived in the Netherlands. It uses a sliding scale (glijdende schaal) for this: the shorter your stay, the lighter the sentence that can lead to refusal or withdrawal. Personal circumstances, such as family ties, also play a role.
For naturalisation, the IND looks at the five years before your application. A custodial sentence, community service of 36 hours or more, or a fine or penalty order of 900 euros or more in that period generally stands in the way. The current rules are on the IND website.
How do you prove your Dutch record for use abroad?
Foreign authorities usually ask for a VOG. You need a paper VOG, because a digital VOG cannot be legalised.
If you live in the Netherlands, you apply at your municipality. If you live abroad, you apply to Justis. A Dutch embassy or consulate cannot issue a VOG. The VOG is issued in Dutch only, so you may need a sworn translation and legalisation, depending on the rules of the country concerned. See NetherlandsWorldwide for the steps.
In summary
- Your criminal record is the data about you in the Judicial Documentation System, not only court convictions.
- Crimes are always registered; minor offences only above certain thresholds or for certain serious offences.
- You can view your own data at Justid and ask for factual errors to be corrected.
- Data are destroyed after statutory periods of in principle five years for minor offences and twenty years for crimes, with longer periods in serious cases.
- You have fourteen days to object to a penalty order, and that choice determines whether it is registered as final.
Frequently asked questions
Is a criminal record the same as a conviction?
No. A court conviction is one way to end up in the register. A penalty order from the Public Prosecution Service or an out-of-court settlement can also lead to registration, without a court ever ruling on the case.
Does a criminal record automatically mean no VOG?
No. Justis weighs what is registered against the risks of the specific position and the time that has passed. An entry that is irrelevant to the role, or that falls outside the review period, need not stand in the way of a VOG.
Can an entry be deleted on request?
Only if it is incorrect. A request for correction deals with factual errors. Accurate entries remain until the statutory retention period has passed.
Will a Dutch criminal record be visible abroad?
The Dutch register is national, but data on convictions are exchanged with other EU member states through the European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS). Foreign authorities also often ask applicants directly about their criminal past when they apply for a visa or residence permit. Answering such a question untruthfully creates a separate problem of its own.
Law & More advises on criminal records, penalty orders and refused VOGs as part of our criminal law practice. Unsure where you stand? Tell us about your situation. We will let you know your options within one working day.
How Law & More can help you with this is explained on our criminal lawyer page.
