Free license plate check:
what you can see about any Dutch car (and what it is worth)
23 July 2026 · 6 min read
Every Dutch license plate can be looked up. The RDW publishes the most important vehicle data as open data and anyone can browse it for free. That is handy when you have a used car in your sights: before you even visit, you know whether the build year is correct, which fuel the car really runs on and when the APK (the Dutch periodic inspection) expires. Autoflip's free plate check goes one step further and puts that official RDW data next to what comparable cars actually cost on the market right now. In this article you will read exactly what a plate check gives you, what it leaves out and how to use it to your advantage as a buyer.
Why every Dutch license plate can be looked up for free
The RDW, the Dutch national vehicle authority, keeps a record of every registered vehicle. A large part of that record is open data: public information that anyone may request. You need no account, no subscription and no special reason. Type in a plate number and the key facts about the car appear, from make and build year to the APK expiry date.
Still, people sometimes pay for it. Some websites wrap exactly this public data in a paid report. That is a waste of money: the basic data is free and Autoflip's plate check shows it for free as well, topped up with something the RDW does not have, namely the current market price of comparable cars.
What you can see about any Dutch car
These are the most important fields in the RDW's open data and what you do with them as a buyer:
| RDW field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Make and model | Does the listing match what is officially registered? |
| Build year and first registration | A car "from 2019" first registered late 2018 is older than the listing suggests |
| Fuel type | Petrol, diesel, electric or hybrid: it determines consumption, road tax and whether the seller's story holds up |
| Colour | A different colour than registered can point to a respray after damage |
| APK expiry date | If the APK expires within weeks, budget for an inspection and possibly extra costs |
| Open recalls | An unresolved recall is fixed for free at the dealer but you want to know about it upfront |
The RDW's open data is updated continuously. Some fields can be empty for older or imported cars.
What a plate check does not tell you
Just as important is what the open data leaves out. The mileage, for example: that sits in the RDW's odometer registration (the former NAP) and that registration is not part of the open dataset. The damage history and the number of previous owners are equally absent from any free plate check.
For those three things the viewing remains essential. Ask the seller for a recent odometer report, leaf through the maintenance booklet and hold the invoices next to the reading on the dashboard. How to run such a viewing step by step is covered in our checklist for buying a used car from a private seller.
From plate to market value
Knowing that a car is from 2018 and runs on diesel is useful but says nothing about the price. That is why Autoflip's plate check links the RDW data to what comparable cars actually cost right now. Those prices do not come from an outdated price guide but live from roughly 50,000 listings per day on 2dehands, Marktplaats, AutoScout24 BE and NL and Mobile.de.
So you see at a glance whether the asking price in the listing is reasonable. If a comparable car is listed for 11,500 euros on average and the seller asks 13,900, you know what the conversation should be about. Selling yourself? Then it works just as well the other way around: also read what is my car worth for the full picture.
How to use the check before a viewing
The biggest win comes before the viewing. Run the plate from the listing through the check and compare the result with the seller's story. Is the build year correct? Is it really a hybrid? Does the APK happen to expire next month? Every mismatch is a question for the first phone call and sometimes a reason not to go at all.
- 01Ran the plate through the check and compared the RDW data with the listing.
- 02Checked the APK expiry date: if it expires soon, factor that into your offer.
- 03Reviewed open recalls and asked the seller whether they have been carried out.
- 04Looked at the market price of comparable cars so you know whether the asking price is reasonable.
- 05Requested an odometer report or maintenance booklet for the mileage, because that is not in the open data.
If the asking price deviates from the market, use that in the conversation. How to do that tactfully without losing the deal is covered in our guide on negotiating with a private seller.
What about Belgian cars?
For Belgium this works differently and we say so honestly. Belgian license plates are tied to the person: the plate moves with the owner and cannot be looked up publicly. A free plate check like the Dutch one simply does not exist there.
What a Belgian car does have is the Car-Pass: the mandatory mileage certificate the seller must hand over at the sale. Ask for it and be on your guard if the seller dodges the question. For the market price you use the value check by make and model: it shows what comparable cars cost right now, no plate needed.
Concrete offer on the table? Two follow-up tools
If you have a specific listing in mind, paste the asking price into the deal check: it tells you whether this particular asking price is good compared to the market. Want to explore more broadly? On the price page you find the price per model and build year. Together with the plate check you have everything you need to walk into a viewing with confidence.
Frequently asked questions
Is a license plate check really free?+
Yes. The vehicle data comes from the RDW's open data and that data is freely accessible to everyone. Autoflip's plate check is free as well: you enter a plate number and see the official RDW data together with the current market price of comparable cars, no account needed.
Can I look up a car's mileage with a plate check?+
No. Mileage readings sit in the RDW's odometer registration (the former NAP) and that registration is not part of the open dataset. Ask the seller for a recent odometer report or verify the reading against maintenance invoices during the viewing.
Can I check a Belgian license plate too?+
No. Belgian plates are tied to the owner rather than the car and they are not publicly searchable. For a Belgian car you ask the seller for the Car-Pass (the mandatory mileage certificate at sale) and you use Autoflip's value check by make and model to see the market price.
How do I know what a car is worth based on its license plate?+
Autoflip's plate check links the RDW data behind the plate to what comparable cars actually cost right now. Those prices come live from roughly 50,000 listings per day on 2dehands, Marktplaats, AutoScout24 BE and NL and Mobile.de, so you see today's market instead of an estimate from months ago.
Is the Marktplaats license plate check free?+
Yes. Every license plate check on a Dutch plate ultimately reads the same source: the RDW open data. That register is public by law, so it is free wherever you look it up. What differs per provider is the presentation and what gets shown alongside it. Autoflip's plate check is free too and adds the current asking prices of comparable cars, measured across five platforms over the last 7 days.
How does the Marktplaats license plate check work?+
You enter the plate and the service pulls the registration data from the RDW: make, model, build year, fuel, weight, date of first registration, the MOT expiry date and the mileages recorded at inspections. It runs on the RDW open dataset, so no human checks it in between. What you get is what is officially on record.
How reliable is the Marktplaats license plate check?+
The data itself is official: it comes from the vehicle register. But a plate check does not tell you everything. It shows no damage history, no service history and no mileage between two inspections. An odometer wound back between two MOTs only surfaces at the next inspection. Use the check to verify that the listing is truthful, not to judge the car.
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