Your driving licence on Aruba: the Dutch one is invalid as soon as you live there, so convert it at the BER

No, you may not keep driving on Aruba with your Dutch licence once you live there. The government says it plainly: "As soon as you live on Aruba, your Dutch driving licence is no longer valid to drive on Aruba. You must exchange your Dutch driving licence for an Aruban driving licence. The Driving Licence Examination Bureau (BER) does not register Dutch driving licences." That is the difference with Curaçao, where registering suffices. The good news: converting goes without an exam, by e-mail and by appointment. The find is in the requirements for the papers: the RDW certificate of authenticity may be no older than six months, costs € 5.10 and only comes by post, within ten working days; the declaration of registration from Censo (Afl. 10) may likewise be no older than six months, and your DIMAS permit must still be valid for more than six months. The pitfall is a rule found nowhere else: whoever took the driving test abroad while already living on Aruba or registered at Censo may not convert and takes the test again.

Why is my Dutch licence not enough here?

For living outside the EU and EFTA the RDW says: ask the authority in the country where you live whether you may keep driving with your Dutch licence. On Aruba that answer is no. Unlike Curaçao, Aruba has no registration of a foreign licence; the BER exchanges it, and until that day you formally drive without a valid licence. So plan the conversion as one of your first appointments after registration at Censo, not as a chore for later. Your Dutch licence remains usable, by the way, when visiting the Netherlands; the RDW names that explicitly as a reason why renewing from abroad is not always necessary.

How does the conversion go, and what do I send along?

You start with an e-mail to the BER (ber@kparuba.com) with scans or photos of the documents; after verification you make an appointment online and bring the originals, not copies. The file:

• your valid Dutch licence, in good condition;
• the RDW certificate of authenticity, properly legalised, as a colour scan or colour photo of the original, no older than six months;
• the declaration of registration in the population register (Afl. 10), no older than six months;
• a valid identity document (ID card or passport);
• your DIMAS permit, still valid for more than six months;
• your telephone number.

Someone else may handle the conversion for you, with an authorisation signed by you and all the documents. If anything is missing you are not helped and you make a new appointment.

Item	Requirement or deadline	Cost
RDW certificate of authenticity	at most 6 months old at the appointment; apply online, assessed within 10 working days, sent by post	€ 5.10
Declaration of registration (Censo)	at most 6 months old	Afl. 10
DIMAS permit	still valid for more than 6 months	fees at DIMAS
Conversion at the BER	e-mail first, appointment online, bring originals, no exam	fees at the BER; not stated on the government page
Driving test taken while already living on Aruba	conversion not possible; take the test again	—

When do I request the RDW certificate?

Before departure, but not too early. The RDW assesses the application within ten working days and sends the certified document the next working day by post; e-mail is not possible, because the certificate is stamped and signed. Whoever is still registered in the Netherlands gets it at the BRP address; whoever has already deregistered gives a foreign correspondence address. Because the BER wants a certificate at most six months old, and the conversion is only possible with your declaration of registration and a permit that still runs well, the best timing is: apply in the last weeks before departure, so that months remain after landing. And mind the requirement that the certificate is "properly legalised"; ask the BER in your first e-mail whether the RDW stamp suffices, so you do not start again with an expired certificate.

What is the pitfall?

Six months is the clock on three papers at once: the RDW certificate, the declaration of registration and the remaining validity of your permit. Whoever postpones the conversion to the last months of the first permit year no longer meets the requirement of "valid for more than six months" and waits for the renewal before driving legally.

If the car came along, registration at Departamento di Impuesto belongs in the same week; if it did not, this is the moment to buy. What else plays in the first month is in your first weeks on Aruba.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey, step 5.1: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Aruba or go straight to step 5.1 in the open plan.