You book the theory exam yourself at mijn.cbr.nl using your DigiD, choosing the English-language version as you go and paying straight away. It takes about ten minutes once your DigiD is sorted. Two things catch people out. Booking through a third-party website costs you extra for nothing, and forgetting to select the English version leaves you sitting an exam in Dutch.
Everything runs through Mijn CBR, and Mijn CBR only lets you in with a DigiD. To get one you need a BSN and to be registered with your local council. Request it at digid.nl and the activation code arrives by post within roughly five working days, so this is the part to sort out first rather than the week you want to book.
One thing you do not need is a health declaration. Plenty of guidance online suggests otherwise, but the gezondheidsverklaring is required for your practical test and your licence application, not for the theory exam. Leave it until later.
Worth knowing before you pick a slot: the English exam costs €57.00 rather than the €50.50 charged for the Dutch version, evening and Saturday slots carry a €6.25 surcharge, and an exam with extra time costs €64.00.
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There are two ways round it. You can download the theory exam application form from cbr.nl, fill it in and post it to the CBR, after which they send you a payment request followed by an invitation at least three weeks before your exam date. Or your driving school can book on your behalf, though they may charge a fee for doing so.
Both routes come with the same catch. An exam booked this way cannot be changed by you in Mijn CBR. For the postal route you have to ring the CBR’s customer services, and if your driving school booked it, they have to make the change.
You are free to sit the exam at any of the CBR’s theory centres, and the exam is identical wherever you go. What differs is the wait. Busy centres in and around the big cities can run to several weeks, while quieter ones often have space within a week. If you are not tied to one spot, checking a centre slightly further away is often the fastest way to get a date.
Search for “book CBR theory exam” and you will find plenty of sites offering to arrange your booking. They charge a fee on top of the CBR’s price for a booking you can make yourself in ten minutes. The only official portal is mijn.cbr.nl. Anything else is a middleman.
Bring valid photo ID and your reservation number, and arrive early enough to check in without rushing.
Which ID counts depends on your nationality. If you are from an EU or EEA country or Switzerland, your national passport, national ID card or residence permit will do. If you are from anywhere else, including the UK since Brexit, you need your foreign passport with a valid residence sticker, or a valid Dutch residence document. It has to be the original document, so a photo or a photocopy will not get you in, and an emergency passport is not accepted.
You can reschedule up to three times through Mijn CBR and it is free, unless you move to an evening or weekend slot and owe the surcharge. Within seven days of your exam you can only move to an earlier slot, and only if one is free. What you cannot do is cancel. Miss your exam without arranging anything and the money is gone, though you can apply for a refund in exceptional circumstances.
No. The car theory exam is available in English as standard. It is the only CBR theory exam offered in English, so if you are going for a motorcycle or moped licence you will need an interpreter, which you arrange and pay for yourself through an approved agency.
No. The CBR does not take bookings over the phone. It is Mijn CBR, the postal form, or your driving school.
Only once your result has been registered. You will receive your result form by email shortly after the exam, and from that point you can book again at the same price.
Book once your practice exams are consistently well above the pass mark, not before. Given waiting times of a couple of weeks in most places, that usually means booking around two to three weeks before you expect to be ready.
Ready to practice?
3250 practice questions, 60 mock exams, a video course and much more. All for one price.
Ready to practice?
3250 practice questions, 60 mock exams, a video course and much more. All for one price.
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