An open recall does not stop you selling the car, and it will not fail an APK. It is also free to put right. Those three facts cover most of what an owner needs, and the complications are smaller than the word recall makes them sound.
A recall (terugroepactie) is the manufacturer asking owners of a run of vehicles to bring them in, because a fault has turned up that affects safety, the environment or the way the vehicle works, and that cannot wait for the next service. It says something about a batch of cars built like yours. It is not a finding about your particular car, which is why an open one can sit against a plate for years with nothing obviously wrong. What it does to the figure a buyer puts on the car is a separate question, and what your car is worth here explains which number you are actually comparing against.
What the RDW holds, and since when
Manufacturers have reported recalls to the RDW since 1 November 2012, and the reported ones sit in a register tied to individual number plates (kentekens). The RDW is the keeper of that list. It did not decide anything was wrong with the car and it is not the party that fixes it.
Responsibility is split in a way worth understanding before you talk to a buyer. The RDW says the manufacturers are the ones who must inform the vehicle owner and who report the vehicle as done after the repair. The owner’s part is making the appointment with the garage the manufacturer points at.
Looking up your own number plate
Two routes, both free and both open to anybody.
The RDW plate check takes a number plate and lists any recalls at the bottom of the overview tab. That is the quickest answer for your own car, and it is also what a careful buyer will do before they come and look at it.
The second route is the recall register itself, searchable by make, type and period. That one is useful when you do not have the plate to hand, or when you want to read what the recall is actually about, since the entry describes the fault.
The APK does not fail a car for an open recall
This is the question sellers ask most, and the RDW answers it plainly in its recall dossier: an open recall is at this moment no part of the APK, and an open recall does not on its own amount to a rejection point. So a car can carry one and pass its inspection.
Read the RDW’s wording closely and you will notice “at this moment” doing some work in that sentence. That is the RDW’s own hedge, and it is the kind of phrasing that gets revisited. For a sale happening now, the answer holds: the test station is not going to stop you over it.
Have the work done first, which is advice we rarely give
We normally tell people not to repair anything before selling, because a repair done to lift a sale price hardly ever earns back what it costs. A recall is the exception, and the reason is simple arithmetic. The dealer does the work for nothing. The RDW is explicit about it: you make an appointment with a dealer, and the dealer repairs the problem free of charge.
So the cost to you is a phone call and a morning. There is no obligation involved. The RDW states that a vehicle owner is not required to act on a recall, which is the sort of thing worth knowing if the garage is unhelpful about booking you in. The reason to do it anyway has nothing to do with the sale: the fault was reported because it affects safety, and the car is presumably still being driven by somebody in the meantime.
Where the sale comes into it is the conversation. A buyer who runs the plate finds an open recall and then has to work out what it means, how long the car has had it, and whether the owner knew. Having it closed off removes all of that.
The register lags behind the garage
Here is the part that catches people out. Getting the work done does not clear the entry straight away, and the RDW cannot clear it for you. Its own page says so: the RDW cannot report recalls as completed. The dealer tells the importer or manufacturer, and that party is the only one that can report the vehicle as done to the RDW. The RDW says the update can take a few weeks.
The practical effect is that a car can be repaired and still show an open recall in the plate check on the day you hand it over. Keep whatever the dealer gave you in writing, the work order or the invoice with the plate and the date on it, and hand that to the buyer with the rest of the paperwork. Describe the car as repaired and the register as behind, which is true and checkable.
What you have to tell a buyer
Tell them. The seller’s side of a purchase agreement includes an information obligation, and the Dutch government’s rights and duties in a purchase agreement page puts it in one line: the seller must tell you what he knows about the product. An open recall you are aware of is something you know about the car.
There is a practical reason on top of the legal one. The entry is public, so a buyer can find it without your help, and finding it after the handover is a much worse conversation than finding it before. The same goes for a recall you decided not to act on. Say that out loud, say why, and let them decide.
Selling to us, the same applies in reverse. Mention it in the request and it is simply part of the description the car is checked against at collection. An open recall is ordinary and we are not going to be surprised by one. If you would rather sell the car to us, ask for an offer and put the recall in the notes.
Frequently asked questions
Can I sell a car with an open recall in the Netherlands?
Yes. Nothing in the register blocks the transfer, and no inspection stands between you and the sale. The only duty on you is telling the buyer what you know about the car.
Does an open recall fail the APK?
No. The RDW states that an open recall is at this moment not part of the APK and does not by itself constitute a rejection point.
Who pays for the recall repair?
The manufacturer. The RDW describes the dealer repairing the problem free of charge, and the appointment is the only thing asked of you.
Why does the plate check still show the recall after the garage finished the work?
Because only the importer or manufacturer can report the vehicle as done, and the RDW says that update can take a few weeks. Hold on to the dealer’s paperwork in the meantime.
Am I obliged to have a recall carried out?
The RDW says no, a vehicle owner is not required to act on one. It also asks owners to do it anyway, since recalls are reported for faults that bear on safety.
Is the car worth less with a recall outstanding?
An open recall is neither damage nor wear, and the work costs nothing to have done, so there is far less in it than a mechanical fault. What it tends to cost a private seller is time, in questions and in hesitation from buyers who are not sure what they are reading.