Municipality of Emmen: registering with the municipality

You must inform us of your move to the Netherlands in person. For a first registration, you always need an appointment that you must make by telephone (when calling from abroad: +31 591 689 000). When talking to you on the telephone, we will ask you various questions in preparation for the interview. We will also explain which documents to bring to your appointment at the town hall.

All family members who wish to be registered must come to the appointment with you. This includes babies, young children and elderly people.

This is how to register in the Netherlands for the first time:

Visit the town hall in Emmen in person.
Take the following documentation with you:
your valid ID (showing your nationality);
documentary evidence of accommodation, such as a rental contract or title deed;
if you were born outside the Netherlands: your birth certificate;
if you do not have a European nationality: documentary evidence of approval of your stay by the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND);
if you are from Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius or Saba: a change of address;
possibly the following documents:

a marriage or divorce certificate;
a death certificate of your partner (as documentary evidence that the marriage was dissolved by death);
the birth certificates of your children;

Do you have proof of de-registration from your previous country of residence? Please take that with you as well.
All persons moving with you must come along personally.

Registration is free of charge. You must pay the costs of translating or legalising official documents that you may need to take with you.

After your arrival in the Netherlands, you must register within 5 working days.

The municipality will register you in the Basisregistratie Personen – BRP (Personal Records Database) during the actual appointment. You will receive a confirmation letter. The municipality will send your citizen service number (BSN) by post within 3 weeks.