Write a safe car sale contract

Put full names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses in the koopovereenkomst (sale contract). Check each other's ID and note which document you saw. State whether the seller is a private person or a dealer, because buying from a dealer is a consumentenkoop (consumer sale, see consumentenkoop) with extra rules. Also confirm the seller has the registration card and the full registration code: without both, the sale cannot go through.

Record the plate, make, model, trim, year and colour. Copy the full chassis number (VIN) and compare the number on the car with the registration card, so the contract clearly covers this car. Check the details with the licence plate check. Also list what is included, such as winter tyres, a charging cable, a tow bar or a roof rack.

Write down the exact mileage at the handover and take a photo of it. Add the RDW odometer verdict: logical, not logical or no verdict. It appears in the RDW vehicle report, which the owner can request for free. Have the seller declare that, to their knowledge, the reading is correct. If in doubt, book a pre-purchase inspection.

Write the price in figures and in words, plus the payment method and deadline. Agree that the car only leaves once the money has actually arrived. Cash is allowed between private persons but risky. Since 1 January 2026 a dealer may not accept or pay €3,000 or more in cash, even in instalments: see paying cash for a car.

Record the date and time of handover. Until then the car is at the seller's risk, afterwards at the buyer's. Note how many keys are handed over and which papers the buyer gets: registration card, registration code, latest APK report, service booklet and any warranty papers. Agree on the condition at delivery, for example a full tank or a fresh APK.

List all known defects and damage. In a private sale you can add the clause "verkocht zoals bezichtigd en proefgereden" (sold as viewed and test-driven). Such a clause is usually valid, but it will not protect a seller who conceals a known defect. Buying from a dealer? Then the clause does not apply: statutory conformiteit (see conformity) always applies, and a defect appearing within 1 year is presumed to have existed at delivery.

Agree to transfer the registration together at the handover, online or at a counter: see transfer car ownership. Note the exact time. Traffic fines, parking charges and tolls from that moment are the buyer's; everything before is the seller's. The seller only releases the car once they hold the vrijwaringsbewijs (indemnity certificate, see vrijwaringsbewijs). Also record who pays the €13.10 fee.

Read the contract through together, initial every page and sign both copies with date and place. Each party keeps one. A verbal agreement is binding too, but on paper you can prove what was agreed. The contract generator gives you all the clauses in a few minutes. Unsure about the buyer or the payment? Run the scam check first.