Getting a Dutch mobile number - prepaid, SIM-only and contracts

Before you start

• An unlocked phone if you only want a SIM card
• For a subscription, usually a Dutch address and a bank account for direct debit

Documents you need

• Passport or ID card

  required

• Citizen service number (BSN)

  Some providers ask for it for subscriptions

  optional

Step by step

1. 1

   Step 1: Decide which type of plan suits you

   • Prepaid (prepaid, beltegoed): you buy a SIM card and top up credit or bundles. No contract and no credit check, so it is the quickest option in your first days.
   • SIM-only (sim-only abonnement): a monthly plan without a phone. Often monthly cancellable or for one year; prices are usually lower than for plans with a phone.
   • Phone with subscription (abonnement met toestel): you pay off the phone in monthly instalments alongside the plan. This counts as telecom credit (telecomkrediet), with its own rules (see step 3).

   If you only need a number to receive codes in your first weeks, start with prepaid and switch later. You can usually keep your number when you move to a subscription.

2. 2

   Step 2: Compare plans properly

   According to ACM, providers must give you the key information before you sign and a readable contract summary afterwards. Compare:

   • the monthly price, one-off costs and the contract length;
   • minutes and data included, and prices outside the bundle;
   • whether you can change your bundle each month or carry over unused data;
   • roaming conditions if you travel often or call abroad;
   • network coverage at your home and work.

   Ask for a notification or a data cap so that you are warned when your bundle runs out.

3. 3

   Step 3: Know what a contract involves

   • Credit check. For a subscription, providers check the Preventel register, a register run by telecom companies of customers with unpaid telecom bills. Once old bills are paid, the registration is removed.
   • Phone on instalments. Under the Telecom Credit Code recognised by the financial regulator AFM, telecom credit is interest-free, capped at €1,000 and repaid over at most 24 months. You must pass an affordability check in which you state your household income and housing costs, and credit above €250 is registered with the national credit register BKR.
   • Contract length. A provider may not tie you to a subscription for more than two years.
4. 4

   Step 4: Sign up and activate

   Sign up online or in a shop with your ID; for subscriptions you also give an address and an IBAN for direct debit. Insert the SIM or activate an eSIM, and check that calls, SMS and mobile data work. Add your new number to your bank, employer, DigiD and other accounts.

5. 5

   Step 5: Keep your number or switch provider

   To move to another provider, use the switching service (overstapservice): your new provider cancels your old subscription for you and arranges the transfer, so you normally keep your number. Check first whether your current contract can be ended without costs; during the fixed term you may have to pay for the remaining months or the rest of the phone instalments.

6. 6

   Step 6: Cancelling later

   After the fixed term ends, a subscription continues indefinitely and you can cancel at any time with at most one month's notice, free of charge. At least one month before the fixed term ends, your provider must tell you and offer its best current price; you do not have to accept it. You can always cancel in writing, and if you signed up online you must be able to cancel online. Ask for written confirmation.

Using your phone abroad

Emergencies and safety

Watch out

Common mistakes

• Signing a two-year contract in your first week before you know your plans.
• Cancelling the old subscription yourself before switching, and losing your number.
• Forgetting to update your number at your bank and DigiD before your old SIM stops working.

Tips

• Keep your home-country SIM active for a while if banks there send codes to it.
• An eSIM can be activated quickly if your phone supports it.
• If you run a business, the same consumer protections may not apply to business contracts.

Frequently asked questions

Editorial answers written by our team, based on the sources below.

Official links

In your plan

• Get a Dutch mobile numberAdd to plan

Sources

Written and checked by HomiStart editorial against the official sources below. Next scheduled check: 5 Apr 2027.