From Wednesday, July 1, cold calls get banned, banks gain new powers to freeze suspicious payments, and new cars start watching your eyes on the road.
Here’s everything you need to know.
- Dutch banks can now freeze suspicious payments for up to five days
- No more surprise sales calls, even from your own providers
- You’ll get a payment reminder before your traffic fine grows
- Stricter training rules for childminders
- Greater safety monitoring for new cars
- Expect exhaust checks for diesel, LPG, or hydrogen vehicles
- Trucks now pay by the kilometre on Dutch roads
Dutch banks can now freeze suspicious payments for up to five days
The Financial Intelligence Unit Netherlands (FIU-Nederland) can now order banks, payment providers, and crypto platforms to pause suspicious transactions.
As confirmed by FIU-Nederland, the hold can last up to five working days — or ten if a foreign FIU made the request. Your bank will notify you if your transaction has been suspended.
This change is meant to stop suspected criminal money from moving before investigators can act, so it won’t affect your everyday transfers.
However, if you’re moving unusually large sums, it’s worth knowing that your payments can now legally be delayed while they’re checked.
No more surprise sales calls, even from your own providers
In the Netherlands, companies have needed your consent to cold call you since 2021. However, there was always a loophole: if you were a current or former customer, they could ring anyway.
From July 1, the Dutch government is closing that loophole entirely. Companies can only call potential or existing customers if they have explicitly been given consent, and consumers are legally granted extra time (3 working days) for door-to-door and street sales.
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This new change covers your energy supplier, telecom provider, and even your insurer trying to sell you an upgrade out of nowhere.
That being said, there are a few exceptions. Charities, lotteries that donate to good causes, and newspaper or magazine publishers can still make surprise calls to existing customers.
You’ll get a payment reminder before your traffic fine grows
The Centraal Justitieel Incassobureau (CJIB or the Central Judicial Collection Agency) is piloting a free payment reminder for traffic fines from July 1. Anyone with an unpaid fine gets a nudge before the first automatic increase kicks in.
Stricter training rules for childminders
If you use a gastouder (a childminder who looks after a small group of children, often in their own home) or are thinking of becoming one, the rules just got tighter.
New childminders starting after July 1 must complete a course that includes a pedagogical module, according to the Dutch government.
Every childminder also now needs a backup carer who can step in within 15 minutes in an emergency, even if they only look after one child.
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However, the changes don’t apply retroactively. Childminders already registered before July 1 can carry on as before.
Greater safety monitoring for new cars
New cars sold in the EU must now be fitted with a camera-based system that tracks whether the driver’s eyes are on the road, thanks to a new EU safety regulation.
Dubbed the Advanced Driver Distraction Warning, or ADDW, this system beeps if your gaze drifts away from the road for too long.
READ MORE | 6 things to know before owning a car in the Netherlands in 2026
Technically, this rule kicks in from July 7 onwards, as EU deadlines rarely line up neatly with Dutch ones. In addition to this, it only applies to new vehicles, so any vehicles already on the road or bought secondhand are unaffected.
Expect exhaust checks for diesel, LPG, or hydrogen vehicles
Police can now check whether the exhaust system on diesel, LPG, and hydrogen vehicles is working properly, and whether AdBlue (a fluid that cuts harmful emissions) has been topped up correctly.
As confirmed by the Dutch government, the rule covers trucks, cars, buses, and both light and medium vans. Drive with a broken or bypassed system, and you’ll now risk a fine.
Trucks now pay by the kilometre on Dutch roads
Owners of trucks over 3,500 kilograms will start paying a per-kilometre charge on motorways and some provincial roads under the new vrachtwagenheffing (truck toll).
Why? Well, cleaner, lighter trucks pay less per kilometre than older, heavier ones, states the Dutch government.
To offset the new charge, road tax disappears entirely for trucks under 12,000 kilograms and drops sharply for heavier ones. Much of what the toll raises goes back into subsidies for electric and hydrogen trucks.
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