A Dutch credential evaluation costs €148.83: about 16 working weeks even when your file is complete

Most people in the Netherlands first hear the word diplomawaardering because a recruiter asks for one. The credential evaluation is issued by IDW, carried out by Nuffic and SBB on behalf of the government, and costs €148.83 per application. One application covers one diploma, so a bachelor plus a master is two applications and €297.66. The part people underestimate is time. IDW's own page states that the first document check currently takes about 6 working weeks, the substantive evaluation about 10 working weeks, and the total is roughly 16 working weeks if you upload everything correctly the first time. A missing document sends the file back into the queue for another 6 weeks. So the next step is not paying: it is checking whether your profession is regulated and whether you belong to one of the three groups that get one evaluation free.

• Check the regulated-profession list first. IDW states that medical roles, nurses and teachers are regulated professions and that you should look them up in the European Commission database. If yours is listed, contact the competent authority named there and follow its procedure instead of paying IDW €148.83. Only if your profession is not listed do you apply for an evaluation directly.
• Three situations give you one free evaluation: you had to start inburgering on or after 1 January 2015, shown by a DUO letter titled Kennisgeving Inburgeringsplicht, Kennisgeving Inburgeringsplicht Wet 2021, Inburgeringsplicht Wet 2021 or Overzicht Inburgeringsgegevens Wet 2021; you are naturalising; or you have applied to the IND for a permanent residence permit. Once you already hold your inburgeringsdiploma, the free route closes.
• An employer can apply on your behalf. IDW states that an employer or other organisation can request an evaluation for you, with your permission. When a late-stage interview asks for one, ask whether they will file it. That is the easiest €148.83 to avoid spending.
• Work out the dates before you commit. Submit today with a complete file and you are looking at roughly 16 working weeks; one rejected document adds about 6 more. The finished evaluation stays in your account for 3 years and stays valid, so applying early costs less than applying under pressure. If you disagree with the outcome, the complaint window is 6 working weeks from the date on the evaluation and the complaint itself takes about 10 working weeks.

Hokimi field note: go through IDW's required-documents list line by line before you submit. That list is the single thing that turns 16 weeks into 22. Sources: source 1, source 2 and source 3, checked on 2026-09-23.