Unregistered debt collector? From October you don't owe the collection fee

A Dutch collection letter usually arrives in Dutch only, and the amount on it mixes three different things: the original debt, the collection fee (incassokosten) and interest that keeps running. If you are new here and have not worked out how the system fits together, the easy reaction is to pay the whole figure. On 21 September 2026 the Ministry of Justice and Security confirmed that from October 2026 you do not owe the collection fee or that running interest if the collection agency is not listed in the Justis register for debt collection services. The original debt still has to be paid, but the amounts added on top do not. This is the final article of the Quality of Debt Collection Services Act (Wet kwaliteit incassodienstverlening, or Wki) coming into force; the law itself has applied since 1 April 2024, and registration is one of its requirements.

• Who the rule covers: every party that sends a demand letter on behalf of someone else, and every company that bought the debt and then collects it itself, including collection work aimed at sole traders, partners and partnerships. Bailiffs and lawyers do not need this separate registration because they already appear in the bailiff register or on the bar roll.
• How to work it out yourself: split the figure on the letter into two parts, the original debt and the collection fee plus interest. Look the company up in the Justis debt-collection register. Not listed means the second part is what you no longer owe from October; listed means both parts follow the terms on the letter.
• Who this is for: newcomers, students and self-employed people who get a Dutch-language demand letter and cannot tell whether the sender is a regulated firm, especially when the debt is small but the collection fee is a large share of it.
• Where to go next: the register is kept by Justis, and supervision sits with the Inspectorate of Justice and Security, which can issue fines or in the last resort strike a registration. The inspectorate does not handle individual complaints but does accept reports, and those reports steer which firms it examines. Disputing the bill itself is a separate route, and the consumer authority ACM has ready-made letters for that on ConsuWijzer.

Hokimi field note: checking the register before deciding what to transfer is far less work than paying first and arguing afterwards. If the amount is a strain, talk to the original creditor about instalments for the debt itself and leave the collection-fee part until you have looked up the register. Sources: source 1, source 2, checked 22-09-2026.