How do you set up DigiD in the Netherlands in 2026?

For the standard Netherlands route, you need your BSN, the address recorded in the BRP (municipal residents register), and a mobile phone. Apply only through digid.nl or the official DigiD app.

Enter your name, birth date, BSN, postcode, and house number exactly as recorded by the municipality. A mismatch can stop the application or send the letter to the wrong place. If your BRP address is wrong, correct it with the municipality before repeatedly applying.

Choose a username and strong password that you do not use elsewhere. Add SMS verification, meaning a one-time text-message code, when offered. DigiD staff, a municipality, and the Dutch tax authority will not ask you to hand over your password.

DigiD sends an activation letter to your BRP address. The official service says the letter normally arrives within five working days. Activate the account within 21 days using the code, username, password, and any SMS check you selected. If the code expires, you must request another code or apply again as instructed.

After activation, install and activate the DigiD app. Complete the ID check, meaning a scan of the chip in a supported Dutch identity document, when your document and phone allow it. Some sensitive services require this higher login level, so a working password alone may not unlock every portal.

People living abroad can apply if they have a BSN and are registered in the RNI (non-residents section of the Dutch personal records database). The route differs from domestic postal activation.

After the online application, you receive a service-desk code by email and SMS. Use it within 30 days to obtain the activation code at a designated DigiD desk or through an eligible video call with NetherlandsWorldwide. Bring or show the identity document used for the process and keep the phone connected to the number in your application.

Someone receiving or soon receiving AOW, the Dutch state pension, may be able to apply through the SVB (Social Insurance Bank) and receive an activation letter abroad. Follow the DigiD page for this specific pension route rather than the ordinary resident form.

Register an email address and phone number you control, not an employer's contact details. Turn on login notifications and keep recovery details current before changing a phone or moving abroad.

If another person helps with Dutch administration, use DigiD Machtigen, meaning the official authorisation service. Do not give that person your credentials or approve an unexplained app request. Start each login from the government service or digid.nl, and reject links in unexpected messages.