Parking rules in the Netherlands: where you may stop and park

Where you may not stop

Stopping means briefly letting someone get in or out, or loading or unloading straight away. You may not stop (article 23):

• on a junction or a level crossing;
• on a cycle lane, or on the carriageway alongside a cycle lane;
• on a pedestrian crossing or within 5 metres of it;
• in a tunnel;
• at a bus stop, at the chequered marking or within 12 metres of the sign (letting passengers in or out straight away is allowed);
• on the carriageway alongside a bus lane;
• along a solid yellow line.

Where you may not park

You may not park (article 24):

• within 5 metres of a junction;
• in front of an entrance or an exit;
• outside built-up areas on the carriageway of a priority road;
• along a broken yellow line;
• on a loading bay, or a permit holders' space without a permit (sign E9);
• double parked;
• in a parking space that the sign or sub-sign reserves for other vehicles, other uses or other times.

Cars may not park on the pavement, a footpath, a cycle path or a cycle and moped path (article 10). Sign E1 means no parking, sign E2 no stopping.

Blue zones and the parking disc

In a parking disc zone (parkeerschijf-zone) you may only park in marked spaces or along a blue line (article 25). Along a blue line, a car needs a parking disc clearly visible behind the windscreen, set to the time you arrived; you may round up to the next whole or half hour. The sign shows how long you may stay and, on a sub-sign, on which days and hours the rule applies. A disc that moves on by itself is not allowed.

Disabled parking bays

Only with a valid disabled parking card clearly visible, when parking is directly linked to transporting the card holder, or for the one vehicle a reserved bay is meant for (article 26).

Parking in an erf (home zone) is only allowed in marked spaces: erf rules. All road markings: road markings in the Netherlands.

Frequently asked questions