The BRP is a source register used across Dutch government. If your name, address, birth details, nationality, partner/child information or other core data is wrong, fixing the source record can prevent the same error from appearing across several agencies. The correction route depends on whether you are a Dutch resident or a non-resident in the RNI.
What information can the BRP contain?
Government.nl lists data including your names, gender, BSN, nationality, parents, marriage/registered partnership, children, address/place of residence, residence-permit details, travel-document information and other status information. Not every field is populated in the same way for a non-resident RNI record.
How to correct resident BRP data
If you are a resident and BRP data is wrong or incomplete, ask your municipality to correct it. Government.nl says to bring documentary evidence showing what is wrong, such as a birth or marriage certificate, together with your identity document. Address changes use the municipality’s move/address process.
If you are registered in the RNI
Use an RNI desk for RNI data. Foreign-address changes can now be reported through MyRNI with DigiD and through several other desk-specific routes. For other data, NetherlandsWorldwide explains which fields can be changed and which cannot be added to a direct RNI registration. For example, civil status, partner and child information may not be recordable in the same way as in the resident BRP.
Foreign certificates: legalise first or not?
Do not use a blanket rule. Whether a foreign birth, marriage, divorce, death or other public document needs legalisation or an apostille depends on the issuing country and document. Government.nl directs users to the NetherlandsWorldwide country-by-country legalisation rules. Many EU public documents can be used without legalisation under EU rules; a multilingual standard form may remove the need for a separate translation.
Translations
Translation requirements also depend on the document and language. NetherlandsWorldwide’s legalisation guidance frequently accepts documents in Dutch, English, French or German without translation, but country-specific instructions can differ. Check the issuing-country page and the receiving municipality before commissioning a translation.
Common first-registration civil-status documents
Municipalities can ask to review original documents such as a birth certificate, marriage/registered-partnership certificate, divorce documents, adoption papers and death certificates relating to a partner or child. The Hague’s first-registration guidance explicitly tells newcomers to bring these if applicable, while distinguishing them from the core documents needed simply to start resident registration.
Wrong address or unknown people at your address
If your own address is wrong, report the move/correction to the municipality. If someone else appears registered at your address but does not live there, contact your municipality. Municipalities can start an adresonderzoek (address investigation), request evidence and in some cases visit the property. Incorrect address records can affect household-based taxes, benefits and official correspondence.
Do not request a new BSN to solve a data problem
A BSN is issued once and remains valid and unchanged. If the name, address or civil-status data connected to your BSN is wrong, correct the BRP/RNI record rather than trying to obtain another BSN.
Correction workflow
- Check the exact field that is wrong and which register holds it: resident BRP or RNI.
- Collect original evidence and check country-specific legalisation/translation requirements.
- Contact your municipality (resident) or an RNI desk (non-resident).
- Keep copies of the documents and any receipt/reference number.
- After processing, re-check the record and any affected agency portal.
- If an incorrect address has affected a benefit, tax or other decision, contact that authority too; correcting the BRP does not automatically undo every past decision.