RDW open data or a license plate API?

RDW publishes vehicle data for free as open data, with an API of its own. Sometimes that is all you need. Here you can see what that API does, what you build around it yourself and when KentekenFeed is worth it.

Try a registration See the plans

Looking up one registration

At RDW

curl "https://opendata.rdw.nl/resource/m9d7-ebf2.json?kenteken=AB123C"
curl "https://opendata.rdw.nl/resource/8ys7-d773.json?kenteken=AB123C"

Every dataset is a request of its own. The registration must be in capitals and without hyphens, or you get an empty list back. Axles, bodies, vehicle classes and inspections work the same way, each at its own dataset.

At KentekenFeed

curl "https://api.kentekenfeed.nl/api/v1/vehicles/AB-123-C" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $KENTEKENFEED_API_KEY"

One request, with or without hyphens, and you get up to more than 180 fields from 16 datasets back in one response.

The differences side by side

Topic	RDW open data	KentekenFeed
Cost	RDW open data Free	KentekenFeed A plan or pay as you go
One vehicle	RDW open data One request per dataset	KentekenFeed One request for 16 datasets
Entering a registration	RDW open data Capitals, without hyphens	KentekenFeed With or without hyphens
Field names	RDW open data Dutch column names per dataset	KentekenFeed English names, with the unit in the name
Numbers and dates	RDW open data As text, such as "1580" and "19931126"	KentekenFeed Fixed types: amounts are numbers in euros
Counting and grouping	RDW open data With SoQL queries, per dataset	KentekenFeed With the analytics API, on fields from several datasets
The whole register	RDW open data Download it yourself, dataset by dataset	KentekenFeed Weekly snapshot in JSONL and CSV
Changes	RDW open data Compare two versions yourself	KentekenFeed Per registration and per field in the mutation feed
Owner details	RDW open data Not available	KentekenFeed Not available

What fits you?

The open data is enough if

you need a few fields from one dataset, such as make and APK date.
it is a one-off project or a prototype.
you want to do the integration, the checks and the upkeep yourself.

KentekenFeed fits better if

you want to show vehicles with data from several datasets, such as inspections and recalls.
you want to keep your own copy of the register current without comparing full versions.
you want to see how current each dataset is: every response says when RDW published it.

And RDW’s paid access?

RDW also offers businesses registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce paid access to part of the vehicle register, through the web or XML. That data is available per registration only, not in bulk, and without odometer readings or personal data. KentekenFeed uses the open data and is not a service of RDW.

Need help with your integration?

Tell us what you want to build and where you got stuck. We reply by email.

Get integration help