Municipalities play an important role in the Netherlands. A municipality, town hall or city council is known in Dutch as a gemeente, and you will often hear this word in connection with administrative matters, from registering at your home address and paying taxes, to registering a marriage.
The gemeente is the third tier of governmental administration in the Netherlands, after the government and the provinces. As of January 1, 2024, there are 342 gemeenten or municipalities in the Netherlands.
Dutch municipalities are governed by the municipal council (gemeenteraad) and the mayor and aldermen (College van burgemeester en wethouders). Each municipality’s mayor is appointed by Royal Decree on the recommendation of the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. The aldermen are appointed by the municipal council, which is elected by residents of the municipality.
Dutch municipalities are in charge of many tasks and responsibilities. These include:
When you first arrive in the Netherlands, or when you change address, you will need to register with your local gemeente. Being registered to a specific home address allows the Municipal Personal Records Database or Basisregistratie personen (BRP) to track the size of the Dutch population, to better handle emergency situations and to allocate the right municipal taxes to each household.
If you buy a house in the Netherlands then you will need to pay yearly council rates and taxes on your property. These taxes include:
Other forms of tax that municipalities collect are:
To register at your address, or for other administrative issues, most gemeenten require you to make an appointment before visiting their office, so it’s wise to call in advance.