Filing general terms and conditions

If you file your general terms and conditions with KVK, anyone can retrieve them at any time. Filing your general terms and conditions with KVK is a good idea in the following situations:

• You cannot hand your general terms and conditions to the customer, for example because you sell by telephone. Filing your terms and conditions with KVK will allow your customer to request and read them.
• In case of doubt, and to serve as evidence. By filing your terms and conditions, you prevent discussion about which terms and conditions applied at the moment the agreement was concluded.

Taking over or continuing a business

Are you taking over an existing company whose general terms and conditions have already been filed with the KVK? Then the previously filed general terms and conditions will expire. You are responsible for filing new general terms and conditions in that case.

How do I file general terms and conditions with KVK?

You file general terms and conditions as follows:

• Submit a separate document for each set of terms and conditions and for each translation. For example, if your general terms and conditions for purchases are different from the ones for sales, or you have an English and a Dutch version, you will have to submit 2 documents.
• Submit the terms and conditions in a Word document or PDF file. The text must be legible. If you use Arial as your font, the font size must be at least 10.
• Make sure the document contains your official, registered trade name (the one with which you have registered in the KVK Business Register)

Submit this to algemene.voorwaarden@kvk.nl

We register the date of receipt of your email as the filing date.

As soon as we have processed the filing, we will send you a letter of confirmation including the filing date and an invoice.

Costs for filing

Filing general terms and conditions has a fee per document per calendar year (1 January to 31 December). Check the KVK Business Register product tariffs for the latest information.

Multiple documents

Each document is considered a separate filing. For example, if you are filing general terms and conditions for purchases and general terms and conditions for sales in both English and Dutch, you will have to pay for 4 filings.

Invoice

After filing, you will receive an invoice from us (example, in Dutch). You will receive an invoice from us every year. Have you filed several general terms and conditions? Then you will receive an annual collective invoice in the second year at the end of the month in which you first filed your general terms and conditions. So the date of the collective invoice can change if a new document is filed in a month earlier than that of the previous document filing.

If you have authorised a direct debit mandate in the past, this will be stated on the invoice. In that case there is no need for any action on your part, as the invoice amount will be debited automatically.

Reporting changes

To report changes you have to file the complete new version of your general terms and conditions. When filing, state clearly that this involves replacing the general terms and conditions filed earlier. If you amend your general terms and conditions, you are always responsible for filing the most recent version with KVK. There are no additional costs for amending general terms and conditions.

Starting/stopping a filing

You always pay for a filing per year, starting from the filing date. If you file your terms and conditions on 18 October 2024, you will pay for the year running from 18 October 2024 to 17 October 2025.

If you want to terminate your filing, make sure you give notice of this no later than the renewal date. The renewal date is the same as the filing date. So if you filed your general terms and conditions on 18 October 2023, you need to cancel before 18 October 2024.

Terminating a filing

You can terminate your filing by sending an email to algemene.voorwaarden@kvk.nl with the subject line: ‘stopzetting algemene voorwaarden’ (termination filing of general terms and conditions). You will receive confirmation in writing of this.

Checking general terms and conditions

KVK does not check your general terms and conditions. Filing them does not mean that your general terms and conditions meet all legal requirements. So, always have them checked by a lawyer or legal advisor.

Requesting terms and conditions

Your customers can request your terms and conditions from us. They can do so by providing your KVK number, or your business name and official place of business. You cannot request general terms and conditions online. You can:

• Go to Questions and Contact;
• Scroll down to 'Contact us by telephone';
• Select 'Questions about our registers'. Here you will find an explanation of how to request company details, such as general terms and conditions. 

Sectoral terms and conditions

Sector organisations file sectoral terms and conditions. Businesses cannot file sectoral terms and conditions as their own. For questions about sectoral terms and conditions, contact the sector organisation.

More information

Read more about general terms and conditions, and how to draw them up.