Long-Distance Move Berlin – Assen: Route Registration, Duration

As the Netherlands is a member of the European Union, there is no customs clearance for your household goods on a move to Assen, whatever your nationality, as long as you are moving from Germany. An inventory list is optional. If you bring a car, you register it with the RDW; the registration tax BPM may be waived if you have owned and used it for at least six months beforehand.

Anyone staying longer than four months registers with the Gemeente Assen and receives the BSN (citizen service number), which you need for work and a bank account. A visit is only possible by appointment; you arrange it within five days of arrival. Which documents to bring is explained in the section further down.

Assen is the seat of the province of Drenthe and has around 71,000 inhabitants. The town is known for the TT Circuit, where the Dutch TT motorcycle race is held, and for the Drents Museum in the former provincial hall. Assen lies on the A28 and on the Noord-Willemskanaal and Drentsche Hoofdvaart waterways.

For the move this means short distances, but a pedestrian zone with delivery times and a zero-emission zone in the centre. Flats in the Netherlands are often handed over without a kitchen or floor covering; clarify this before the move so that you know what needs to come along.

This is how easy it is to calculate your move yourself:

• €359 – starting price for a 1-room flat
• €609 – starting price for a 2-room flat
• €905 – starting price for a 3-room flat
• €1,279 – starting price for a 4-room flat
• individual quote – for a house or villa
• €4.20/km – for long-distance moves

For a binding quote we recommend a free survey.

• Amount of goods to be moved
• Distance (from €4.20/km)
• Floor and lift use
• Parking restriction zone
• Shared load as an option

Our aim is to take every worry about the move off your hands.

We plan moves from Berlin (Stromstraße 21), including across the border. You can find other destinations via the locations overview and the Long-distance moves page. Assen is around 584 km away.

Anyone moving to the Netherlands for the first time registers, according to the Gemeente Assen, in the Basisregistratie Personen (BRP, the personal records database) and receives the citizen service number (BSN) in the process. You need the number to work and open a bank account, among other things. If you stay longer than four months, registration is compulsory; a visit is only possible by appointment. You arrange the appointment within five days of arrival by phone on 14 0592, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays between 9.00 and 16.00.

According to the municipality, bring the following to the appointment:

• your valid ID showing your nationality,
• proof of accommodation, such as a tenancy or purchase agreement,
• your birth certificate if you were not born in the Netherlands,
• depending on your situation, marriage, divorce or death certificates and your children's birth certificates,
• proof of deregistration in your previous country.

Everyone moving with you comes along in person. If documents are not issued in Dutch, English, German or French, a translation is required. If you previously lived in the Netherlands but moved abroad before October 1994, a “first registration” is also required according to the municipality. If you stay for less than four months, you register as a non-resident, which is possible at 19 municipalities in the Netherlands; you also receive a BSN this way. Children must also attend in person and bring a valid ID. Further guidance is offered in the Assen moving guide.

Part of Assen's town centre is a pedestrian zone. According to the Gemeente, loading and unloading there is only permitted during the so-called venstertijden (delivery windows): Monday to Saturday between 7.00 and 12.00. Enforcement officers and cameras with number plate recognition (ANPR) monitor the area; if you need to enter outside these times, you can apply for an exemption.

The zero-emission zone coincides with the pedestrian zone. According to the town, it covers Kerkstraat, Markt, Weierspoort, Mercurius, Ceresplein, Oude Molenstraat, Oudestraat, Gedempte Singel and Mulderstraat. For vans up to 3,500 kilograms the municipality states these rules:

• Vehicles registered from 1 January 2025 may only enter if they are zero-emission.
• Emission class 4 or lower: no access.
• Emission class 5: access until 1 January 2027.
• Emission class 6 first registered up to 1 January 2025: access until 1 January 2029.

Classic vehicles aged 40 years or more are exempt until 2030. Transitional rules apply to lorries, and enforcement is automatic via the number plate. The camera symbol on the road signs means enforcement by camera with a fine for breaches; according to the municipality, the new signs do not change the rules. If you only enter the zone once, a day exemption is possible via the RDW website, according to the municipality. How we secure the space outside your door in Berlin is explained under Parking restriction zone; for everyday life locally, see Living in Assen.