Background checks in the Netherlands: a guide for foreign employers

Yes, you can run background checks on people you hire in the Netherlands, but within tighter limits than many foreign employers expect.

• Checks must be necessary for the role and proportionate. The GDPR and the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens) set the rules.
• The candidate must know in advance what you check and why.
• You cannot look up a criminal record yourself. The candidate applies for a Certificate of Conduct (VOG) through Justis, which assesses it against a screening profile that fits the role.
• Every employer must check identity and right to work before the first working day.

If you hire through an employer of record (EOR) rather than your own Dutch entity, the EOR is the legal employer, so agree with it who runs and stores the checks. The details are below.

The basic rule is relevance. A payroll administrator needs different checks from a warehouse picker or a childcare worker.

What you may check

• Identity and right to work (required). Check the ID before the first working day and keep a copy in the personnel file.
• Diplomas and certificates, when the qualification matters for the role.
• Work history and references. Tell the candidate which referees you contact and ask only about work-related matters.
• Certificate of Conduct (VOG), only through Justis and only with a screening profile that fits the role.

What you may check only to a limited extent

• Public online profiles. Only information relevant to the job, and only if the candidate has been told.
• Financial background. Only for roles where it is justified, such as positions with financial authority.

What you may not check

• Health and medical history. A medical examination is only allowed under the Medical Examinations Act, when the role has specific physical requirements.
• Pregnancy or family plans, religion, ethnicity, political views, sexual orientation or trade union membership.
• The citizen service number (BSN) during the application. You may only use it once the person is hired.

If you work with a works council, rules on how you process employee data, including screening policies, usually require its consent. For the full picture, see our guide to employment screening and our GDPR overview.

Hiring someone who lives or has worked abroad? Add international checks such as a foreign criminal record certificate or employment verification in the country concerned. Some countries still require manual requests, so allow more time.

• Turnaround. An ID check takes minutes. Diploma and reference checks usually take a few working days. A VOG is decided by Justis, normally within four weeks. International checks take longer. On average, Pescheck screenings are complete within 24 hours.
• Cost. Pescheck charges per screening with no subscription, set-up fee or minimum volume. A basic package with an ID check and a criminal record check starts from €24 per candidate in the Netherlands. See the pricing page for current packages.
• Hidden cost. Government fees for criminal record certificates differ per country, and your own team's time (chasing universities and referees) often exceeds the price of the checks.

Foreign employers usually meet two kinds of provider. Global EOR and HR platforms bundle contracts, payroll and sometimes background checks. Specialist screening providers focus only on the checks. Neither is better in general. It depends on whether you already have a Dutch entity and how much screening you do.

The table reflects what each provider says on its own public pages, as of October 2026. It is not a ranking and we have not tested these services. "Not stated" means we found no statement on the pages we reviewed.

Sources: Deel employee background check pages (Dutch page and English blog, last update July 2026), Rippling blog "Employment background check in the Netherlands", Multiplier Netherlands pages. Multiplier's website blocked direct reading of its pages, so for Multiplier we rely on page excerpts returned by a search engine and do not describe any background check page. Check each provider's current pages before you decide.

• You hire one or two people through an EOR. The EOR's bundled check may be the simplest route. Ask which checks it runs for the Netherlands, how a VOG is handled and where the data is stored.
• You hire regularly or have a Dutch entity. A specialist provider gives you full control over screening profiles, retention and reporting, with checks started from your ATS or HR system.
• You are in a regulated sector. Check that the provider can document why each check is needed and supports sector-specific requirements.

Whatever you choose, compare on the same criteria: coverage, turnaround, GDPR and ISO 27001, integrations and pricing model. We list the same criteria in our German provider comparison.

Pescheck is a specialist and not an EOR: we do not employ people for you or run payroll. We run the screening, for candidates in the Netherlands and abroad.

1. Decide who the employer is. Your own Dutch entity or an EOR. This decides who is responsible for screening data.
2. Set a screening profile per role. Record why each check is needed.
3. Inform the candidate. Say in the vacancy that screening is part of the process, what you check, why and how long you keep the results.
4. Run the checks. The candidate applies for the VOG themselves; ID, diplomas and references are verified through your provider.
5. Discuss discrepancies before you decide. A mismatch is often a translated job title or a diploma issued under a former name.
6. Store only what you need. If you do not hire the candidate, delete their data no later than four weeks after the procedure ends, or after one year at most with their agreement.