Wtta check for foreign staffing agencies.What you need to arrange, and when.
Is your staffing agency based outside the Netherlands, for example in Poland, Romania, Germany, Belgium or Portugal? Do you supply workers to clients in the Netherlands? Then the new Dutch Wtta applies to you too. Answer seven short questions. You get your dates, your deposit and a personal action plan.
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Your answers stay in your own browser. Nothing is sent to us. If you share your plan, the answers travel in the link itself. This check is a guide, not legal advice. The official texts of the NAU prevail. Check the latest information on toelatinguitleenmarkt.nl before each step.
Who the Wtta applies to.
The Wtta is the Dutch act on the admission of staffing providers (Wet toelating terbeschikkingstelling van arbeidskrachten). It takes effect on 1 January 2027.
It applies to every company that supplies workers to a client in the Netherlands. Where your company is based does not matter. So a staffing agency in Poland, Romania, Germany, Belgium or Portugal that supplies workers to Dutch clients needs admission (toelating) too.
The authority is the Dutch Labour Market Admission Authority (Nederlandse Autoriteit Uitleenmarkt, NAU). Its website is toelatinguitleenmarkt.nl.
Why it matters for your business: from 1 January 2028 your Dutch clients may only work with admitted providers, providers with a dispensation (ontheffing), or providers under the transitional arrangement. If they work with anyone else, they risk fines from the Dutch Labour Inspectorate. So your clients will ask about your Wtta position.
Do you supply workers only within your own group of companies? Then an intra-group exemption likely applies. Check it with the decision tree of the NAU (in Dutch).
The timeline.
- 1 November to 31 December 2026
Register for the transitional arrangement (overgangsregeling) via toelatinguitleenmarkt.nl. This is required if you do not have a valid SNA certificate on 30 June 2027. The NAU recommends registering even if you do. Check on toelatinguitleenmarkt.nl how you register as a company based abroad, and start early.
- 31 December 2026
The reference date for the deposit exemption.
- 1 January 2027
The Wtta takes effect.
- 1 May to 30 June 2027
Apply for admission. You apply with an inspection report, or with an SNA certificate that is valid on 30 June 2027. For foreign staffing agencies the relevant SNA standard is NEN 4400-2.
- 1 July 2027
The public register of admitted providers goes online. From then on, your Dutch clients can look you up.
- 1 January 2028
Enforcement starts. Dutch clients may only work with admitted providers, providers with a dispensation, or providers under the transitional arrangement. Clients risk fines from the Dutch Labour Inspectorate.
The deposit and the exemption.
Each entity that supplies workers lodges a deposit (waarborgsom) of EUR 100,000. It earns no interest. You get it back after four years if you comply with the rules. Two entities that supply workers means EUR 200,000.
Are you a starter? Then you get provisional admission with a deposit of EUR 50,000. At final admission you top it up to EUR 100,000.
An entity is exempt from the deposit if, on 31 December 2026, it meets three conditions at the same time:
- Four years on the Dutch trade register. Continuously registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KvK) for four years, with lending out workers as an activity.
- Four years of actual lending. It really lent out workers during that whole period.
- A clean tax record. A payment-behaviour statement (verklaring betalingsgedrag) from the Dutch tax authority, not older than three months when you apply.
Whether a company based abroad can meet the KvK condition depends on its registration in the Netherlands. Check this early.
For the application you also need a certificate of conduct for legal entities (VOG RP).
The inspection: what you must be able to show.
Without a valid SNA certificate, you need an inspection report. The inspector checks a sample of 10 or 15 worker files. The number depends on ten risk questions. Six or more times yes means 15 files.
For each file the inspector asks, among other things, for:
- the invoice to the client
- the employment contract
- the ID document
- the hours record
- the payslip
- proof of payment
- the justification of every deduction
The inspector uses a set of 14 norms (the normenkader). Seven are about your company: identification, Dutch wage taxes, VAT, financial administration, (cash) administration, the g-account and providing information. Seven are about your workers: identification, employment contract, forwarding information, housing, wage administration, linking hours, and lending and sub-lending.
Pay is part of this. Dutch collective labour agreement rules on pay apply. In the Dutch staffing collective labour agreement this is called equivalent pay (gelijkwaardige beloning) since 2026.
Want to test your files norm by norm? Our Wtta inspection check (in Dutch) walks you through all 14 norms.
Housing for your workers.
Many foreign staffing agencies provide or arrange housing for their workers in the Netherlands. Housing is one of the 14 norms. So if you provide or arrange it, the inspector looks at it.
Do you deduct rent or other costs from pay? Then keep the justification of every deduction ready. The inspector asks for it in every file of the sample.
Posted workers.
Do you post workers to the Netherlands who stay employed under a foreign contract? Then the WagwEU notification duty applies. WagwEU is the Dutch act on working conditions for workers posted within the EU.
This duty comes on top of the Wtta. Make sure both are in order, because a Dutch client or buyer will ask about both.
Questions from foreign staffing agencies.
Yes. The Wtta takes effect on 1 January 2027 and applies to every company that supplies workers to a client in the Netherlands. That includes staffing agencies based in Poland, Romania, Germany, Belgium, Portugal or any other country.
Registration runs from 1 November to 31 December 2026, via toelatinguitleenmarkt.nl. It is required if you do not have a valid SNA certificate on 30 June 2027. The NAU recommends registering even if you do. Check on toelatinguitleenmarkt.nl how you register as a company based abroad, and start early.
For foreign staffing agencies the relevant SNA standard is NEN 4400-2. You apply for admission between 1 May and 30 June 2027, with an inspection report or with an SNA certificate that is valid on 30 June 2027.
EUR 100,000 per entity that supplies workers. It earns no interest, and you get it back after four years if you comply. Starters get provisional admission with a deposit of EUR 50,000, topped up to EUR 100,000 at final admission.
An entity is exempt if on 31 December 2026 it meets three conditions at the same time: four years continuously registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KvK) with lending out as activity, actually lent out during that whole period, and a payment-behaviour statement from the Dutch tax authority not older than three months at the application. Whether a company based abroad can meet the KvK condition depends on its registration in the Netherlands. Check this early.
From 1 January 2028 Dutch clients may only work with admitted providers, providers with a dispensation, or providers under the transitional arrangement. Clients that work with anyone else risk fines from the Dutch Labour Inspectorate. From 1 July 2027 they can check your status in the public register.
Sources.
This check uses public information from the Dutch government and the standard setter. The official texts prevail.
- toelatinguitleenmarkt.nl: Nederlandse Autoriteit Uitleenmarkt (NAU)
- NAU decision tree: do you need admission? (in Dutch)
- Stichting Normering Arbeid (SNA): NEN 4400-2
- Our Wtta check for Dutch staffing agencies (in Dutch)
- Our Wtta inspection check: the 14 norms (in Dutch)
- The Wtta when you buy a Dutch staffing agency
Supplying workers to the Netherlands?
A Dutch buyer or partner will look at your Wtta position. We know the Dutch staffing market, the Wtta and the collective labour agreement. Tell us about your situation, in English. The first call is free.