The deadline for objecting to an official decision (besluit) is six weeks — and once it has passed, the authority will not look at your arguments at all. Dutch administrative law governs which route is open to you against decisions by the municipality, the UWV, the social services department, the IND, the Tax Administration, the CBR and DUO. This page sets out the deadlines, the procedure and the mistakes that are made most often.
How long do I have to object to a decision?
The period for lodging a notice of objection or appeal is six weeks, running from the day after the decision was announced in the prescribed manner (Articles 6:7 and 6:8(1) of the General Administrative Law Act, Awb). There is no general leniency scheme and no standard extension.
- When does it start? Not on the date printed on the decision, but the day after it was announced. A decision addressed to you personally is announced by sending or handing it over (Article 3:41 Awb); in practice that is the date the letter was sent or the moment the decision appeared in your digital message box — not the moment you read it.
- When does it end? An objection is in time if it has been received before the end of the period (Article 6:9(1) Awb). If you send it by post, a more lenient rule applies: it is in time if it was posted before the end of the period, provided it is received no later than one week after the period expired (Article 6:9(2) Awb). That week is a safety net for postal delay, not an extra week to think.
- If the last day falls on a weekend, the period is extended to the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday (Article 1 of the General Extension of Time Limits Act).
Watch out with the UWV and the Sickness Benefits Act. Most UWV decisions carry the ordinary six-week period, but for certain Sickness Benefits Act decisions — for instance a declaration by the insurance physician that you are fit for work — the period is only two weeks (Articles 75j and 75k ZW). Always read the notice of remedies at the bottom of your decision, and have it checked at once if in doubt (objecting to a UWV decision: deadlines and procedure).
What can you object to? What is a “decision”?
Objection and appeal are open only against a decision: a written act of an administrative authority constituting a public-law legal act (Article 1:3 Awb). And only an interested party — someone whose interest is directly affected — can challenge it (Article 1:2 Awb).
| In principle a decision | In principle not a decision |
|---|---|
| granting, refusing, revising or withdrawing a benefit | an informative letter or something said by phone |
| an environmental permit and its refusal | the announcement of an intention |
| an administrative fine | factual conduct without legal effect |
| an order subject to a penalty payment or administrative enforcement | the handling of a complaint under Chapter 9 Awb |
| refusal of a certificate of conduct (VOG) | internal working instructions |
| a recovery claim or a fine relating to a benefit | a civil-law invoice from a public body |
The rejection of an application is expressly also a decision. So being told “no” is a reason to object, not a reason to wait.
Two lifelines. If a notice of objection or appeal is lodged with the wrong authority or the wrong court, it is forwarded as soon as possible to the competent body, and the moment it was lodged with the wrong body determines whether it was in time (Article 6:15 Awb). The same applies if you filed an appeal where an objection was required, or vice versa. A letter with the wrong heading can normally be repaired; a letter that arrives late cannot. The decision must also point you to the remedy available, within what period and to which body (Article 3:45 Awb); if that notice is missing, that can weigh in your favour where an objection is late.
I am too late — can I still do something?
A late objection can still be admissible if the person lodging it cannot reasonably be regarded as having been in default (Article 6:11 Awb). This is known as an excusable exceeding of the time limit, and the bar is high: the provision covers only cases where the interested party was reasonably unable to lodge a remedy in time. “I could have objected but saw no reason to” is not excusable, and neither is a change of view based on case law handed down after the period expired.
| Circumstance | Why it can carry weight |
|---|---|
| The decision was never sent to the right address | without proper announcement the period does not start |
| The notice of remedies was missing (Article 3:45 Awb) | you could not know that and by when you could act |
| Serious illness or hospitalisation during the period | factual impossibility, if substantiated |
| You filed in time but with the wrong authority | Article 6:15 Awb applies; there is no exceeding of the limit |
| The authority itself gave you incorrect information | legitimate expectations can make the delay excusable |
What generally does not help: holidays, being busy, “I thought talks were still going on”, “I was waiting for my accountant”, or collecting the letter from your message box late. If you are late, file immediately and explain in the same document, with evidence, why the delay is excusable.
What must a notice of objection contain?
You object by lodging a notice with the authority that took the decision; it must be signed and contain at least the following (Articles 6:4 and 6:5 Awb):
| Requirement | In concrete terms |
|---|---|
| a. name and address | including the address of your representative |
| b. the date | the day you write the document |
| c. a description of the decision | its reference, date and subject |
| d. the grounds of objection | why the decision is wrong |
| signature | handwritten or a valid electronic signature |
If something is missing, the objection is not immediately inadmissible: the authority must give you an opportunity to repair the defect within a set period (Article 6:6 Awb). But if you do not respond to that letter, the case is over — that is where many objections founder. No court fee is payable at the objection stage (Article 7:15(1) Awb).
The pro forma objection. If the clock is running but your file is not yet complete, you can lodge a short notice within the six weeks containing your name, the date and a description of the decision, and supply the grounds later. The authority will set a period for those grounds, and that period is binding. Ask for an extension in writing and in time if you need one. Note that the authority’s own decision period is suspended meanwhile (Article 7:10(2) Awb): a pro forma objection buys you time to prepare, but also lengthens your wait.
The hearing in the objection procedure
Before deciding, the authority must give interested parties the opportunity to be heard (Article 7:2 Awb). This is not a formality: it is the only stage at which a human being who can still change the decision is sitting opposite you. Hearing may be dispensed with only in the cases in Article 7:3 Awb (manifestly inadmissible or manifestly unfounded objections, where you say you do not wish to be heard, or where your objection is fully granted), and the decision must state on which ground.
Who hears you matters. Some authorities hear the case themselves; others have an independent advisory committee whose chair does not work under the authority’s responsibility (Article 7:13 Awb). Where such a committee exists, someone who did not take the decision is at the table — which works in your favour.
How to prepare: request the full file and read it before the hearing; decide in advance on your two or three strongest points; submit new documents in good time rather than on the day; bring a witness or expert if useful; and be concrete — “I cannot sit for four hours at a stretch” lands better than “I disagree”.
I have received a decision on objection — what now?
If the objection is admissible, the decision is fully reconsidered (Article 7:11 Awb) and the decision on objection must be properly reasoned (Article 7:12 Awb). Reconsideration covers not only lawfulness but also the balancing of interests and the facts as they are now.
Outside the social security field the ordinary decision period is six weeks, or twelve weeks where an advisory committee has been set up (Article 7:10 Awb). The decision can be postponed by up to six weeks; anything beyond that requires the consent of the interested parties, and every postponement must be notified to you in writing.
Do not forget to claim your costs. Costs reasonably incurred in the objection procedure are reimbursed only on request, and only where the decision is revoked because of unlawfulness attributable to the authority (Article 7:15(2) Awb). That request must be made before the authority decides on the objection (Article 7:15(3) Awb). Forget it and the reimbursement is gone, even if you are entirely vindicated. So put the request in your notice of objection as a matter of routine.
Appeal to the court, and the court fee
You can appeal against the decision on objection to the administrative law division of the district court within six weeks (Articles 8:1 and 8:6 Awb). Objection is in principle mandatory before you can litigate (Article 7:1 Awb); there are exceptions, and you can ask in your notice of objection for direct appeal — sensible where the dispute is purely legal and reconsideration is predictably pointless (Article 7:1a Awb).
The court fee. Unlike objection, appeal is not free (Article 8:41(2) Awb): €54 for a natural person in cases covered by the reduced-fee scheme (including much of social security), €200 for a natural person in other cases, and €397 where the appeal is not lodged by a natural person. These amounts are indexed periodically, so always check the registrar’s letter. The fee must be credited within four weeks of the registrar’s notification or the appeal is inadmissible — if you cannot pay, say so in time and with evidence.
What the court can do. If the appeal succeeds, the court annuls the decision in whole or in part (Article 8:72 Awb). It can rule that the legal effects remain in place, or that its own judgment replaces the annulled decision — the best outcome for you, because you do not have to wait for the authority again. Where that is not possible, it orders the authority to take a new decision, if necessary within a set period.
Two provisions can work against you: Article 6:22 Awb allows a decision to stand despite an established breach where it is plausible that no interested party was prejudiced; and the relativity requirement of Article 8:69a Awb prevents annulment for breach of a rule that clearly does not protect the interests of the person invoking it. A neighbour challenging a permit must therefore rely on norms that protect their own interest.
Higher appeal: which court?
| Field | Appellate court |
|---|---|
| Planning and environment, enforcement, permits, public order, freedom of information | Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State |
| Social security: WW, WIA, Sickness Benefits Act, Participation Act, state pension | Central Appeals Tribunal (Centrale Raad van Beroep) |
| Economic administrative law and market supervision | Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal (CBb) |
| Tax | court of appeal, then cassation before the Supreme Court |
The period for higher appeal is likewise six weeks (Articles 8:105 and 6:24 Awb).
Interim relief
Objection and appeal do not normally suspend a decision — it remains in force while you challenge it. If you cannot live with its effects in the meantime, you can apply for interim relief; the court grants it only where urgency, given the interests involved, requires it (Article 8:81 Awb). A pending objection or appeal is a precondition, and you enclose a copy of it with the application. The test is summarised in practice as: the situation must be so urgent that a decision in the main proceedings cannot be awaited.
Common administrative files
- UWV decisions: WIA, WW, sickness benefit, degree of incapacity, reassessment (WIA refused, WW refused, disputing the disability percentage, sickness benefit).
- Social assistance: suspension, recovery and administrative fines.
- Refusal of a certificate of conduct (VOG): first a view on the intended refusal, then objection and appeal.
- Municipal decisions: permits, orders subject to a penalty payment, enforcement and closure orders.
- Failure to decide in time: you must first give the authority written notice of default; only then does a penalty payment start to run and does direct appeal become available.
The most common mistakes
- Missing the deadline — the most frequent and least reparable mistake.
- Not supplying the grounds within the repair period.
- Forgetting to claim costs before the decision on objection is taken.
- Assuming the decision is suspended: it is not, unless interim relief is granted.
- Not attending the hearing, or attending unprepared.
- As a neighbour, relying only on norms that protect someone else’s interest (Article 8:69a Awb).
- Not paying the court fee within four weeks.
Contact us directly
Send us the decision and we will assess the deadline and the route open to you, free of charge:
- Amsterdam — 020 747 00 55
- The Hague — 070 4500 300
- Rotterdam — 010 311 5500
- Utrecht — 030 747 0038
- Eindhoven — 040 711 3099
This page is published under the responsibility of the administrative and social security law team at Arslan Advocaten. Last updated: 13 September 2026. Court fees and deadlines change periodically; rely on the notice of remedies in your own decision. This page is general information and does not replace individual legal advice.