New national approach to lost or stolen travel documents

A government website in the Netherlands is reporting that In the future it will be possible to apply to your municipality to replace a lost or stolen passport, ID card or driving license without first reporting the loss or theft to the police. The new approach has been tested by more than 250 municipalities in the last few years, and is now being extended to every municipality in the Netherlands.

Previously, lost or stolen documents had to be reported twice: first to the police, then to the municipality. Thanks to the pilot program, this is no longer necessary. This makes things easier for people who have lost a document, as they no longer have to go to two different authorities. And it saves the police work, too. The municipality will still contact the police if it believes a lost or stolen travel document is linked to fraud. For example, if the same person regularly reports documents as lost or stolen, or if the document has previously been used fraudulently. This will allow the police to focus more closely and efficiently on specific lost or stolen documents – where there is cause to do so – rather than all lost or stolen documents. This will free up an estimated 115 officers a year for other police work.

Following a positive evaluation of the pilot program last year, the Ministry of Interior and Kingdom Relations began amending the Passport Act to allow this approach to be adopted in every municipality. The relevant bill is expected to go to the House of Representatives before the summer recess.