2019-01-02

Added · Updated

Licensing requirements for companies providing trust services

Companies must obtain a licence to provide trust services in a professional capacity or on a commercial basis. The licence requirement does not apply to services provided on a one-off basis or very occasionally, unless the company actively promotes them through advertising or provides them to multiple customers. Operating as a trust office without the required licence is prohibited.

De Nederlandsche Bank logo

Netherlands

De Nederlandsche Bank

Click to view thumbnail

Factsheet

Read aloud

Companies must be licensed if they provide trust services in a professional capacity or on a commercial basis.

Published: 02 January 2019

If these trust services are provided on a one-off basis or very occasionally, your company does not need a licence. Trust services are, however, subject to a licence requirement if you actively promote them, for instance by advertising them, and also if you provide the service for different customers.

Information on applying for a licence as a trust office

Vergunning trustkantoren – overzichtspagina

Authorisation, yes or no?

Licence: yes or no?

What are trust services?

Providing trust services in a professional capacity or on a commercial basis

Exemption from the licence requirement

Applying for authorisation

Licence application form including explanatory notes

Application process (10 steps)

Application process timeline

Application fees

How to apply successfully

Background information

Prohibition on operating as a trust office without a licence

Public register

Statutory framework governing market access for trust offices

Discover related articles

Factsheet

Integrity & sanctions

Market access

Trust offices

Share:

Share on LinkedIn

Share on X

Share on Facebook

Share via Email

Interesting articles

De Nederlandsche Bank publishes ‘Integrity Supervision in Focus 2026’

25 June 2026

News item supervision

In the third edition of ‘Integrity Supervision in Focus’ (ISF), we share the key insights from our integrity supervision.

Read more De Nederlandsche Bank publishes ‘Integrity Supervision in Focus 2026’

News item supervision

25 June 2026

Update FATF-warning lists June 2026

23 June 2026

News item supervision

FATF released an update of its ‘grey’ and ‘black’ lists.

Read more Update FATF-warning lists June 2026

News item supervision

23 June 2026

Eurosystem presents proposals to strengthen macroprudential oversight of the non bank financial sector

05 May 2026

News item supervision

The Eurosystem has published policy proposals aimed at strengthening the macroprudential oversight of the non bank financial intermediation (NBFI) sector. The proposals seek to improve the identification and mitigation of risks to financial stability.

Read more Eurosystem presents proposals to strengthen macroprudential oversight of the non bank financial sector

News item supervision

05 May 2026

Update FATF-warning lists October 2025

28 October 2025

News item supervision

FATF released an update of its ‘grey’ and ‘black’ lists.

Read more Update FATF-warning lists October 2025

News item supervision

28 October 2025

Necessary cookies

To ensure the proper operation of the website, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) uses functional cookies and analytics cookies, and has taken measures to ensure that these cookies have little or no impact on the privacy of website users.

Optional cookies

Some pages include embedded content from external websites. These websites may use proprietary (tracking) cookies. This allows third parties to track visitor statistics, show personalised content and display targeted ads, for example.

You can make your choice about allowing these optional cookies both when you first visit the website and when you navigate to a page with embedded content.