Medical Certificate in the Netherlands: Online Doctor's Note, Same-Day, from €39.99
- Certificate types covering the common Dutch use cases
- Doctors registered to assess cases in the Netherlands reviewing every case
- Same-day delivery, usually within 30 minutes on weekdays
- Full refund if the doctor cannot issue your certificate
- 🇳🇱 EUR pricing
- AVG (Dutch GDPR) & Wet verbetering Poortwachter
- Accepted by schools, clubs, airlines & insurers
Medical Certificate in the Netherlands and Doctor's Note in the Netherlands: What's the Difference?
In the Netherlands, employees generally do not give their employer a doctor's certificate to justify sick leave. Instead, you report sick directly to your employer, a process known as a "ziekmelding," and for longer absences your employer engages an independent company doctor, the bedrijfsarts, who assesses your fitness for work without being told your diagnosis. Because of this, our sick-leave-style certificate is only useful for specific situations that sit outside this system (see the table below). Our general medical, fit-to-fly, and sports fitness certificates cover the purposes most commonly needed by people in the Netherlands: insurance, travel, education, visas, and sport. In everyday English this is often just called a doctor's note for the Netherlands, even where the official local term differs.
Netherlands Legal Snapshot: Sick Leave, Ziekmelding & the Bedrijfsarts
| How sick leave normally works | You report sick directly to your employer, a process known as a "ziekmelding," following your employer's internal sickness policy. No doctor's certificate is required or generally expected for this step. |
|---|---|
| Longer absences | If the absence continues, your employer is required to engage a bedrijfsarts (independent company doctor), typically by around week 6 of the absence, to assess your fitness for work and advise on reintegration. |
| Diagnosis privacy | Your employer is not legally permitted to ask you for your diagnosis. The bedrijfsarts reports only what is relevant to work capacity and reintegration, not your medical details. |
| When a certificate from us is relevant | For specific documented needs outside the ziekmelding/bedrijfsarts relationship: for example, some schools, foreign institutions or employers that specifically request a doctor's certificate, or to support a return-to-work conversation. |
| Long-term incapacity | After roughly two years of incapacity, the Dutch social security agency (UWV) becomes involved in assessing longer-term work incapacity and benefit entitlement. |
| Governing framework | Wet verbetering Poortwachter (the Gatekeeper Improvement Act), which sets out employer and employee obligations during sickness absence, alongside the Dutch Civil Code. |
| Data protection law | AVG, the Dutch name for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). |
This works differently from most countries: if you assume a certificate is required for standard Dutch sick leave, it generally is not: a ziekmelding to your employer is the normal process, and a bedrijfsarts (not a GP-style certificate) manages longer absences. Our sick-leave-style certificate is designed for the specific situations described above, not as a substitute for the ziekmelding process, a bedrijfsarts assessment, or UWV involvement in long-term incapacity cases.
In practice, this means the first conversation about a Dutch sickness absence happens between you and your employer, not between you and a doctor issuing paperwork. The bedrijfsarts becomes involved only once an absence runs longer, and their role is to advise on capacity and reintegration steps, not to produce a certificate you hand to HR. Employers and employees share reintegration obligations over roughly the first two years of an absence, with UWV stepping in from that point if incapacity continues.
Exact deadlines for reporting sick, and what percentage of salary continues during illness, are typically set out in your employment contract or a collective labour agreement (CAO) rather than being identical for every employee. Check your own contract or staff handbook for the specifics that apply to you.
For most people in Dutch employment, no certificate from us, or from any doctor, is needed to report sick; that is what the ziekmelding process is for. Where a genuine documented need does exist outside that system, such as a specific school, insurer, or foreign institution asking for one, a certificate reviewed by a doctor registered to assess cases in the Netherlands can help. Sources: Rijksoverheid, UWV. Last reviewed July 2026. Always confirm current rules before relying on them for a specific case.
All Certificate Types Available in the Netherlands
Every certificate type is reviewed by a doctor registered to assess cases in the Netherlands. Because standard Dutch sick leave works differently from most countries (see above), check which certificate actually matches your situation before ordering: for many people, the general medical, fit-to-fly, or sports fitness certificate will be the relevant one, not the sick-leave-style certificate. If you are unsure which type applies to you, the assessment form will ask about your situation before any payment is taken.
Sick Leave Certificate
For specific documented needs outside the standard Dutch ziekmelding/bedrijfsarts system. Useful for supporting a return-to-work conversation, or where a school, insurer, or foreign institution specifically asks for a doctor's certificate. Not a substitute for reporting sick to your employer or for a bedrijfsarts assessment, and not something most Dutch employees will need for ordinary short-term absence.
From €34.99Sports Fitness Certificate
For Dutch sports clubs, federations, and competitions that require medical clearance before you can register or take part. Commonly requested for contact sports, competitive leagues, and gradings, and sometimes for junior members joining a club for the first time. Valid 12 months from issue.
From €34.99General Fitness Certificate
For gym membership sign-up and personal training in the Netherlands where a health declaration or medical clearance is requested by the club or trainer, particularly for higher-intensity programmes or where pre-existing conditions are relevant.
From €34.99General Medical Certificate
For insurance claims, visa applications, legal proceedings, and education requirements in the Netherlands: purposes that sit outside the standard employer sick-leave system entirely and are among the most common reasons people in the Netherlands request a certificate from us.
From €34.99How It Works in the Netherlands
Complete assessment
3-5 minutes. Select your certificate type, confirm the Netherlands as your country, and answer relevant health questions. No payment yet, and the form will flag if a certificate isn't the right fit for a standard sick-leave situation.
Doctor reviews your case
Reviewed by a doctor registered to assess cases in the Netherlands, during business hours (9am-6pm CET/CEST, Monday-Friday). May request more information before deciding, and will only issue where it's clinically appropriate.
Receive your PDF
Emailed same day, usually within 30 minutes of approval, with doctor credentials and a verification reference the recipient can use to check authenticity.
Who Accepts These Certificates in the Netherlands
Because standard Dutch employers manage sick leave through the ziekmelding and bedrijfsarts process rather than a doctor's certificate, the institutions most likely to accept our certificates in the Netherlands are ones operating outside that specific relationship.
Schools & universities
Accepted for specific documented needs and school sports medical clearance, where the institution specifically requests a doctor's certificate rather than relying on a parent or guardian's own note.
Sports clubs
Accepted for club and competition medical clearance requirements across Dutch sports federations and leagues, including for new members and competitive entries.
Airlines
Fit-to-fly certificates accepted by airlines requiring medical clearance for travel after surgery, illness, or during later pregnancy, ahead of a flight from a Dutch airport.
Insurers
General medical certificates accepted for insurance claims and related documentation requests, where an insurer asks for independent medical confirmation.
Foreign institutions & employers
Accepted by some institutions, employers, or schools outside the Netherlands' standard ziekmelding/bedrijfsarts system, including certain foreign employers, universities, and visa processes that specifically request a doctor's certificate rather than relying on that system.
GetMedicalCertificate in the Netherlands' Major Cities
Our service is fully online and available across the Netherlands, wherever you are based, since the country's compact size and strong connectivity mean delivery times are consistent nationwide, whether you're near the coast in Holland or further east or south. These are the cities we serve the most requests from.
Netherlands Pricing: All Certificate Types
| Certificate Type | Our Price | Typical Private Doctor Visit |
|---|---|---|
| Sick Leave Certificate | €34.99 | €50-€120 |
| Sports Fitness Certificate | €34.99 | €50-€120 |
| General Fitness Certificate | €34.99 | €50-€120 |
| Fit to Fly Certificate | €34.99 | €50-€120 |
| Return to Work Certificate | €34.99 | €50-€120 |
| General Medical Certificate | €34.99 | €50-€120 |
Private consultation costs are typical ranges for a standard visit sought outside the Netherlands' standard employer/ziekmelding/bedrijfsarts system, and vary by location, provider, and whether a specialist is involved. Costs for a bedrijfsarts assessment itself are normally covered by your employer, not by you.
GetMedicalCertificate vs a Typical In-Person Doctor Visit in the Netherlands
There isn't a direct online equivalent to compare against here, because standard Dutch sick leave doesn't route through a doctor's certificate at all. It runs through the ziekmelding and bedrijfsarts process described above. The comparison that actually matters is for the situations where a certificate genuinely is useful: a school or foreign institution asking for one, supporting a return-to-work conversation, or getting fit-to-fly or sports-fitness clearance.
The realistic alternative for those situations is a private in-person doctor visit, which typically costs €35-€60 in the Netherlands and usually requires booking an appointment and travelling to a clinic during opening hours. Our certificates start from €39.99, are reviewed by a doctor registered to assess cases in the Netherlands, and are usually delivered the same day, often within 30 minutes of approval.
Every certificate also includes a verification reference, so the school, club, airline, or institution receiving it can check its authenticity without needing to contact us directly. If a doctor reviews your case and cannot issue a certificate, you receive a full refund automatically. There is no fee for a case a doctor declines.
What we are not comparing ourselves to is a Dutch sick-leave process itself, since, as explained above, that doesn't typically involve a doctor's certificate or an associated cost to the employee in the first place. The comparison above applies specifically to the documented-need situations described throughout this page: general medical, fit-to-fly, sports fitness, and the narrower cases where a sick-leave-style or return-to-work certificate genuinely applies.
Our Netherlands Medical Team
Every Netherlands certificate is reviewed by a doctor registered to assess cases in the Netherlands. A clinician will only issue a certificate after genuinely assessing your case, and only if it is clinically appropriate to do so; if it isn't, you receive a full refund rather than a certificate you cannot use.
Registered practitioners, not a call centre.
Every doctor is independently verified against their national medical council before they see a single patient - including across Netherlands.
Dr. Ab F.
Reg. #9913425901Dr. Aernout S.
Reg. #29036681901Dr. Igor T.
Reg. #89048686301Dr. Michiel W.
Reg. #49065379401Netherlands Medical Certificate FAQ
Generally, no. Dutch employees report sick directly to their employer through a ziekmelding (sickness report), not by submitting a doctor's certificate. There is no general legal requirement for a GP-style note to justify short-term sick leave, unlike in many other countries. For longer absences, your employer will typically involve a bedrijfsarts rather than ask you for a certificate, and your employer's own sickness policy governs how and when you should report.
A bedrijfsarts is an independent company doctor that Dutch employers are required to engage to assess an employee's fitness for work during longer sickness absences. The bedrijfsarts is not permitted to disclose your diagnosis to your employer; they report only what is needed for work-related decisions, such as capacity and reintegration steps, under the Wet verbetering Poortwachter. Many employers arrange bedrijfsarts access through an occupational health service rather than employing one directly.
Mainly for specific documented needs that sit outside the standard ziekmelding/bedrijfsarts system: for example, some schools or foreign institutions that specifically ask for a doctor's certificate, or to support a conversation about returning to work. If your situation is standard short-term sick leave from a Dutch employer, you most likely do not need a certificate at all; report it directly to your employer instead, following their internal sickness policy.
Our general medical certificate (insurance, visa, legal, or education use), fit-to-fly certificate (air travel), and sports fitness certificate (club and competition clearance) tend to be more broadly useful in the Netherlands, because they cover purposes that sit entirely outside the ziekmelding/bedrijfsarts relationship. The sick-leave-style and return-to-work certificates are narrower, and worth ordering only if a specific situation calls for one.
Yes. A doctor registered to assess cases in the Netherlands reviews your case after a genuine online assessment, and issues a certificate for the purposes described above where it is clinically appropriate to do so. Every certificate is delivered as a PDF with a verification reference, and if the doctor cannot issue one, you're refunded in full.
Yes. We comply with the AVG, the Dutch name for the GDPR. Your medical information is seen only by the doctor assessing your case, stored securely, and never shared with third parties, including your employer, unless you choose to share your certificate yourself.
Same day in almost all cases, usually within 30 minutes of a doctor approving your case during business hours (9am-6pm CET/CEST, Monday-Friday). You'll receive it by email as a PDF with a verification reference, ready to share with the school, club, airline, or institution that needs it.
Yes. In everyday English, "medical certificate" and "doctor's note" describe the same kind of document, and we use both terms for the Netherlands. Whichever term the person or institution asking for one uses, our certificate is reviewed by a doctor and designed to meet that request.
A certificate anyone can check - in seconds.
Every certificate is issued by a doctor registered with their national medical council, after a real assessment, and carries a reference code that resolves instantly - whether your employer is in Dublin, Berlin or Warsaw.
- ✓Issued only after a genuine clinical review
- ✓Unique reference code, checkable by anyone
- ✓Covers sick leave, fitness-to-work & carer's leave
- ✓Delivered as a signed PDF within the hour
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