Pasfoto booths in the Netherlands: RDW-approved booths and renewing your driving licence online

A pasfoto automaat (also called a fotocabine or, informally, a fotohokje) prints official passport photos in a few minutes. Some booths can also send a digital photo straight to the RDW, the agency that issues Dutch driving licences — that is what lets you renew a licence online. This page explains both, using the RDW’s, the government’s and Photo-ME’s own pages.

Official rules can change. This page was checked against the sources listed at the bottom on 26 October 2026; if anything here disagrees with the RDW or Rijksoverheid, they are right.

Which photo you need for which document

• Passport or ID card: bring a printed colour passport photo to your municipality (Rijksoverheid). It must be 35 × 45 mm, printed on high-quality smooth photo paper and no more than 6 months old on the day you apply (Rijksoverheid, Government.nl).
• Renewing a driving licence online: a regular passport photo cannot be used. You need a digital photo taken by an RDW photographer or an approved photo booth (RDW).
• Digital photos for passports and ID cards are not here yet. The RvIG is working on a plan for digital passport photos — taken at the municipality’s counter or sent by a photographer — but says the law has to change first, which takes on average two to three years. It gives no start date (RvIG).

Using a Photo-ME booth

Photo-ME, run by ME Group Netherlands, operates the 381 machines on our list of Dutch passport photo booths. Its own pages describe the booth like this:

1. Sit down and close the curtain for the best lighting and privacy (Photo-ME).
2. Choose the type of photo on the touchscreen — for example a photo for a passport, ID card or visa — and follow the instructions on the screen (Photo-ME).
3. Take the photo. You get 3 attempts, then choose the best one; the system helps you pick a photo that meets the requirements (Photo-ME, Photo-ME FAQ).
4. Pay and collect your prints. Photo-ME says you can pay contactless with a debit card or a credit card, and that only some locations still take cash. The machine prints 5 passport photos per order, within a minute (Photo-ME FAQ).

If your municipality rejects a Photo-ME photo, Photo-ME says it refunds the amount; you contact it through the chat on its website (Photo-ME FAQ). Photo-ME does not publish prices on its website, so we do not quote any.

What “RDW Erkend” means

“RDW Erkend” means the booth is approved by the RDW: it can send your digital photo and signature securely to the RDW for an online driving licence renewal (RDW, Photo-ME). Not every Photo-ME location can do this yet; Photo-ME says the RDW approval is shown in the location’s title and description on its location finder (Photo-ME FAQ).

The RDW publishes its own list of approved photographers and photo booths on its locatiewijzer. On 2026-10-26 that list had 382 photo booths, without saying which company runs them. We compared it with Photo-ME’s locator: 368 of the 381 Photo-ME machines have an RDW-listed booth at the same address or within 250 m. Each machine on our list shows the result, so you can see before you go whether the RDW lists a booth there.

Renewing a Dutch driving licence online, step by step

The RDW lets you renew online if all of these apply (RDW):

• you have a Dutch driving licence issued after 1 October 2006 (it may have expired), and it is not lost or reported stolen or missing;
• you are registered at an address in the Netherlands (in the BRP);
• you have the DigiD app with an ID check, or log-in with an ID card or driving licence (with PIN) — log-in with SMS check is not enough;
• you have a valid application code (see step 1), and, in some cases, a health declaration from the CBR — for example if you are over 75.

If you do not meet all the conditions, the RDW says to go to the municipality where you are registered instead (RDW).

1. Get a digital photo at an RDW photographer or approved booth. The booth sends your photo and signature to the RDW. Within a few minutes the RDW sends you an email and/or text with an application code, valid for 6 months (RDW).
2. Apply online with the “Rijbewijs verlengen” button on the RDW website and pay the licence fee with iDEAL/Wero. The photo is added to your application automatically (RDW).
3. Pick up the licence at your municipality. The RDW emails you 2 working days after the application that the licence is ready (applications made Friday to Monday can take 3 working days). Check whether your municipality needs an appointment, bring your current licence — you hand it in — and collect the new one within 3 months, or you have to apply again (RDW).

No code? The RDW says to contact the photographer, and for problems with the booth to contact Photo-ME (RDW). The RDW lists the licence fee on its page; the photo is paid separately and its price differs per photographer and booth (RDW).

Where to find a booth

Passport photo booths in the Netherlands lists all 381 Photo-ME machines on the official locator, by province and town, with placement and opening hours as published and whether the RDW lists an approved booth at that address. Two limits: a machine on the list is not a guarantee that it works today (5 are marked out of service by Photo-ME), and the RDW comparison is by address, not by machine.

Sources (checked 26 October 2026)

• RDW — Rijbewijs online verlengen (renewing your driving licence online)
• RDW — Locatiewijzer (approved photographers and photo booths)
• Rijksoverheid — Hoe kan ik een paspoort of identiteitskaart aanvragen?
• Rijksoverheid — Eisen aan de pasfoto voor paspoort of ID-kaart
• Government.nl — Requirements for ID photos
• RvIG — Introductie digitale pasfoto
• Photo-ME — Hoe werkt het (how the booth works)
• Photo-ME — Klantenservice (FAQ)
• Photo-ME — Online rijbewijs verlengen

This is an independent guide. We do not operate photo booths and are not affiliated with the RDW, the Dutch government or ME Group. We do not quote photo prices.