Rules for storing, transporting, and working with explosives

Do you work with explosives? There are strict rules for you and your employees. You may need some permits and permissions. Explosives are explosive substances and objects such as gunpowder. The Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport, ILT) checks whether companies and individuals who work with explosives are complying with the rules.

Applying for accreditation

You are only allowed to produce, transport, store, use, and trade explosives if you have a valid licence or authorisation, a so-called WECG accreditation. This is set out in the Explosives for Civil Uses Act (Wet explosieven voor civiel gebruik, Wecg).

You need:

• A WECG accreditation for your business. You can apply for this at the police station in the municipality where your business is located.
• A WECG accreditation for every employee who works with explosives. You can apply for this at the police station in the municipality where your employee lives.

A WECG accreditation is valid for 5 years. Then you need to apply for a new WECG accreditation.

Storing explosives

Do you store explosives? You must comply with the rules of the environment plan. Those are listed in:

• the Environment and Planning Act (Omgevingswet)
• the Environment Activities Decree (Besluit activiteiten leefomgeving, Bal)
• the Environmental Quality Decree (Besluit kwaliteit leefomgeving, Bkl)
• the Decree on construction works in the living environment (Besluit bouwwerken leefomgeving, Bbl)

You may also need an environment and planning permit.

Check if you need an environment and planning permit and apply

Go to the Environment and Planning Portal (Omgevingsloket, in Dutch) to check if you need an environment and planning permit (omgevingsvergunning). In the Environment and Planning Portal you can see which rules apply in your municipality, province, or regional water authority. You can then use the Environment and Planning Portal to apply online for an environment and planning permit or submit a notification.

Keeping an explosives register

You must record everything you do with explosives in a register (in Dutch). In the register, you enter:

• which explosives you receive, use, or supply to other companies
• details of the companies you supply to or purchase from
• the location of the explosives
• the unique identification code of each explosive

You must keep the register for at least 10 years.

You are not allowed to trade in explosives that do not have an identification code. Every party you do business with must have a WECG accreditation.

Registration with VOMES

If you work with explosives, you need to register with VOMES (in Dutch). For example, if you are a blasting expert or an expert in detecting explosive remnants of war. See which professions have to register (in Dutch). After registration, you will be listed in the Safe Working with Explosive Substances Register (Register Veilig Werken met Explosieve Stoffen, VWMES, in Dutch). Your registration is valid for 3 years.

Do you want to work with explosives temporarily or permanently in the Netherlands and have you obtained your professional qualifications abroad? Then you must report to VOMES before starting your work.

Applying for a production location code for production or import of explosives

Do you manufacture explosives? Or do you import explosives into the Netherlands from a county outside the European Union? Then you must apply for a production location code with ILT.

Licences for transport of explosives

Do you want to transport explosives or have them transported? As the carrier or the recipient, you need 1 or more permits.

ADR certificate

If you want to transport explosives, the driver must have an ADR certificate.

Transfer licence

As the recipient of explosives for civil use, you must apply for a transfer licence to the municipality in which you will receive the explosives.

If you transport explosives for mining purposes, you apply for a permit to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy (Ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat, EZK).

Do you transport explosives with the Netherlands as their final destination? You must carry the Dutch transport licence with you during the entire journey.

Approval for international transport

You need approval to transport explosives for civil use through the EU countries. As the recipient, you must have approval from any EU country through which the transport passes. For the Netherlands you apply for approval for international transfer to ILT.

If you transport explosives through the Netherlands, you must carry the approval with you.

Apply for the accreditation and transfer licence with Message Box

With Message Box you can apply for the accreditation and transfer licence digitally to various organisations. Message Box is a secure email system which allows you, the entrepreneur, to exchange digital messages with Dutch government organisations.