Frequently Asked Questions about the life certificate

If you receive a pension or benefit from us and you live outside the Netherlands, we will ask you to provide regular proof that you are still alive by filling in a ‘life certificate’ form. 

Life certificate forms are sent out once a year. You do not have to ask for a life certificate form. If you have a Message Box , you will receive it there. Whether or not you receive a life certificate form will depend on your situation and where you live. 

Digitally or by post

You can choose how to send us your life certificate:

  • You can send your life certificate digitally via the app. This means you will no longer be required to have the form completed and signed by a competent authority . The letter you receive with the life certificate form explains exactly what you have to do. It also contains the QR code you will need for the app.
  • Or if you prefer, you can return the paper form to us. You will still have to have the paper form signed by a competent authority.

If you have lost the form, please contact us, and we will send you a new one.

Both you and a competent authority in the country where you live. The life certificate form gives a list of the people or organisations we recognise as competent authorities, for example a public official at your local town hall or municipal offices. You will have to take the form to them yourself.

If you have Dutch nationality, you can also go to the Dutch embassy or consulate. If the life certificate says that you can go to a notary public, bear in mind that this will cost money.

You can send the life certificate via My SVB if the competent authority has not stamped the form with an embossed stamp. This is a stamp with raised lettering, without ink, that you can feel with your fingers. 

It is not possible to send the life certificate by email because email is not sufficiently secure.

If you cannot log in to My SVB, or if the life certificate has an embossed stamp, you must send the completed life certificate form (not a copy) to us by post to the address stated in the letter you received with the form.

No, the life certificate form is personal to you. The details we already have for you are pre-printed on the form. It is important that you check these details and make any necessary changes. The competent authority can then see what details we have for you, and can check them. Whether or not we ask you to complete a life certificate form will depend on your situation and where you live.