DUO, UWV, Gemeente & DigiD Explained

If you are doing your inburgering, four names come up again and again: DUO, UWV, gemeente, and DigiD. Newcomers lose real time — and sometimes money — by contacting the wrong one. The good news is that each has a clear job. Once you know who does what, you always know where to go.

This guide walks through the three government bodies, then explains how DigiD ties them together, and ends with a quick lookup for common inburgering situations.

DUO: your exam and education office

DUO (Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs) is the national body for education administration — and it is the one you deal with most during inburgering.

• Inburgering exams: registration, scheduling, fee payment, and result publication for every exam component. This is DUO’s core role for you.
• Inburgering loans: DUO provides a loan (lening) to cover your course and exam costs.
• Studiefinanciering: student finance for Dutch higher-education students. It does not apply to inburgering learners directly, but it is good to know it is the same office.
• Diploma recognition: if you hold a foreign diploma, DUO can have it evaluated through Nuffic/IDW.
• Portal: Mijn DUO is where you manage your exams and education finances. You log in with DigiD.

UWV: jobs and benefits

UWV (Uitvoeringsinstituut Werknemersverzekeringen) is the national organization for employee insurance. If your situation is about work and income, this is usually your office.

• WW-uitkering (unemployment benefit): if you lose your job through no fault of your own and have worked enough months, UWV pays temporary income support.
• Ziektewet: sick pay for employees who cannot work due to illness and whose employer no longer pays their salary.
• WIA (Wet werk en inkomen naar arbeidsvermogen): long-term disability benefits for people still unable to work after two years of illness.
• Werkbriefje: while receiving WW, you must regularly prove to UWV that you are actively looking for work.
• Portal: werk.nl is where you manage your UWV account, report job applications, and search vacancies.

Gemeente: your local municipality

The gemeente is your local city or town government. It handles the practical, local side of living in the Netherlands.

• BRP registration (Basisregistratie Personen): you must register your address when you move to the Netherlands or change address. Many other services depend on this being correct.
• Passport and ID card: applications and renewals for Dutch identity documents.
• Civil certificates: marriage, birth, and death records — all burgerlijke stand matters.
• Social support: WMO (Wet maatschappelijke ondersteuning) for home care and support, and bijstand (social assistance) for people with no income and no right to WW.
• Inburgering guidance: your gemeente may help with your PIP (your personal learning plan) and finding a language school — but not the exams themselves.
• Local permits and taxes: parking and building permits, events, waste tax (afvalstoffenheffing), and property tax (OZB).

Who does what — the comparison

Institution	What it is	Handles	Portal
DUO	National education administration	Inburgering exams, exam fees, results, inburgering loans, diploma recognition	Mijn DUO
UWV	National employee insurance	Unemployment (WW), sick pay (Ziektewet), disability (WIA), job-search proof	werk.nl
Gemeente	Your local municipality	Address registration (BRP), passports/ID, civil certificates, bijstand, WMO, local permits and taxes	Your gemeente’s site
DigiD	Your login (not an office)	Secure access to all of the above	—

DigiD: the key that opens all three

DigiD is not an institution and there is no DigiD office to call. It is your personal, secure login for Dutch government websites — think of it as access, not authority.

You use the same DigiD to sign in to Mijn DUO for your exams, to werk.nl for UWV, and to your gemeente’s online services. Because almost everything runs through it, activating your DigiD early is one of the smartest first steps you can take. Waiting until you urgently need it is a common cause of delay.

Which one do I contact?

Your situation	Go to
Schedule or pay for your inburgering exam	DUO
Check your exam results	DUO
Apply for an inburgering loan	DUO
Lost your job and need income	UWV
Prove you are job searching	UWV (werkbriefje)
Long-term disability benefit	UWV (WIA)
Register your home address	Gemeente
Get a birth or marriage certificate	Gemeente
Apply for bijstand (social assistance)	Gemeente
Can’t log in to any of these	Activate DigiD

Mistakes that cost people time

• Asking the gemeente about exams. The gemeente does not manage inburgering exams. For dates, results, or fees, go to DUO. The gemeente can still help with your PIP and finding a language school.
• Going to UWV when self-employed. UWV covers employees only. A ZZP’er (self-employed) registers at KvK (Kamer van Koophandel) and handles taxes through the Belastingdienst; UWV generally does not pay benefits to self-employed workers.
• Treating DigiD like an organization to call. It is a login, not a helpdesk.
• Confusing gemeente with the Rijksoverheid. The gemeente is local government; the Rijksoverheid is the national government. Immigration law, for example, is national (the IND falls under Rijksoverheid), but registering your address is local. When in doubt, ask whether the issue is about your city or about national policy.

Keep going

Knowing which office does what removes a lot of stress from inburgering — and it is exactly the kind of thing the KNM exam expects you to understand. For a deeper walk-through of the Dutch government bodies you will meet, see our full guide to the government institutions of the Netherlands, and when you are ready to plan your study, read how to prepare for the inburgering exam.

Want to actually practice? The Inburgering Coach app turns topics like this into short daily exercises, so KNM knowledge sticks instead of blurring together.