MijnOverheid: where your Dutch government letters go

MijnOverheid (mijn.overheid.nl) is a single website where Dutch government agencies send you official letters, tax assessments, and status updates digitally. Once you activate your account, many organisations stop sending paper mail entirely. If you do not check MijnOverheid, you can miss deadlines for bezwaar (appeals), payment due dates, and appointment confirmations.

What you need to log in

You need a DigiD. MijnOverheid uses DigiD as its only login method. If you do not have a DigiD yet, apply first: see our step-by-step guide. Once your DigiD is active, go to mijn.overheid.nl and log in.

The first time you log in, MijnOverheid asks you to activate your Berichtenbox. This is the step that tells government agencies to start sending letters digitally. Until you activate it, they continue sending paper mail.

Berichtenbox

The Berichtenbox is your digital mailbox. Letters from your gemeente, the Belastingdienst, UWV, DUO, CJIB (traffic fines), and other agencies appear here. Each message shows the sender, date, and subject line.

Messages in the Berichtenbox have the same legal status as paper letters. A beschikking (official decision) received in your Berichtenbox counts as delivered on the date it was sent, and your six-week bezwaar deadline starts from that date, whether or not you opened it.

Persoonlijke Gegevens

This section shows the data the government has on file for you in the BRP (basisregistratie personen): your name, date of birth, nationality, registered address, and marital status. If anything is wrong, contact your gemeente to correct it. You cannot edit this data through MijnOverheid directly.

Check this section after registering at your gemeente or after a move. Address changes can take a few days to appear. If your address is incorrect, official mail may go to the wrong location.

Lopende Zaken

Lopende Zaken (ongoing matters) tracks the status of applications and requests you have made through government agencies. If you applied for a vergunning, requested huurtoeslag, or filed a bezwaarschrift, the current status appears here: received, in treatment, or decided.

Not every agency uses Lopende Zaken, so it is not a complete picture. But for the agencies that do participate, it saves you from calling to ask "what is the status of my application."

Setting up email notifications

By default, MijnOverheid does not send you an email when a new message arrives. You have to log in and check manually. This is the part most people miss.

Go to your MijnOverheid settings and turn on email notifications. You will receive an email each time a new message appears in your Berichtenbox. The email does not contain the message itself (for privacy), but it tells you to log in and read it.

Without notifications, it is easy to miss a tax assessment or a bezwaar deadline. Checking MijnOverheid once a month is not enough when the CJIB sends you a boete with a payment deadline just weeks away.

What types of messages appear

Common messages include: aanslag gemeentelijke belastingen (municipal tax assessment), voorlopige aanslag inkomstenbelasting (provisional income tax assessment), toeslagen updates from the Belastingdienst, WOZ-waardebeschikking (property valuation), vergunning decisions from your gemeente, and notifications from the Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) about kinderbijslag.

Traffic fines from the CJIB and student finance updates from DUO also arrive here if you have activated the Berichtenbox.

Practice the vocabulary

TikTaal's gemeente registration scenario covers the vocabulary you need when dealing with the gemeente: inschrijven, afspraak maken, and understanding what happens after you register. Every Dutch word is clickable for pronunciation and translation.