Codicil — the document most people don't know they can write
Most people in the Netherlands have heard of a testament (will). Far fewer have heard of a codicil (handwritten testamentary document) — even though, for one specific job, it is the simplest legal instrument available. A codicil lets you decide who receives certain personal belongings after your death, without going to a notaris (civil-law notary), without paying a fee, and without anyone else needing to be involved.
What a codicil is
A codicil is a private, handwritten document in which a person sets out who should receive certain personal items after their death. It is recognised under article 4:97 of the Burgerlijk Wetboek (Dutch Civil Code, BW). Unlike a testament, which is drafted by a notaris and registered in the Centraal Testamentenregister (Central Register of Wills), a codicil lives entirely in the hands of the person who writes it. Its legal weight comes from a small number of strict requirements set out in the law itself.
What a codicil can do
A codicil can be used to leave specific personal items to specific people. The KNB (Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries, notaris.nl) describes its scope narrowly. In practice, a codicil can cover:
- Clothing and personal effects — coats, shoes, watches, glasses, handbags.
- Jewellery — rings, necklaces, watches with personal value.
- Household goods (inboedel) — furniture, kitchenware, lamps, rugs, ornaments.
- Books and personal papers — libraries, collections, letters, photo albums.
- Specific items of sentimental value — a musical instrument, a painting, a bicycle.
A codicil can also record wishes about the funeral itself — type of ceremony, music, burial or cremation. These wishes are not binding in the same way an inheritance is, but they are taken seriously and the codicil is one of the standard places where they are recorded [unverified — described in KNB and Rijksoverheid guidance; binding force is a matter of practice].
What a codicil cannot do
A codicil is not a substitute for a testament. It cannot:
- Leave money — cash, bank balances, savings, investments.
- Leave real estate — a house, an apartment, land.
- Leave shares, securities or business interests.
- Leave registered vehicles such as cars or boats [unverified — commonly excluded in KNB guidance].
- Appoint an executeur (executor) or a guardian for children.
- Disinherit anyone or change the legitieme portie (legal share of a child).
For anything beyond named personal items, you need a testament drawn up by a notaris.
What makes a codicil legally valid
Article 4:97 BW sets the requirements. They are short and absolute. A codicil must be:
- Entirely handwritten by the person making it. Not typed. Not printed and signed. Handwritten throughout.
- Dated — day, month and year of writing.
- Signed by the testator.
If any of these three is missing, the document has no legal effect. A typed list with a handwritten signature is not a valid codicil.
The items must be described clearly enough to be identified — "my gold wedding ring" is sufficient; "some of my jewellery" is not. Recipients must be named clearly — full name and, ideally, the relationship.
A short example
A valid codicil can be very short:
Codicil
I, [full name], born [date] in [place], living at [address], declare the following:
- To my daughter [full name], born [date], I leave my mother's gold ring with the green stone.
- To my friend [full name], born [date], I leave the cookbooks on the second shelf of the kitchen.
- To my nephew [full name], born [date], I leave my acoustic guitar.
[Place], [date in full]
[Handwritten signature]
You can write more than one codicil over time. Later codicils generally take precedence over earlier ones for the same item; a clear date on each is essential.
Where to keep it
A codicil is only useful if it can be found. Common places: at home with other important papers (alongside a testament copy, levenstestament, insurance documents); with a trusted person such as a partner, adult child, or the gevolmachtigde named in other documents; or with a notaris for safekeeping, although there is no central register and the notaris will not actively notify anyone that it exists.
What matters is that the people who will administer your estate know the codicil exists and where to look. A codicil no one finds has no effect.
In the Personal Portal, the existence and location of any codicil is one of the items the people you trust can find — alongside the testament, the levenstestament and the wilsverklaring.
In the app
In the app you record whether you have written a codicil, where it is kept, and what kind of items it covers — so the people who will need it know it exists and where to look.
Closed beta — access by invitation.
Sources
- KNB (Koninklijke Notariële Beroepsorganisatie) — guidance on codicil and inheritance documents. https://www.notaris.nl
- Rijksoverheid — overview of inheritance law (erfrecht) and the codicil. https://www.rijksoverheid.nl
- Burgerlijk Wetboek, Boek 4, artikel 97 — legal basis for the codicil. https://wetten.overheid.nl