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Government-funded legal aid refused

Your application for government-funded legal aid has been refused. Read the specific reason with your lawyer. Refusal is not always based on income.

Duration: 1:29

Further reading and sources

This video summarises the main points. The full article provides more detail, exceptions and official sources. This information does not replace advice about your case.

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Criminal Law in the Netherlands.

Your application for government-funded legal aid has been refused. Read the specific reason with your lawyer. Refusal is not always based on income.

View which income data, personal data and case data have been used. Make a specific note of what is incorrect or incomplete. Save documents that can support a correction.

Submitting an objection, supplementing missing data and requesting a reference year change are different actions. Discuss which route matches your grounds for rejection and what time period applies.

Explain why you think the specific grounds for rejection are incorrect. Simply saying that you have little money does not automatically answer another legal reason for denial.

Record who sent the response and keep a copy with proof of receipt. A request for an explanation to the Legal Aid Board is not automatically an objection.

A discussion about financing does not automatically suspend the criminal case. Discuss with your lawyer what work will continue, what payment agreements apply and who monitors important deadlines.

Read the full explanation on the Criminal Law in the Netherlands website.

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What should you do after an arrest?

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Your rights during police questioning

Invited for police questioning in the Netherlands? Check your role. This explanation concerns questioning as a suspect, rather than as a witness.

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Received a summons: what happens next?

A Dutch criminal summons calls you to court. The Public Prosecution Service presents an accusation; the judge decides the case.

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Understand the supporting sources

Sources and supporting information

Here you can find the sources for this page. Open the original publication for the full explanation, conditions and exceptions.

  1. Legal Aid Act: conditions, financial assessment and proceduresOpens in a new tabwetten.overheid.nlhttps://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0006368/
  2. Legal Aid Board: objecting to a decisionOpens in a new tabraadvoorrechtsbijstand.orghttps://www.raadvoorrechtsbijstand.org/contact-opnemen/bezwaar-maken/
  3. Legal Aid Board: explanation of reference year change to 2026, conditions and income conceptOpens in a new tabrechtsbijstand.nlhttps://www.rechtsbijstand.nl/mediation-rechtsbijstand/hoeveel-betalen/peiljaarverlegging/toelichting-verzoek-peiljaarverlegging/
  4. Dutch Bar Association: information about price, calculation method and additional costsOpens in a new tabadvocatenorde.nlhttps://www.advocatenorde.nl/voor-advocaten/wet-en-regelgeving/richtlijnen/richtlijn-voor-advocaten-over-de-bepalingen-het-5

Sources accessed at .

A source reference does not constitute a legal review of this page.

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