Data sources and methodology of the Dutch company database

Sources for the Netherlands

As of 4 November 2026: 535,638 records from one processed source, Overture Maps. The other sources below are planned and not yet in the database. The measured figures and the counting rules are on database status.

• Overture Maps

  Worldwide open geodata from the Overture Maps Foundation with business locations, names, addresses and often phone and website, merged from several sources (including Meta and Microsoft). The places data (release 2026-10-21.0) is available under the CDLA-Permissive-2.0 licence; we do not take over places with a confidence score below 0.77.

  Processed: source of all 535,638 records (as of 4 November 2026) · docs.overturemaps.org/attribution

• OpenStreetMap

  Open map data maintained by volunteers, with shops, restaurants, practices and other businesses. Licence ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors.

  Planned, not yet processed · openstreetmap.org/copyright

• Company websites

  Contact pages with phone, general email address and Chamber of Commerce (KVK) number. Providers of information society services must state, among other things, their address, email address and registration number (Article 3:15d Dutch Civil Code).

  Planned, not yet processed

• Public registers of professions and regulators

  Registers published by the government or a professional body, such as the Register of Government Organisations or the open education data of DUO. We only use a register if its terms allow reuse; registers that prohibit use for advertising are not used.

  Planned, not yet processed

• Member directories of trade associations

  Public member lists, only where the association’s terms allow reuse.

  Planned, not yet processed

The KVK business register is public, but it is not a free dataset. Individual companies can be looked up on kvk.nl; the KVK supplies larger volumes through the KVK Dataservice and APIs under terms of use, including the Non-Mailing Indicator. We do not obtain bulk data from the business register. The KVK open dataset contains no trade names and no KVK numbers and is of no use to us; the KVK APIs are paid. The KVK is therefore not a source of our database; we use the number of business locations in the register only as an official comparison figure.

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Market figures and their sources

Besides our own (measured) figures, the website shows the size of the market according to official statistics. Netherlands: Statistics Netherlands (CBS) StatLine, table 81589NED “Bedrijven; bedrijfstak”, 2,450,355 businesses on 1 October 2026 (provisional figure), of which 1,862,975 natural persons and 587,380 legal entities; the figures per industry come from the same table (SBI 2008). Business locations by province: CBS StatLine, table 81578NED “Vestigingen van bedrijven; bedrijfstak, regio” (business locations by industry and region); inhabitants: CBS StatLine, table 03759ned “Bevolking op 1 januari” (population on 1 January); start-ups and closures: CBS StatLine, table 83148NED “Bedrijven; oprichtingen” (business start-ups) and CBS StatLine, table 83149NED “Bedrijven; opheffingen” (business closures). All CBS figures were retrieved via the open data API on 25 October 2026; CBS publishes them under the CC BY 4.0 licence. The KVK business register counts just over 2.6 million business locations (30 June 2026). EU: Eurostat, Structural Business Statistics (sbs_ovw_act), enterprises in industry, construction and market services 2024: EU-27 33,978,235, of which outside the Netherlands 31,553,938 (data as of 30 September 2026); Eurostat data © European Union, reuse with acknowledgement of the source. The statistics count differently and are not directly comparable.

How a record is created

This is how a record is created in the Dutch company database. Data from other countries is compiled per request (EU and other markets).

1. Base from open data. The open map data of Overture Maps creates a record per location with name, address and the contact details available. OpenStreetMap and open registers are planned as a further base.
2. Data from websites (planned). Phone number, general email address, KVK number and a description of activities are to come from the company’s public website.
3. Matching. Once further sources are added, contact details are only attached to a record if identifying features match: most strongly the KVK number stated on the website, in addition name and address.
4. Legal form and industry (planned). We intend to derive the legal form from the name and the sources (bv, nv, foundation …) and the industry and SBI code from the description of activities and the source. The current records have no SBI code yet.
5. Duplicates and checks. Duplicate records are merged, phone numbers put into international format and email addresses formally checked. Addresses shared by three or more records do not count as an own email address.

Matching is automated and cannot be error-free. With identical or very similar names and no KVK number on the website, the risk of a wrong match is higher.

Legal framework for use

• Email only with consent or to addresses published for that purpose. Under Article 11.7 of the Telecommunications Act, unsolicited commercial email is prohibited, including to legal entities, unless the recipient gave prior consent, published the address itself for such messages (paragraph 3) or is a customer (paragraph 4). An export contains no consent. That is why we do not offer the data for email campaigns; the email field is a general business address for your CRM.
• Phone. You may call legal entities on business matters. Sole traders and partnerships (vof, cv, maatschap) only with prior consent (paragraph 2); since 1 July 2026 this also applies to existing customers.
• Post. Advertising mail is not covered by Article 11.7. Do not use addresses with a KVK Non-Mailing Indicator for advertising mail; for sole traders the GDPR information duty and right to object also apply.
• Personal data. Data of sole traders and freelancers is usually personal data. We process it on the basis of legitimate interest (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR); the information under Article 14 GDPR is on information for data subjects, the right to object under Article 21 GDPR on objection.
• The buyer’s own responsibility. Anyone who obtains data from us is the controller for their own use and needs their own legal basis. We do not give legal advice; background in B2B outreach and the Telecommunications Act.

Known limitations

• One source. So far all records come from Overture Maps; businesses not listed in this map data are missing, and a company with several locations can appear more than once. A quotation always states the actual number of records.
• Contact details age. Companies change phone numbers, email addresses and websites; there is a delay between a change and the update of the source.
• No deliverability check. An email address is not a verified mailbox; a phone number is not confirmation that the line can be reached.
• General addresses. Addresses such as info@ are not personal contacts of decision-makers.
• Region by address. Province and municipality follow the address given by the source, not the sales area or every location.

Industry registers: meant for look-ups

Several industries have official registers, such as the BIG register, the AFM registers or the Architects’ Register. They serve to check the authorisation or recognition of an individual person or business and are not address lists. What exists in which industry is described on the industry pages:

• Business services and consultancyProfessional registers: for checking, not for mailing
• Construction and installationCertificates and accreditations: public, but per company
• Manufacturing and industryNo central register for manufacturers
• Real estate and property managementEstate agent is not a protected title, valuers are registered
• Energy, water and wasteLicences and registrations in the sector
• Hospitality and tourismLicences per municipality, guarantee schemes for tour operators
• Agriculture and foodCertificates and registrations in agriculture
• Transport and logisticsLicences for commercial road haulage
• IT, software and technologyNo licence requirement – but associations and certificates
• Architecture and engineering firmsThe title architect is protected
• Healthcare, social care and wellnessHealthcare registers: public for verification
• Financial services and insuranceAFM and DNB registers: who may advise and intermediate?
• Municipalities and governmentThe Register of Government Organisations is open data
• Motor tradeRDW recognitions: who may carry out MOT inspections?
• Online shops and e-commerceTrust marks instead of licences
• Retail and shopsShops without a licence register
• Wholesale and trade agentsFree trade, with exceptions per product group
• Pharmacies, drugstores and opticiansPharmacists and opticians: people in registers
• Education and trainingSchools are open data, training providers are not
• Associations, sport and cultureANBI status and sports federations
• Cleaning, facility services and landscapingQuality marks instead of a licence register
• Staffing and recruitment agenciesRegistration duty and quality mark

Background: the KVK business register: what is public? and SBI codes for your target group.

Report an error

If you find incorrect information about your company, write to us; we will correct it.

• Contact formState the company name, address and the incorrect information.
• Objection to processingFor sole traders and other data subjects who want to exercise their GDPR rights.
• info@firmdat.nlDirect email to the operator.