Shielding a visiting address in the case of a probable threat
- 11 May 2023
- Edited 15 May 2023
- 1 min
Is there a probable threat to you, or a foreseeable risk that something may happen? Then you can apply to shield the visiting address of your business. The following rules apply:
- Your visiting address is the same as your home address;
- You are in a situation of probable threat due to activities linked to your profession or due to the professional practice of a co-resident. Agreements on this have made with your, or your co-resident's, sector or industry organisation;
- Shielding is possible for existing and new registrations, and for new visiting addresses;
- The visiting address belongs to a sole proprietorship ('eenmanszaak'), general partnership (vof), professional partnership ('maatschap'), association ('vereniging'), or foundation ('stichting'). European legislation makes it impossible to shield the addresses of limited liability companies such as the private or public limited company (bv or nv);
- In addition to the address to be shielded, you must list a postal address with a different address than your home or visiting address. That can also be a PO Box.
With which organisations have agreements been made?
Agreements have been signed with the organisations listed below. Check the information on these pages (in Dutch) to see if you are covered by the agreement and whether you can apply for shielding due to probable threat on that basis.
Covenants
The profession group journalists includes professionals working or publishing in the media and also includes aside from journalists photographers, camerapeople, publicists, cartoonists, writers, programmamakers, bloggers and vloggers. This profession group can come across professionally foreseeable threats to persons (and their possessions) that are part of the profession group as consequence of for example intimidation, violence or different.
With the NVJ there is a covenant (in Dutch).
When are you eligible
- You have a NVJ-press card or national Police press card.
- Or you have a declaration from the NVJ or Persveilig which shows that you are part of the profession group because of your work activities and are subject to a probable threat.
You can request to shield your visiting address with this form (in Dutch).
The professional group professionals in social work can come across professionally foreseeable threats to persons (and their possessions) that are part of the profession group as consequence of for example intimidation, violence or different.
The BPSW has a covenant (in Dutch).
When are you eligible
- You are registered as a member of the BPSW. You prove this with a declaration from BPSW;
- Or you have a declaration from the BPSW which shows that you are part of the profession group because of your work activities and are subject to a probable threat.
You can request to shield your visiting address with this form (in Dutch).
The professional group administrators can come across professionally foreseeable threats to persons (and their possessions) that are part of the profession group as consequence of for example intimidation, violence or different. For the professional group there is more risk when working with for example ex- prisoners or clients with an addiction. Especially when the administrator is the bearer of bad news.
The NBBI has a covenant (in Dutch).
When are you eligible
- You are part of the professional group when you are registered as a member of the NBBI.
- Or you have a declaration from the NBBI which shows that you are part of the profession group because of your work activities.
You can request to shield your visiting address with this form (in Dutch).
The professional group of professional legal guardians can come across professionally foreseeable threats to persons (and their possessions) that are part of the profession group as consequence of for example intimidation, violence or different. The target group (for example people with psychiatric problems, a criminal record or detention under a hospital order) can bring extra risk. Also. the professional legal guardian is often the bearer of bad news with regards to developments in financial aspects. This can lead to verbal and physical threats to the address of the professional legal guardian.
Horus has a covenant (in Dutch).
When are you eligible
- You are registered as a member of Horus.
- You prove this with a declaration from Horus.
You can request to shield your visiting address with this form (in Dutch).
The professional group of lawyers can come across professionally foreseeable threats to persons (and their families and possessions) that are part of the profession group as consequence of for example intimidation, violence or different.
The NOvA has a covenant (in Dutch).
What are the conditions:
- You are registered in the tableau of the NOvA.
or
- You have a declaration from NOvA which proves that you have been registered previously in the tableau of the NOvA and for that reason can still come across probable threats.
You can request to shield your visiting address with the form "Verzoek afscherming bezoekadres bij een waarschijnlijke dreiging" (in Dutch).
Employers of the judiciary system can come across professionally foreseeable threats to persons (and their possessions) as consequence of for example intimidation, violence or different.
The council for the judiciary has a covenant (in Dutch).
When are you eligible
You are eligible when at least one of the following applies to you:
- You are an employer of the judiciary system.
- You have a declaration draftd by council for the judiciary or by the court administration which proves that because of your work activities - also in the past- you work or used to work for the judiciary system and you have a probable threat.
You can request to shield your visiting address with this form (in Dutch).
Decentralized political public office holders can come across professionally foreseeable threats to persons (and their families and possessions) that are part of the profession group as consequence of for example intimidation, violence or different.
For decentralized political public office holders there is a covenant (in Dutch).
When are you eligible
- You are a decentralized political public office holder when you do work as stated in the definition of decentralized political public office holder and if you are registered as such on the website of the governmental for which you work.
You can request to shield your visiting address with this form (in Dutch). This is appendix B from the covenant.
The professional groep notaries can come across professionally foreseeable threats to persons (and their possessions) as consequence of for example intimidation, violence or different.
The KNB has a covenant (in Dutch).
You are eligible when at least one of the following applies to you:
- You are registered in the register of notaryship;
- You have a declaration drafted by the KNB which proves you were registered in the register of notaryship in the past and you (can) have a probable threat.
You can request to shield your visiting address with this form (in Dutch).
Role of sector organisations
Sector organisations will play a role in the new legal provision. KVK and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy want to come to agreements with sector organisations about shielding in case of a probable threat to the entire professional group. This concerns professions which run a higher risk of encountering threatening situations. Once agreements have been made on this, KVK will be able to process the shielding request faster. Sector organisations that feel there is a likely risk of probable threat to their professional group are invited to contact KVK via afschermenadres@kvk.nl. You can also do this via your sector organisation.
Is address shielding not possible?
If address shielding is not an option, you can still decide to move your business to an address other than your residential address. For example, a shared business location, or your accountant’s address, if they give you permission. Please keep in mind that the old visiting address will still be visible in the historical data of your business registration.
Learn more about shielding your business address and the available options.