Public and bank holidays in the Netherlands and Belgium
At bol, we take official public holidays into account for order and delivery days. Since the Netherlands and Belgium have different public holidays, we've outlined what this means for you.
Delivery promise on public holidays
The overview below shows you the public holidays. If the latest delivery day falls on one of these days, it will automatically shift by one day, and the correct latest delivery day will be shown to the customer. An order placed on a public holiday is processed the same way as an order placed on a Sunday. However, for all other situations, you will need to extend the delivery promise yourself.
Pay close attention to the drop-off and collection times
Collection and drop-off times for Shipping via bol may vary on public holidays. Check your carrier's website for details.
Official public holidays
Whether a public holiday affects your delivery promise depends on the country you are shipping from and the country you are shipping to:
- Shipping from the Netherlands within the country: Dutch public holidays are taken into account for the order and delivery day.
- Shipping from Belgium within the country: Belgian public holidays are taken into account for the order and delivery day.
- Shipping from the Netherlands to Belgium and vice versa: For public holidays celebrated in both the Netherlands and Belgium, both the order and delivery day are taken into account. For public holidays that apply only in the destination country, only the delivery day is taken into account.
Public holidays in December
In the Netherlands, both December 25th and December 26th are official public holidays; in Belgium, only December 25th is an official public holiday. Therefore, in Belgium, parcels are delivered as usual on December 26th.
Examples
A public holiday that applies only in the Netherlands or Belgium
On April 27th, the Netherlands celebrates King's Day. On this day, no parcels are shipped or delivered in the Netherlands. For April 27th, with a delivery promise of ‘ordered today before 5 PM, delivered tomorrow’, it means delivery on April 29th.
- Shipping from the Netherlands to Belgium: Since April 27th is not an official public holiday in Belgium, the parcel will be delivered as usual on April 27th.
- Shipping from Belgium to the Netherlands: Since April 27th is an official public holiday in the Netherlands, deliveries are not made on this day. The parcel will be delivered one day later.
A public holiday that applies in both countries
May 14th is Ascension Day in both the Netherlands and Belgium. An order placed on May 13th at 12:00 PM with a delivery promise of ‘ordered today before 5 PM, delivered tomorrow’ normally means delivery on May 18th.
Shipping from the Netherlands to Belgium and vice versa: Since Ascension Day is an official public holiday in both Belgium and the Netherlands, the parcel will be delivered on May 18th in both situations.
Please note
During official public holidays, most delivery services operate with adjusted collection and delivery days. This can lead to extra busy periods for shipping partners, both in the Netherlands and Belgium. Therefore, around these days, it is advisable to monitor your delivery times and extend them where necessary, so that you can continue to meet your delivery promise. This applies not only to the public holiday itself but also to a bridging day – for example, the Friday after Ascension Day.