Post-nominal letters in the Netherlands are used only in a limited number of domains. Unlike countries such as the United Kingdom, the Netherlands does not maintain a national system of post-nominals for state honours, civil precedence or public offices. Official post-nominals exist primarily for academic degrees, protected professional qualifications, and religious institutes. Orders and decorations
The Kingdom of the Netherlands does not assign official post-nominal letters to recipients of national honours.Government of the Netherlands, Decorations and honours, https://www.government.nl/topics/honours-system However, Knights of the Military William Order are often referred with the post-nominal letters R.M.W.O.; its use of the letters has historically evolved (following British tradition) and is widely recognized (although never been formally established).
Post-nominal Meaning Legal basis / notes RMWO Ridder Militaire Willems-Orde (Knight of the Military William Order) Socially established; not officially recognised
University degrees and academic qualifications
Academic post-nominals in the Netherlands are regulated under the Higher Education and Research Act (Wet op het hoger onderwijs en wetenschappelijk onderzoek, WHW).WHW, Articles 7.10–7.22, https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0005682/
Degree post-nominals
Post-nominal Degree type Full degree name Legal basis / notes BA Bachelor Bachelor of Arts WHW Article 7.10a BSc Bachelor Bachelor of Science WHW Article 7.10a BBA Bachelor Bachelor of Business Administration WHW Article 7.10a LLB Bachelor Bachelor of Laws WHW Article 7.10a MA Master Master of Arts WHW Article 7.10a MSc Master Master of Science WHW Article 7.10a LLM Master Master of Laws WHW Article 7.10a MBA Master Master of Business Administration WHW Article 7.10a PhD Doctoral degree Doctor of Philosophy WHW Article 7.22(3)WHW Article 7.22(3) permits the abbreviations D and PhD to be placed after the name. PDEng Professional doctorate Professional Doctorate in Engineering WHW-recognised; awarded by 4TU4TU Federation, Professional Doctorate in Engineering, https://www.4tu.nl/pdeng/
Degrees not used in the Netherlands
MD: not officially used in the Dutch medical system MPhil: not awarded in the Netherlands
Religious institutes
Members of Catholic religious orders in the Netherlands use the same post-nominals as their international counterparts.Catholic Hierarchy, Religious Orders Abbreviations, https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/
Post-nominal Institute SJ Society of Jesus OFM Order of Friars Minor OP Order of Preachers OSB Order of Saint Benedict CR Congregation of the Resurrection
Professional qualifications
A limited number of Dutch professional designations use post-nominal letters. These titles are regulated by Dutch professional bodies and may be used only by individuals who have completed the required accredited training and registration.
Post-nominal Profession Regulation / awarding body RA Register Accountant Protected by law; regulated by the NBANBA, Registeraccountant (RA), https://www.nba.nl RE Register-Expert Accountant Post-master qualification; regulated by the NBANBA, Register-Expert Accountant, https://www.nba.nl RE Register EDP-Auditor IT-audit qualification; regulated by NOREANOREA, Register EDP-Auditor (RE), https://www.norea.nl RO Register Operational Auditor Recognised professional qualificationVereniging van Operational Auditors, https://www.voa.nl RC Register Controller Post-experience master’s qualification (MSc RC); regulated by VRCVRC, Register Controller, https://www.vrc.nl
Not used as post-nominals
RV (Register Valuator): recognised professional qualification, but not used as a post-nominal suffix.NIRV, Register Valuator, https://www.nirv.nl
See also Lists of post-nominal letters
References