NRGD Annual Plan 2026

In recent years, preparatory steps have been taken, including the revision of assessment frameworks, the organisation of quality meetings with criminal justice chain partners, peer review meetings , the publication of articles, and participation in national and international conferences. These activities provide the foundation for the further development of the platform function.

In 2026, the objective is to initiate targeted pilots and structural activities within the available budgetary framework in order to facilitate knowledge sharing and cooperation.

This annual plan describes both the NRGD’s core tasks and standard-setting activities, as well as the concrete follow-up steps for gradually shaping the intended platform function.

What we stand for

The NRGD is the forensic quality organisation for the Dutch justice system. The NRGD promotes and safeguards the quality of forensic expertise within the administration of justice in the Netherlands. It establishes objective and transparent standards and assesses experts against those standards. As a result, stakeholders can have confidence in the quality of forensic expert examinations.

The NRGD also aims to fulfil an active platform role by promoting cooperation and knowledge exchange within the forensic field, both nationally and internationally.

Through its network, the NRGD is able to facilitate, organise or encourage initiatives in this area. By connecting relevant parties, the NRGD contributes to the further development of the evolving forensic landscape.

In 2025, exploratory activities were carried out; in 2026, the focus will shift towards concrete pilots and process design in order to further operationalise this vision.

The NRGD in 2026

The NRGD is committed to both safeguarding and promoting the quality of forensic expertise. In 2025, the emphasis was placed on the recognition and further expansion of areas of expertise.

In 2026, the focus will be on three interconnected priorities:

1. Strengthening quality development within the existing areas of expertise, with an emphasis on uniformity and continuous professional development;
2. Implementing new areas of expertise, including Bloodstain Pattern Analysis (BPA) and Forensic Radiology;
3. Gradually developing the platform function by creating opportunities for knowledge exchange, peer review meetings, and stronger connections between the judiciary, academia, experts and criminal justice chain partners.

2.1 Areas of expertise

Forensic Psychiatry, Psychology and Orthopedagogy (FPPO)

The quality standards are up to date and aligned with consensus within the professional field. In 2025, the NRGD continued developing the assessment methodology for FPPO with the aim of further improving the uniformity and transparency of assessments and promoting efficiency. This resulted in a revised version of the advisory assessment form used by assessors during assessments. In 2026, the revised form will be evaluated, after which the assessment framework will be updated accordingly. The NRGD will subsequently examine whether this approach can also be implemented in other areas of expertise.

In addition, the NRGD is committed to further promoting the quality of experts within FPPO by continuing dialogue with relevant criminal justice chain partners. In this context, a working visit to the Pieter Baan Centre will be organised together with the Central Disciplinary Board for Healthcare.

DNA

In 2025, the NRGD organised an peer review meeting on DNA Activity Level during the triennial conference of the European Academy of Forensic Science (EAFS). During this workshop, experts learned from each other’s work and received direct feedback on their own reports. The workshop also generated valuable input for the further development of the assessment framework for DNA Activity Level. In 2026, the NRGD will organise an peer review meeting with assessors in this field to discuss these new insights and findings. This may result in adjustments to the assessment framework. The NRGD is also considering whether a repeat of this workshop would be possible during the 2026 conference of the International Society for Forensic Genetics.

Forensic Medical Examination (FMO)

In 2025, the Ministry decided that the procurement of Medical Detainee Care (MAZ) would be awarded to a general practitioners’ organisation. Although this does not directly affect the NRGD — as MAZ does not form part of NRGD registration — it does affect forensic physicians who have traditionally carried out this work. As a result, the existing training programme for forensic physicians may need to be adapted, as it currently combines detainee care and forensic medical examination within the context of criminal law. In light of these developments, the NRGD will continue to closely monitor changes within the field.

Handwriting Examination

Handwriting examination may be important in major criminal cases, particularly now that digital communication can increasingly be intercepted quickly and leaves relatively large amounts of trace evidence. Handwriting examination is also regularly necessary in civil proceedings. Internationally, investment in handwriting examination continues for this reason.

In the Netherlands, however, virtually no Dutch experts remain active in this field, as the registered Dutch experts have retired. As a consequence, parties to legal proceedings are often compelled to engage foreign experts when examinations are required. This creates particular difficulties for the defence. In addition, maintaining some availability of “Dutch-trained” experts remains desirable given the specific characteristics of Dutch writing culture.

In 2026, the NRGD will therefore continue discussions with criminal justice chain partners on whether, and if so how, sufficient Dutch handwriting expertise can be preserved.

Forensic Firearms and Ammunition Examination and Gunshot Residue Examination

Forensic Firearms and Ammunition Examination and Gunshot Residue Examination are closely connected, while at the same time requiring distinct areas of specialist knowledge. In particular, expansion of the number of registered experts within Forensic Firearms and Ammunition Examination remains desirable.

In 2026, further efforts will be made to strengthen a national and international network of registered experts. In order to safeguard opportunities for counter-expertise in the future, the NRGD will examine to what extent the assessment frameworks for these two areas align with international practice and what may be required to further improve such alignment.

Weapons and Ammunition Act Examination

This area of expertise is relatively small in scope, primarily because of its direct relationship with specific Dutch legislation. Most examiners work for the police and, under current laws and regulations, are not required to register with the NRGD. Demand from the legal profession remains limited.

Experts in this field must possess extensive technical firearms knowledge, while also having sufficient legal expertise to understand what reporting within a forensic context entails. The emergence of 3D-printed weapons may lead to increasing demand for expertise relating to the Weapons and Ammunition Act.

There is a risk that this area of expertise may eventually have to be discontinued because no experts outside the police remain active in the field. If this occurs, counter-expert reports prepared by NRGD-assessed experts would no longer be possible.

Legal Psychology

In 2025, the assessment framework was be revised and clarified in several respects, providing greater clarity for both experts and assessors regarding the applicable quality standards. The purpose of this revision is to further safeguard the quality of experts within this field.

In 2026, an peer review meeting will be organised to evaluate the implementation of the revised assessment framework and discuss the latest developments within the field. The NRGD will also examine whether, from its platform role, it can facilitate cooperation within both the research field and legal proceedings.

Forensic Financial Investigation (FFO)

In 2026, efforts will continue to increase awareness of this area of expertise in order to ensure a sufficient number of applications for registration. Various initiatives are being considered, including presentations to the Royal Netherlands Institute of Chartered Accountants (NBA), participation in conferences, interviews, publications, and raising awareness among courts and courts of appeal.

In addition, an peer review meeting will be organised in 2026 to reflect on assessments, feedback from the Board regarding advisory assessment forms, and the outcomes of the previous peer review meeting.

Forensic Pathology

The current pool of assessors is ageing and requires renewal. At the same time, efforts will continue to increase the number of counter-experts included in the register.

With the development of the field of forensic radiology, discussion regarding cooperation in relation to death investigations is also increasing. In determining what examinations are necessary, forensic physicians, radiologists, toxicologists and pathologists — in cooperation with the police and the Public Prosecution Service — all play a joint role. Multidisciplinary cooperation is essential in order to interpret findings appropriately in the context of both natural and non-natural deaths. The NRGD will continue discussions on this topic with the parties involved.

Digital Forensic Investigation (DFO)

In 2026, the NRGD expects to introduce a new assessment framework based on the Recovery–Analysis–Interpretation model, in line with ISO 21043 and ISO 27037.

The revised structure of the assessment framework is intended to address several issues:

1. For members of the judiciary and commissioning parties, it was not always clear which sub-area corresponded to their forensic question;
2. In two sub-areas, only one expert was registered;
3. The previous division into sub-areas no longer aligned sufficiently with the working methods and practical structure of the field.

Current NRGD assessments primarily take place on the basis of case reports. As the police have taken over an increasing amount of investigative work previously carried out by the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI), the number of reports produced by registered experts has declined. This development has been recognised by criminal justice chain partners for some time.

If reports are no longer produced, experts are unable — under the current requirements of the assessment framework — to apply for registration. For this reason, the NRGD and CITO are exploring whether competencies could be assessed through an equally adequate alternative method, for example by means of a portfolio assessment.

2.2 New areas of expertise

Bloodstain Pattern Analysis (BPA)

In 2026, the NRGD will assess the first applications for registration in the field of Bloodstain Pattern Analysis (BPA). The assessments will be evaluated and, where necessary, the assessment framework will be adjusted accordingly.

Forensic Radiology

In 2025, together with the NRGD Bureau, the Standards Advisory Committee submitted a draft version of the assessment framework for public consultation. In 2026, the standard-setting process will be completed and, following a pilot assessment and subsequent evaluation, this new area of expertise will be opened for registration. It is expected that approximately 10 to 15 applicants will submit a registration request in 2026.

2.3 Broadening the register

Administrative and Civil Law

Forensic expertise is used across all areas of law, including criminal, civil and administrative law. At present, the NRGD only registers experts who are active within criminal law. For many years, the judiciary has expressly requested that the Minister establish comparable safeguards for the quality of experts within civil and administrative law, similar to those currently applicable in criminal law.

Although this expansion of the register is supported by the Ministry, it was indicated in 2025 that other legislative priorities would take precedence. In 2026, the NRGD will continue to emphasise the importance of expanding the register to include administrative and civil law.

Mediation

The State Secretary for Justice and Security has asked the NRGD whether it would be willing to include mediators in its register, given the NRGD’s experience in developing and safeguarding quality standards. Mediators are active across all areas of law. In response to this request, the NRGD has prepared a business plan and is awaiting further developments.

2.4 Recognition of training programmes

In addition to the individual assessment procedures conducted by the NRGD, the NRGD has developed a certification method aimed at recognising institutional training programmes and the (re-)examination of individual experts. Recognition of a training programme by the NRGD offers advantages for both the institution concerned and the NRGD itself.

The objective of this recognition system is to reduce duplicate assessments — namely both the institutional examination and the NRGD assessment — to a single assessment moment. For the time being, however, not all NRGD assessments will be discontinued. The NRGD will continue to carry out the two-year assessment following initial registration.

An independent visitation committee assesses the training programme and examination procedures on the basis of competency standards.

The training programmes and examinations of the Netherlands Institute of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology (NIFP) have been recognised by the NRGD for several years. In 2025, the NRGD requested an independent visitation committee to assess the training programmes and (re-)examinations of the NFI, resulting in recognition of the majority of the areas of expertise.

In 2026, in accordance with NRGD procedures, the recognition of the NIFP and the recognised NFI areas of expertise will be revisited.

In 2026, the NRGD will also examine whether the recently standardised area of expertise Bloodstain Pattern Analysis can be added to the recognition scheme. Subject to budgetary possibilities, additional NFI areas that are not yet open for registration may also be included in the future, such as Glass Examination and Explosives Examination.

2.5 Counter-expertise

The majority of experts work for the NFI and TMFI-Eurofins. In principle, they carry out their work on behalf of the Public Prosecution Service.

According to the Minister, broader availability of experts is important in order to ensure that the judiciary and the legal profession can draw upon a more diverse range of expertise. The NRGD seeks to support this objective by encouraging foreign experts to apply for registration and by continuing to draw attention to the limited opportunities for counter-expertise, particularly for the defence.

Other activities

Project: Strengthening the resilience of experts

Court experts are increasingly confronted with inappropriate treatment, intimidation and threats. The Ministry of Justice and Security has made funding available to strengthen the resilience of court experts and to increase awareness of such behaviour.

For this project, the NRGD cooperates with several organisations, including the LRGD, the STAB, the NIVRE, the NFI and the NIFP.

In 2025, the project group distributed a survey among court experts in order to identify the challenges they encounter in terms of resilience when producing expert reports and to determine what they require in order to continue performing their work properly. Based on the results of this survey, the project group will develop a plan of action in 2026.

Ad Hoc (Europe)

In 2020, the NRGD published five instruments on its website aimed at improving the quality of reports prepared by experts who rarely or never report within criminal proceedings. One important instrument is the so-called report feedback procedure, in which an experienced NRGD assessor reviews the report of an expert from another discipline and assesses aspects such as consistency and comprehensibility.

Since September 2020, a total of 29 requests for report feedback have been submitted.

In 2026, the NRGD will continue to facilitate report feedback, as Dutch courts still frequently rely on non-forensic foreign specialists to provide expert reports. In addition, the NRGD aims to expand these so-called ad hoc instruments to other countries, so that the required expertise can also be sourced beyond national borders.

Revision of the Expert Regulation in the Code of Criminal Procedure

For several years, the Ministry of Justice and Security has been working on the modernisation of the Dutch Code of Criminal Procedure, including a review of the current expert regulation. A first draft was published in 2022 and a revised draft has since been prepared.

The NRGD will continue to follow these developments with interest in 2026.

Forensic ISO standards

Following a lengthy process, the forensic ISO 21043 standards were formally published for the first time in 2025. Standards have been established for crime scene investigation, analysis, interpretation and reporting. These standards are only mandatory where required by national legislation.

In 2026, the NRGD will continue to emphasise the importance of these standards and monitor whether and how criminal justice chain partners implement them.

Knowledge exchange / Platform

The NRGD identifies several developments that are influencing the forensic field:

Increasing complexity and scientific depth

• Scientific and digital evidence are playing an increasingly important role in criminal proceedings;
• New issues, such as assessing activity level rather than source level, and doubts regarding the reliability of visual material — for example deepfakes — are making the evaluation of forensic evidence increasingly technical and complex.

An increasing need for interdisciplinary cooperation

• For example, cooperation between forensic physicians, toxicologists, radiologists, pathologists and the Public Prosecution Service in relation to the forensic investigation of deaths.

The growing digitalisation of crime

• Digital traces and digital fraud are increasingly replacing traditional forms of evidence and crime. Examples include spoofing, banking fraud, AI-generated images and hacking;
• Crime increasingly takes place through software, networks and data rather than through physical acts.

These developments require active knowledge exchange between criminal justice chain partners and society in the interest of a reliable justice system. The NRGD can play an important role in this regard.

In 2026, the NRGD intends to develop the following initiatives:

• Targeted peer review and knowledge-sharing sessions organised by theme or area of expertise (the aim is to initiate at least two pilot projects in 2026);
• Actively connecting experts and criminal justice chain partners at both national and international level, including in relation to developments in AI;
• Improving the accessibility of knowledge by collecting and sharing good practices and lessons learned through LinkedIn, newsletters, conferences, symposia and the website.

These activities arising from the platform function must be embedded in organisational tasks and procedures and must remain within the current staffing and budgetary framework.

Operations

In the context of operational management, it is important to note that the NRGD is a relatively small organisation (12 FTE plus 0.8 external FTE). For this reason, the NRGD cooperates with other independent organisations for financial management. Given the risks associated with a small organisation, it is also not feasible to independently organise and manage IT services adequately. For IT services, the NRGD therefore relies on shared government IT services provided by SSC-ICT. The NRGD’s case management system is supplied by a commercial provider that also delivers IT services to other major government organisations.

The NRGD complies with the Dutch Senior Officials in the Public and Semi-Public Sector Standards Act (WNT).

At present, the NRGD does not expect any changes to its accommodation requirements. The current location is modern, centrally situated, easily accessible by public transport and appropriate to the organisation’s independent position. The independent nature of the NRGD and the fact that assessments are conducted in person at the NRGD office require a suitable location and make accommodation within executive government agencies undesirable, as is also recognised by the Ministry of Justice and Security and the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations.

5.1 Registration task

In 2026, approximately 230 applications for registration or re-registration are expected in total. These include 140 re-registration applications, 25 initial applications from non-recognised institutions or individual experts such as radiologists, and approximately 65 experts applying through the accelerated recognition procedure.

5.2 Information management (Open op Orde), Archives Act and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

In the field of information management, the NRGD must comply with statutory obligations arising from, among others, the Archives Act, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Open Government Act (Woo), the Digital Government Act (Wdo), the Digital Accessibility Act and the Government Information Security Baseline (BIO).

In 2024, the NRGD conducted a maturity assessment and currently scores level 2 on a scale from 1 to 4. The objective is to achieve maturity level 3. Initial steps towards this objective were taken at the end of 2025 and further implementation will take place in 2026.

With regard to the Archives Act, the NRGD will begin establishing a document storage structure in 2026 intended for transfer to the National Archives of the Netherlands. This concerns, among other things, documents underlying administrative decision-making on policy and organisational structure.

5.3 Further development of the case management system

In 2026, the “My NRGD” portal will be introduced. Applicants will then be able to independently view and, to a limited extent, amend their personal data and upload documents such as a Certificate of Conduct (VOG).

In addition, the NRGD will be connected to the Personal Records Database (BRP), ensuring that the register remains up to date at all times.

5.4 Translation project

The Ministry of Justice and Security is currently developing its own translation tool. This is expected to provide a more secure environment andgreater efficiency and is likely to prove more cost-effective. Initial testing experiences have been positive.

5.5 Information provision and security

The NRGD uses digital workplace services provided by SSC-ICT within a secure justice network.

Applications such as the case management system are accessible exclusively through the secure justice network (IP-restricted access), and all data traffic is monitored 24/7 by the SSC-ICT Security Operations Centre (SOC). Access to applications is granted in accordance with the established authorisation policy.

In 2025, a sub-project was initiated to assess whether NRGD data integrity complies with the requirements of NIS2 and the Government Information Security Baseline (BIO). This project provides the NRGD with greater insight into possible improvements, which will be implemented in 2026.

Budget 2026

Budget notes

Personnel costs are higher due to replacement costs resulting from absence due to long-term illness. In addition, in line with government policy, a self-employed contractor has been appointed to a permanent position. Finally, salary adjustments have been applied.

Other office costs have been budgeted lower as a result of realised savings, including savings on external hiring.

Translation costs concern a provisional budget item. It is not yet clear what the translation project will require operationally (such as servers, maintenance and software) or what costs this will entail.

This budget is subject to the disclaimer that an assignment relating to mediation may result in an amended budget. The extent of such changes will depend on how the assignment is ultimately structured.

Risk analysis

In 2019, the NRGD was granted additional funding in line with the agreed growth model. Further growth was anticipated, as the register had not yet been fully developed. For 2026, however, a request for funding for 1 FTE was not approved. In the coming years, the NRGD will also be subject — for the time being — to a limited reduction in its budget(from EUR 9,000 increasing to EUR 28,000 in 2028).

As a result of these developments, the NRGD’s contribution in the following areas may come under pressure, requiring strategic choices to be made, such as suspending further expansion of the register, limiting advisory activities and delaying operational developments.

At the same time, the NRGD intends to continue investing in the aforementioned platform function. This connecting platform between the judiciary, academia, experts and criminal justice chain partners should act as a catalyst for the continuous improvement of quality within the forensic field.

New areas of expertise

Between 2019 and 2026, five new areas of expertise were added to the register. Within a stable budgetary framework, further expansion into new areas and the maintenance of quality within existing areas may come under pressure.

Implementation of legislation and information management

In addition to expanding and maintaining the register, ministerial obligations continue to increase. For example, by the end of 2026, central government organisations will be required to comply with more extensive information management requirements. Cybersecurity also — rightly — requires increasing efforts, including compliance with NIS2 and the Government Information Security Baseline (BIO).
The implementation of these laws and regulations must likewise be accommodated within the existing staffing capacity and current budget.

Cost savings

The NRGD recognises its responsibility in this regard. In 2026, efforts will again be made to identify efficiency improvements. One example is the translation software being developed by the Ministry of Justice and Security, which will make it possible to translate reports internally instead of using the current external translation agency.

The recognition policy also results in indirect cost savings. By recognising the training programme of the NIFP, duplicate assessments within the FPPO area of expertise have been eliminated. As multiple areas of expertise within the NFI now also fall under the recognition policy, a reduction in the number of assessments is expected there as well, leading to lower translation costs.