Gemeente, parliament and the courts
For KNM, you need to know the difference between three parts of the Dutch state: the gemeente (municipality), the parliament, and the courts. DUO tests this topic as knowledge about institutions. The question is usually about who does what.
The gemeente is your local government. It deals with local matters in the place where you live. In KNM questions, the gemeente is one possible answer when DUO wants to check whether you can separate local government from national lawmaking and from judging crimes.
The parliament has a different role. A sample KNM-style question from the exam research is:
Wie mag nieuwe wetten aannemen in Nederland?
Who may adopt new laws in the Netherlands?
The correct answer is:
Het parlement.
The parliament.
The courts also have a different task. A KNM-style example from the research is:
Maura rijdt auto. Ze moet stoppen van de politie. Maura heeft geen rijbewijs. Wie bepaalt de straf van Maura?
Maura is driving a car. She has to stop for the police. Maura does not have a driving licence. Who decides Maura's punishment?
The correct answer is:
De rechter.
The judge.
This is the pattern you should remember for the exam: parliament makes or adopts laws, and the judge decides punishment in a legal case. DUO likes wrong answers from the same field, such as gemeente, parliament, police, or judge. You need to choose the institution with the right role, not just a familiar Dutch word.
Democracy and voting
The Netherlands is a democracy, and KNM can test that through voting. DUO uses short questions with a photo of a voting booth or another public scene. The picture gives context, but the answer comes from your civic knowledge.
One KNM-style example from the research is:
Sam mag stemmen. Hoe heet dit kiesrecht?
Sam may vote. What is this voting right called?
The correct answer is:
Actief kiesrecht.
Active voting right.
For this theme, learn the basic idea that voting belongs to democracy. DUO does not ask for long theory. It asks for a name, a role, or a simple fact linked to a Dutch public institution.
You should also expect questions where parliament appears again, because democracy and lawmaking are connected in the exam theme Staatsinrichting en rechtsstaat. A common exam trap is scope: local government is not the same as parliament, and the court is not the same as parliament either.
The rule of law and your rights
The rule of law means that rules and laws matter in Dutch society. In the 2025 KNM themes, this topic includes the distinction between gemeente, parliament, and judge, and also the idea that the law comes before religious rules.
For the exam, this is tested as factual knowledge. DUO does not mainly ask, "What would you do?" It asks what the rule is, who decides, or whether something is allowed.
A common KNM question shape is a Dutch stem with mag, moet, or mogen. Then the three answers are often like this: yes, only in some cases, or no. You need to know the rule.
One example from the research is:
Mogen vrouwen in Nederland hetzelfde werk doen als mannen?
May women in the Netherlands do the same work as men?
The correct answer is:
Ja, dat mogen ze.
Yes, they may.
This shows how rights can appear in KNM: as a simple legal or social fact. Another example from the research is:
Mag een werkgever eisen dat je goed Nederlands kunt schrijven?
May an employer require that you can write Dutch well?
The correct answer is:
Alleen als het nodig is voor de baan.
Only if it is necessary for the job.
That is a good exam example because the answer is not always yes and not always no. DUO often checks whether you can spot a conditional rule.
What the KNM exam asks about this
On this topic, DUO tends to ask short fact questions inside the theme Staatsinrichting en rechtsstaat (state structure and rule of law). The live exam uses multiple-choice questions with three options. In the example exam research, this theme had a small block of questions, and each question was separate.
The most common things DUO checks here are:
- the difference between gemeente, parliament, and judge
- who may adopt laws
- who decides punishment in a legal case
- voting and the term actief kiesrecht
- whether a rule is allowed, forbidden, or allowed only in a specific case
- the idea that the law takes precedence over religious rules
You do not need long legal texts for KNM. You need clear links between a Dutch word and its function. When you practise, train yourself to read the stem fast, identify the institution or rule, and reject answers that are in the wrong scope.
InburgeringPrep helps with that exam style. You can practise short KNM questions with Dutch wording, pictures, and simple explanations in English, so you learn both the fact and the way DUO asks it.