The Netherlands

Last update: March, 2026

The first Constitution of the Netherlands (Staatsregeling voor het Bataafsche Volk) came into force in 1798. It included the thought that the government should foster the civilisation, enlightenment and health of its citizens. Enlightenment and civilisation should be ensured by means of culture, arts and education. The Constitution of 1798 mentioned the freedom of press for the first time. In the current version of the constitution, this is regulated by Article 7:

1. No one shall require prior permission to publish thoughts or opinions through the press, without prejudice to the responsibility of every person under the law.
2. Rules concerning radio and television shall be laid down by Act of Parliament. There shall be no prior supervision of the content of a radio or television broadcast.
3. No one shall be required to submit thoughts or opinions for prior approval in order to disseminate them by means other than those mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, without prejudice to the responsibility of every person under the law. The holding of performances open to persons younger than sixteen years of age may be regulated by Act of Parliament in order to protect good morals.
4. The preceding paragraphs do not apply to commercial advertising.

In 1983, the cultural aspect was added to Article 22: “The authorities shall promote social and cultural development and leisure activities.”

The Cultural Policy Act (1993) includes the financial contribution of the Dutch government to provide “a wide-ranging and varied cultural offering for all of its citizens and in all parts of the country by funding institutions and establishing policy programmes.” This act is concerned with Article 79 of the constitution, which states:

Permanent bodies to advise on matters relating to legislation and administration of the State shall be established by or pursuant to Act of Parliament.

The organisation, composition and powers of such bodies shall be regulated by Act of Parliament.

Duties in addition to advisory ones may be assigned to such bodies by or pursuant to Act of Parliament.

Last update: March, 2026

The Cultural Policy Act (1993) regulates the subsidies based on cultural policy decisions and enables the Minister to create funds to finance the arts and culture. (see chapter 1.1, chapter 2.1 and chapter 4.2.1). Subsidy decisions are based on advice by the national Council for Culture. The Minister or Secretary of Culture, however, makes the final decisions. Deviations from the advice need to be substantiated as a consequence of the General Administrative Law Act. As a rule, the Minister or Secretary follows the advice by the Council.

Other funds from the state are running through six state culture funds. These funds are operated at arm's length. The Minister decides the quantity of money reserved for them and has to approve all arrangements. As of 2013, the Law for Autonomous Administrative Bodies applies to cultural funds subsidised by central government. Autonomous administrative bodies are part of central government, but they are not part of the Ministry. Although they are autonomous, their tasks are laid down by law and the Minister has authority over these organisations. In principle, the Minister is accountable to parliament for the Ministry’s decisions. Furthermore, the funds’ policies and criteria are subject to advice from the Council for Culture.

Municipalities and provinces receive their budget through the Municipal Fund and the Provincial Fund. In determining the amount of these funds a distribution key is used. The municipality and provinces are then autonomous in the decisions they make about cultural policy (see also chapter 1.2.4 local authorities). The central government can have municipalities or provinces implement part of the national policy and make money available for this through a specific grant (the so-called SPUK). The regulations on payments to municipalities and provinces are included in the Financial Relations Act (Wet financiële verhoudingen).

Last update: March, 2026

The Participation Act regards Dutch citizens that need support on the labour market. The purpose of the act is to increase labour participation. In this act, the Social Assistance Benefit is included as well, which financially supports citizens who have little or no income. The application process for this specific benefit is arranged by the municipalities. An amended Participation Act in Balance was approved in the House of Representatives on 22 April 2025 and will be discussed in the Senate in September 2025. The changes relate to more customisation per municipality, more confidence in implementation within a municipality, and a simplification of the rules.

Employees made redundant can apply for financial support from the Employee Insurance Agency. If they have worked 26 out of 36 weeks before being unemployed, it is possible to receive unemployment insurance. The labour market agenda for culture (Arbeidsmarktagenda voor de culturele en creatieve sector 2017-2023) highlights this criterion as a problem, since work in the cultural sector can be irregular.

Self-employed professionals can create their own social security frameworks through, for example, Broodfondsen (Bread funds – in Dutch) and the Arbeidsongeschiktheidsregeling (Occupational Disability Regulation). Bread funds are collective initiatives of the self-employed to provide each other with temporary sick leave. The Occupational Disability Regulation can be arranged through insurance companies. A monthly payment ensures financial aid when self-employed are unable to work. In contrast to employees in the cultural sector, self-employed artists are required to arrange their own pension via, for example, insurance companies or banks.

When self-employed and pregnant, a Dutch citizen can apply for the Maternity Benefit Scheme for the Self-Employed, which consists of financial support for a minimum of 16 weeks. The financial aid is not higher than the gross minimum wage. New regulations have been implemented in 2019 for paternity leave, but these regulations do not apply to self-employed citizens.

Last update: March, 2026

Gift and Inheritance Tax Act

In order to encourage charitable giving the Gift and Inheritance Tax Act 2012 (Geefwet) was implemented. Donations for culture were part of this Act. The act covers several aspects of fiscal law to make "giving to culture" fiscally attractive. Cultural institutions that wish to profit from this ruling have to qualify as a Public Benefit Organisation, or PBO (Algemeen Nut Beogende Instellingen, ANBI). For donations to cultural ANBIs, there is an additional deduction of 25% up to € 1,250 in income tax and 50% in the corporation tax up to €2,500 to further support the raising of private financing. The gift deduction in income tax makes a distinction between periodic donations and other gifts. Periodic donations are per 1 January 2023 deductible up to €250,000 per year if they are recorded in a deed of gift for at least five years.

In 2024, the Gift and Inheritance Tax Act was evaluated. The evaluation concluded that the gift deduction is effective in stimulating giving behaviour, but not efficient. The increase in donations due to the deduction is smaller than the tax credit associated with it. A significant part of the costs will benefit the donor rather than the receiver. The practicability of the gift deduction is problematic for the Tax and Customs Administration, which leads to inefficiencies and a high percentage of non-use. The researchers suggest converting the gift deduction into a donation subsidy, in which the government contributes a percentage of the gift directly to the receiving institution. This system would improve practicability and ensure that the benefit goes directly to the receiver. After the elections in October 2025, a new cabinet must decide on the future of the donation deduction.

Monuments

Until 1 january 2021, the costs for the maintenance of monuments and gardens were tax-deductible for 80 percent. This applied to buildings listed in the Register of Monuments (Monumentenregister). In September 2016, Minister Bussemaker announced in the Budget Memorandum 2017 (Miljoenennota 2017) that this tax arrangement would be abolished from 2017, but this plan has been postponed. From 2021 the tax-deduction was abolished and replaced with other forms of support for the maintenance of monuments, including subsidy schemes. An example is de Woonhuissubsidie (in Dutch).

Volunteers

Volunteers may earn a tax-free extra income of €210 a month maximum, up to €2100 maximum a year (National Expenses Arrangement - Landelijke Regeling Onkostenvergoeding Vrijwilligers). Additional compensation is possible, provided that the organisation reports the compensation to the tax inspector on a yearly basis.     

VAT

The VAT system is divided into three rates: a high rate of 21 percent, a low rate of 9 percent and a 0 percent rate. EU legislation allows the member states to charge the low VAT rate on tickets for shows, theatres, circuses, funfairs, amusement parks, concerts, museums, zoos, cinemas, exhibitions and similar cultural events and venues. This was done in The Netherlands. Creative professionals who work on commission (such as visual artists, architects and designers) were charged the higher VAT rate. The work of writers, composers, journalists and cartoonists is not charged.

The Dutch government has a special agreement with the film industry to promote the production of Dutch films (btw-convenant Film 2018). In exchange for a lower VAT rate on cinema tickets, Dutch film distributors and cinema operators will make more money available for the production of Dutch films through the Abraham Tuschinski Fonds (see also 4.1.4. tax laws)

In 2023, the reduced VAT rate for all goods and services was evaluated (in Dutch) for the first time. The evaluation was rather critical on the effectiveness and efficiency of the reduced rate for some cultural goods and services, sometimes because of very general or vague criteria. The Schoof Cabinet (2024-2025, caretaking from june 2025) initially planned the increase of the VAT rate for culture (with the exception of film). This has been reversed by parliament, causing the reduced VAT rate for culture in the Netherlands to remain unchanged.

Last update: March, 2026

Collective bargaining agreements

There are many collective labour agreements (collectieve arbeidsovereenkomst, or CAO) in the performing arts, and more generally in the cultural sector. CAOs are labour agreements between employers and employees. This means that a CAO only applies to employees who are working for an employer. When this is not the case, the national legal agreements are enforced. The existing CAOs are mostly found in architecture, arts education, media (broadcasting, journalism, publishing houses), museums and exhibition halls, performing arts (dance, orchestras, theatre companies, and venues), public libraries, retail musical instruments and sheet music. Special trade unions exist to enforce or monitor these agreements.

Almost all art and cultural labour areas are organised in the Culture Federation (Federatie Cultuur), an umbrella employers' organisation which monitors the results of annual collective bargaining between the large Dutch unions, the central government and the employers' organisations, with respect to work and related conditions.

Platform ACCT

To develop fair labour market relations in the culture sector, Platform ACCT was established, and this organisation will have a place within the Cultural Basic Infrastructure (BIS) 2025-2028. As of that date Fair Pay is mandatory for all BIS institutions; the Fair Practice Code is a code of conduct to stimulate this. This implies, among other things, the using of existing Collective Labor Agreements in the sector.

Platform ACCT, together with other representatives of the cultural sector, draws attention to the effects of the generic policy for the labour market and social security for the cultural sector. Due to the specific characteristics of that sector, these sometimes have unintended or undesirable consequences. Examples are the plans for a mandatory basic disability insurance for self-employed professionals, the prevention of false self-employment and the effects of the Clarification of Assessment of Employment Relationships and Legal Suspicion Bill (VBAR) in the event of a low self-employed rate. The VBAR will likely come into force in July 2026.

Last update: March, 2026

In the Netherlands, the Copyright Act 1912 and the Neighbouring Rights Act 1993 protect literary, scientific or artistic works. Because the European Directive 2006/116/EC on the term of protection of copyright and related rights was replaced by the European Directive 2011/77/EU in 2011, both Dutch acts were amended in 2013. In line with this directive, copyright accrues to the creator of a work until 70 years after the creator’s death while neighbouring rights are in place for 70 years from the moment a work is introduced. Previously, the Copyright Act, the Neighbouring Rights Act and the Database Act 1999 (which is based on the European Database Directive 96/9/EG) were amended in 2004 to implement the European Directive 2001/29/EG on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society. Since 2014, The Netherlands also acts in accordance with the EU directive on certain permitted uses of orphan works. In 2015, the Copyright Contract Act was implemented, providing cultural producers with a stronger negotiating position against those using their work.

In 2021, the Netherlands implemented the EU Copyright Directive in the Digital Single Market (DSM Directive), which led to amendments to the Copyright Act, the Neighbouring Rights Act and the Database Act. In 2024, amendments were made to the Copyright Act, the Neighbouring Rights Act and the Copyright Contract Law Act with the aim of strengthening the position of the creator and the performer in agreements concerning copyright and neighbouring rights. (Wet versterking auteurscontractenrecht Copyright Contract Law Strengthening Act – in Dutch)

Copy rights and neighbouring rights are collected and distributed by Collective Rights Management Organizations like Norma (rights for performing artists on tv), Sena (neighbouring rights of performers and producers), Buma/Stemra (copyright composers, lyricists and publicists) and Pictoright Fonds (rights visual creators)

Since 1996, when an actual public lending right was first incorporated in the Dutch Copyright Act (Auteurswet) and the Dutch Neighbouring Rights Act (Wet op de naburige rechten), this has been the responsibility of Stichting Leenrecht (Dutch Public Lending Right Office). Schools that have a library and collaborate with a public library were exempt from this rule. This exemption will be abolished. The compensation obligation will be borne by the ministry. This is intended to prevent education from experiencing administrative and financial burdens. To do so the Copy Right Act will be changed. The amendment of the law coincides with the amendment of the Public Library Act, which is scheduled for July 2026.

Last update: March, 2026

The Data Registration Act (Wet Persoonsregistraties) was approved in 1989 and became the first act that was concerned with data protection. Dutch institutions or businesses needed the permission of their clients to make use of the clients’ personal data for other purposes. A renewed act, the Personal Data Protection Act (Wet Bescherming Persoonsgegevens Wbp), based on the European Data Protection Directive (95/46/EC), was developed in 2000 and came into force in 2001. This act emphasises the protection of personal data when technological developments affect information processes. The Data Protection Authority arranges supervision and compliance with both acts.

The General Data Protection Regulation was implemented by the European Union in May 2016 to protect personal data of European citizens in the digital age. European organisations were obliged to implement the new act by 2018. The Data Protection Authority has been appointed to supervise compliance with the act in the Netherlands.

The first data protection act in Saba, Sint Eustatius and Bonaire (Caribbean Netherlands) came into force in 2010, which is the Personal Data Protection Act (Wet Bescherming Persoonsgegevens Wbp BES). The act is based on the European Data Protection Directive (95/46/EC) and the Dutch Personal Data Protection Act.

Last update: March, 2026

Dutch and Frisian (spoken mostly in the province Friesland) are the official languages in the Netherlands. For the three special municipalities in the Caribbean part of The Netherlands, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, English and Papiamento are official languages as well. The spelling of the Dutch language is laid down in the Spelling Act (Spellingwet) (see chapter 2.5.4 for a description of policies and regulations on language).

Last update: March, 2026

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Last update: March, 2026

The Cultural Policy Act (Wet op het specifiek cultuurbeleid, 1993) was considered a milestone in the legal basis of Dutch cultural policy.[1] It regulates the subsidies based on cultural policy decisions and enables the Minister to create funds to finance the arts and culture. Part of the funds can be allocated directly by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (for consecutive four-year periods) to uphold the national basic infrastructure. Furthermore, it regulates the government's option of issuing subsidies to provinces and municipalities. As dictated by the Cultural Policy Act, subsidy decisions are based on advice by the national Council for Culture. The Minister or Secretary of Culture, however, makes the final decisions. Deviations from the advice need to be substantiated as a consequence of the General Administrative Law Act. As a rule, the Minister or Secretary follows the advice by the Council.

(See for recent developments 1.1, 1.2.2 and 2.1; See for broadcasting and its regulation chapter 1.2.2 and 2.1)

[1] Edwin van Meerkerk and Quirijn Lennert van den Hoogen (eds.) Cultural Policy in the Polder. 25 years Dutch Cultural Policy Act. Amsterdam University Press / Boekman Foundation 2018.

Last update: March, 2026

Several laws on cultural heritage exist. The most important ones are the following:

The Heritage Act, installed on July 1st, 2016, replaced six laws and regulations in the field of cultural heritage. The Heritage Act (in Dutch) describes what cultural heritage is, how the Netherlands deals with movable cultural heritage, who is responsible for what and how the Netherlands monitors this. More specifically, the act provides rules regarding the following: conservation and registration of public collections; financial relations with state-financed museums; assessing objects from public collections; protection of public monuments and archaeology; restitution of looted art; intangible heritage; finance and governance; and cultural heritage inspection. The act is evaluated in 2023 (see chapter 3.1).

In 2024, the Environment and Planning Act (Omgevingswet) came into effect. Much like the Heritage Act, the Environment and Planning Act will replace and modernise multiple existing laws regarding water, air, soil, nature, infrastructure, buildings and cultural heritage in the living environment: “The new act will result in fewer regulations and will reduce the burden of conducting studies. At the same time, decisions on projects and activities can be made better and more quickly. Moreover, the act is more in line with European regulations and allows more room for private initiatives.” The Monuments and Historic Buildings Act is one of the laws that is partly absorbed in the Environment and Planning Act. Components of the Monuments and Historic Buildings Act that are not related to the living environment are included in the above mentioned Heritage Act. Thus, the Environment and Planning Act will regulate cultural heritage in the physical living environment while the Heritage Act contains the interpretation of heritage and the care of cultural property in government ownership. The following elements will be included in the Environment and Planning Act: permits for (archaeological) national monuments; the protection and preservation of the specific historic character of a village, town or city; the appointment of a monument committee; the need to take cultural heritage into account in environmental plans; and the designation of provincial and municipal monuments.

A new Archives Act was passed by the House of Representatives on 18 February 2025. This Act replaces the 1995 Archives Act and is designed to better align with the government’s digital information management. Since the previous version of the Act (from 1995), the amount of digital information has increased enormously. In addition to paper documents, governments now also have countless emails, websites, and databases full of information. Over time, it becomes more difficult to organise and keep all this digital information accessible. The new Act therefore encourages government organisations to ensure proper archiving from the outset and to destroy files in a timely manner when they no longer need to be kept. Key changes include shortening the transfer period for permanently preserved government information from 20 to 10 years, and clarifying responsibilities for digital information management. At the time of compiling this Compendium Profile, the Act is under consideration in the Senate.

Last update: March, 2026

To safeguard the rights of performing artists, the Neighbouring Rights Act came into force in 1993. Neighbouring rights are created automatically and are valid for 70 years (see chapter 4.1.6). General legislation on the (governmental funding of) performing arts and festivals is included in the Cultural Policy Act (see chapter 4.2.1).        

Anyone who organizes a (cultural) event usually has to have permission from the local government in connection with public order and traffic.

Last update: March, 2026

See chapter 3.4 visual arts; chapter 4.1.6 copy right provisions.

Last update: March, 2026

In January 2015, a new Libraries Act was implemented (Wet stelsel openbare bibliotheekvoorzieningen – in Dutch). This new act defined the five core functions of public libraries as: to promote reading and a taste for literature; facilitate learning; make knowledge and information available; promote art and culture; and organise social encounters and debate. The act also addresses the digitisation of the sector, which started in the late 1990s. To streamline and co-ordinate this process, the Dutch public libraries set up the foundation Bibliotheek.nl (2009). They built a digital infrastructure to create one Dutch national digital library by connecting all (digital systems of the) Dutch public libraries. This digitisation project is coordinated by the Royal Library of the Netherlands.

The evaluation of the law in 2020 showed that the physical library network had declined. There are municipalities and neighbourhoods without a public library, and too many situations where a library is present but insufficiently equipped (building, staff, collection, opening hours, activities). The Rutte IV Cabinet (2022–2024) therefore decided to include a duty of care in the law. From 2026 onwards, municipalities and provinces must ensure there are sufficient, fully functioning libraries. Funding for this duty of care will be provided through the Municipal Fund. In 2023 and 2024, the Cabinet allocated additional funds for municipalities without a public library. The special municipalities that make up the Caribbean Netherlands also received extra funding for their libraries. There is broad political consensus on these measures. At the time of writing this Compendium Profile, the law is in the consultation phase.

In the Netherlands, there is a voluntary deposit: the Depot of Dutch Publications. In consultation with the Dutch Media Federation, it has been agreed that all publishers submit one copy of each publication issued in the Netherlands to one of the depot libraries: the Royal Library of the Netherlands or the libraries of the Technical University Delft and Wageningen University for works related to exact sciences and agriculture respectively. In the Dutch Bibliography Online (in Dutch), there is a record of every submitted publication, including first issues of magazines.

Naturally, copy right and lending rights are relevant for the book sector (see chapter 6.1.6. copy right provisions).

The government implemented the Act on Fixed Book Prices (Wet op de Vaste Boekenprijs) in 2005. The act aims at maintaining a broad and diverse range of books and an extensive, geographically well-distributed network of bookshops. It does so by preventing price competition by regulating the pricing of Dutch and Frisian book- and music publications, with the exception of electronic publications and audio-books. Bookstores must apply a publisher-determined price for new releases for at least one year. The stable sales price allows publishers to invest in a diverse range of books. In addition, the law ensures that smaller regional bookstores do not have to compete on price with larger physical or online retailers.

The Dutch Media Authority supervises compliance with the act. The act is evaluated for the fourth time over the period 2019-2023). The evaluation concludes that the aims of the act have been achieved. The Minister has decided to continue the Act.

Last update: March, 2026

The Media Act (2008) describes the public media mission: "the provision of public media services at national, regional and local level by offering media offerings that aim to provide a broad and diverse audience with information, including journalistic content, culture and education, through all available supply channels" (Article 2.1) and then describes the organisational structure, funding principles and operational scope of the Dutch national, regional and local public broadcasting system;

• basic requirements for commercial broadcasters
• obligations for providers of television and radio packages (like cable operators).
• regulations Video platform services
• regulations for the protection of minors
• the existence of an expertise centre for media education
• the broadcasting of events of particular social, cultural or sporting
• airtime for political parties and government
• establishment of an independent Dutch Media Authority.
• the establishment of a Dutch Journalism Fund (Stimuleringsfonds voor de Journalistiek) that encourages diversity of journalism through funding and conducting research.

Minster Eppo Bruins has proposed reform proposals for public media services to parliament (see chapter 2.1 key developments). See for a basic description of the system chapter 1.2.2. See for Dutch Journalism Fund chapter 3.5.3).

In 1997, in order to protect minors from harmful content, a system of self-regulation was developed by the Dutch Institute for the Classification of Audiovisual Media. The Kijkwijzer (Viewing Indicator) warns parents and educators if a television program or film can be harmful to children. There is an age indication (all ages, 6+, 9+, 12+ and 16+) and pictograms that signify the reason for this indication (violence, fear, sex, discrimination, drug and/or alcohol abuse and foul language). These indicators are also used for music videos, computer games and websites. On the basis of Article 4 of the Media Act (2008), public and commercial broadcasters are obliged to apply the Kijkwijzer if they want to broadcast programmes that are potentially harmful to children. The age indicators are meant as an advisory tool for parents and educators in the private sphere. However, for public spaces such as the cinema, the government has decided to attach legal consequences to the age limits of Kijkwijzer. The cinema admission policy is based on Article 240a of the Criminal Code.

The Media Act prescibes an expertise centre for media education. This role is performed by the Netwerk mediawijsheid (Dutch Media Literacy Network). The network consists of over a thousand organizations committed to media literacy. These include libraries, cultural institutions, media coaches, developers of teaching material, educational publishers, research institutes, IT companies, media producers and platforms, educational institutions and care and welfare organizations. The network was established as a program in 2008 as an initiative of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, and managed by five core partners Dutch Institute for Sound and Vision, Kennisnet (expertise centre for ICT in education), ECP (an information society platform), HUMAN (Dutch public broadcaster), KB (National Library of the Netherlands). Its activities focus on three target groups: adolescents, adults and vulnerable groups. 

Act on the Investment Obligation for Audiovisual Content

A recent policy to counterbalance the dominance of the big commercial American streaming services is the Act on the Investment Obligation for Audiovisual Content. Starting from 1 january 2024, big (international) streaming platforms (with a turnover more than 10 mlo) working in The Netherlands, are required to invest 5% of their annual turnover in Dutch audiovisual productions, like series, films and documentaries. A minimum of 75% must be Dutch of Friesian spoken. This will increase the availability of Dutch stories on streaming services and provide more opportunities for Dutch creators. The Dutch Media Authority supervises the obligation.

Last update: March, 2026

The Dutch Advertising Code (Stichting Reclame Code SRC) is a self-regulatory organisation that formulates the rules with which advertising must comply. SRC is a member of the European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA) in Brussels.

Legislation regarding landscape design will be integrated in the Environment and Planning Act, which came into effect in 2024 (see chapter 4.2.2).

The professional titles of architect, town planner, landscape architect and interior architect are protected by the Architects Title Act (1987). Only those who are registered in the Architects' Register may use one of these titles. The aesthetic aspect of the architectural environment is protected by the Dutch Housing Act (1992), which regulates and controls the aesthetic standard of building activities.

Design and creative services are also part of the Dutch creative industry. For more information on the creative industry and specific regulations and measures, see chapter 3.5.1 and 3.5.5.