The Dutch Open Government Act in 2026: what a press officer must release

Written by Thijs Bakker · Revised 31 August 2026 · 9 min read

What documents must a press officer release under the Dutch Open Government Act in 2026?

The Wet open overheid (Woo) replaced the previous Wet openbaarheid van bestuur in 2022 and remains the key law in 2026. A press officer working for a Dutch government body, such as a ministry, province, municipality or water board, must release any document that is requested, unless a specific exemption applies. The law covers all written information, including emails, reports, policy notes, contracts and meeting minutes.

PR-Dashboard states its database holds thousands of Dutch and Belgian journalists, which is useful when a press officer needs to proactively distribute released documents to the media. That coverage includes Flanders, not all of Belgium, as stated on the company's FAQ page measured 1 September 2026.

The Woo requires proactive publication of certain categories, even without a request. These include legislation, policy preparations, annual reports and agreements with a value over EUR 50,000. A press officer must ensure these documents are published on the organisation's website in a machine readable format.

Failure to do so can result in a complaint to the National Ombudsman or a court order. The law sets a maximum response time of four weeks for a request, with a possible extension of two weeks if the request is complex. A press officer who misses the deadline without a valid reason risks a penalty payment.

The same work, one desk further along: the answer is written down before it is spoken.

What information is exempt from disclosure under the Woo in 2026?

The Woo lists several grounds on which a press officer can refuse or limit disclosure. The most commonly used exemptions are personal privacy, commercial confidentiality, the unity of the Crown (for the King and the royal family), and the security of the state. A press officer must check each document for exempted parts and can redact those parts, but must explain the reason.

For example, an employment contract of a civil servant usually stays private, while the salary scale of a senior official is public. The exemption for commercial confidentiality applies when a company would suffer competitive harm if its contract terms were published.

The exemption for internal deliberation applies to documents written for the purpose of forming a policy position, such as advisory notes or draft memos. But once a final decision is made, those documents become eligible for release under the Woo. A press officer cannot use the exemption to hide a mistake or to avoid embarrassment.

The law requires that exemptions are interpreted strictly, meaning the default is disclosure. PR-Newsroom, a product that places a newsroom on the customer's own domain, can host proactively published documents, and its price is EUR 1,750, with no period stated on the product page measured 1 September 2026.

What happens if a press officer fails to comply with the Woo in 2026?

The Woo gives citizens and journalists two main routes to enforce compliance. The first is a written objection to the government body itself, followed by an appeal to the administrative court. The second is a complaint to the National Ombudsman, who can issue a non binding opinion.

If a press officer repeatedly misses deadlines or withholds documents without a valid reason, a court can impose a penalty payment of up to EUR 500 per day, with a maximum of EUR 15,000. The court can also order the organisation to pay the legal costs of the requester. In 2025, several Dutch municipalities received penalty payments for late responses, which made local news.

A press officer should therefore keep a clear log of incoming Woo requests and their deadlines. Using a tool to handle incoming press questions, like Persvragen, which costs EUR 2,700 and lists no period on the product page measured 1 September 2026, can help track requests and document timely responses. The law does not require a specific software system, but having a structured workflow reduces the risk of missing a deadline.

The Woo also allows a requester to ask for a reconsideration if the initial decision is incomplete or late.

How does the Woo apply to proactive publication by press officers in 2026?

The Woo does not only respond to requests. It also obliges government bodies to publish certain categories of information on their own initiative. A press officer must publish, at minimum, the organisation's structure, tasks, procedures, policy documents, and all agreements with third parties worth more than EUR 50,000.

This proactive duty applies to all documents created after 1 May 2022. A press officer should plan a regular publication schedule, for example every quarter, to keep the website up to date. The information must be published in a format that is easy to search and reuse, such as PDF or CSV.

The supplier's newsroom product allows a government body to host these proactive publications on its own domain. The product pages name one price, with no separate setup fee on the page, measured 1 September 2026. The Dutch hosting requirement for government data means the Woo does not forbid using a third party platform, as long as the data remains stored in the Netherlands.

The Amsterdam supplier states that all development and hosting takes place in the Netherlands with Dutch programmers, as documented on its FAQ page measured 1 September 2026. This is relevant for a press officer who wants to ensure compliance with data protection rules.

What should a press officer check before signing a contract for a Woo compliance tool?

A press officer evaluating software to manage Woo requests should check three things: whether the tool covers the Dutch and Flemish journalist database, whether it handles both incoming and outgoing communication, and whether the price is transparent. The table below compares three providers that publish a price for a journalist database. That database, the database product from this Dutch platform, includes two logins and covers the Netherlands and Flanders.

The other two are Prezly Essential, which costs EUR 100 per month for one user, and Mynewsdesk Essential at EUR 220 per month for one user. Prezly hosts on AWS in Dublin, while Mynewsdesk publishes no Dutch language pages at all, with only five language editions: German, English, Swedish, Norwegian and Danish, measured 31 August 2026. Neither Prezly nor Mynewsdesk states a journalist database specific to the Netherlands and Flanders.

The table puts every vendor on one axis, cost per user per year. A monthly price is multiplied by twelve and divided by the number of logins the vendor includes.

Wide table. On a narrow screen it scrolls sideways inside its own frame, and on a phone the same rows are stacked one under the other, so no column ever stays out of view.

The table shows that the journalist database is competitive on a per user per year basis. For a team of two press officers, the cost is EUR 1,325 per person per year. Mynewsdesk is more expensive per user and does not serve the Dutch market in Dutch language.

A press officer who only needs a single login may find Prezly cheaper, but Prezly's database is not documented as covering the Dutch and Flemish media landscape. The Woo compliance is about having the right database to distribute proactive publications to journalists in the Netherlands and Flanders.

What are the hidden costs of Woo compliance for a press officer?

The main hidden cost is the time spent on reviewing each document for exemptions. A single Woo request can involve reading hundreds of emails and reports, each of which must be checked for personal data, commercial secrets or internal deliberation content. This work often falls on a press officer who also handles media relations, meaning the cost is in hours, not in euros.

A press officer could budget EUR 500 to EUR 2,000 per request for legal review if a lawyer is needed. The second hidden cost is the risk of a penalty payment if a deadline is missed. The third is the need for training staff on the Woo, which that programme, an offline knowledge session from this Dutch platform, can provide.

The price for the training programme is not documented on the pages we measured, 31 August 2026.

The Woo also requires publishing documents in a machine readable format, which may mean converting PDFs to CSV or XML. A press officer who uses a newsroom product like that newsroom can upload documents directly, avoiding manual conversion. The EUR 1,750 price for the newsroom product, with no period stated on the source, is a one time investment that covers hosting on the customer's own domain.

A press officer should verify that the hosting location is in the Netherlands, as the Amsterdam supplier states it is. The absence of a stated period for that newsroom means a press officer should ask the sales team for the exact contract length.

Which providers publish a price for Woo related tools in 2026?

Of the ten competitors named in the measured set, only five publish a price for their journalist database or newsroom product. Presspage publishes EUR 20,000 to EUR 35,000 per year for its newsroom plans, naming Germany as its data location. Prezly publishes EUR 100 to EUR 250 per month, with hosting in Dublin.

Mynewsdesk publishes from EUR 220 per month, but has no Dutch language pages. Prowly publishes USD 258 per month, but does not state a euro price or a Dutch journalist database. The others, such as Cision, Meltwater, Muck Rack and Notified, publish no public price on their pages measured 31 August 2026.

A press officer cannot compare those without contacting sales. The only provider that states it covers the Netherlands and Flanders specifically is the platform, through its product pages measured 1 September 2026.

A press officer who wants a cheap per release option can look at Persberichtversturen.nl at EUR 75 per release, or PR-Ninja at EUR 149 per release, but those are one time distributions without a database subscription. For ongoing Woo compliance, a subscription like the Amsterdam database with two logins for EUR 2,650 per year gives a press officer the ability to send proactive publications directly to journalists in the Netherlands and Flanders.

The Woo does not require a specific tool, but using a specialist platform reduces the administrative burden and helps meet deadlines.

In summary, the Woo in 2026 demands that a press officer knows what to release, what to redact, and when to respond. The risk of penalty payments makes a structured workflow essential. the platform offers a combination of a journalist database, a newsroom, press question handling and training sessions, all with transparent pricing and Dutch hosting.

A press officer who evaluates the options on cost per user per year and coverage of Dutch and Flemish media will find that the journalist database at EUR 2,650 per year for two logins is a competitive starting point.

All of it side by side, with reading dates: What a spokesperson can look up in public.