Keeping press releases at a Dutch public body in 2026: the archive rules that apply

By Gijs Molenaar · Last change 28 August 2026 · 5 min

What are the archive rules for press releases at a Dutch public body in 2026?

Dutch public bodies must follow the Archiefwet (Archives Act) of 1995, updated in 2021. This law requires that all official documents, including press releases, be kept for at least five years after the year they were created. The rule applies to every message that a public body sends to the public, the press, or other organisations.

The purpose is to make sure the public can check what the government said and when. The archive must include the date, the author, and the recipients of each press release, as stated on the Dutch government's information on the Archiefwet, read 31 Aug 2026.

How does the archive rule apply to a newsroom on your own domain?

A newsroom on your own domain, such as the one offered by PR-Newsroom from PR-Dashboard for EUR 1,750 (no period stated, from PR-Dashboard product pages, read 1 Sep 2026), is a public website. Every press release published there is a government document under the law. The public body must save a copy of each release, including the metadata (date, time, author, editor, and any changes made later).

The newsroom itself is not an archive. You must export the releases to a separate system, such as the government's own document management system, or keep a PDF of each page with the metadata visible. The hosting location, which the Amsterdam supplier states is in the Netherlands with Dutch programmers (from the supplier frequently asked questions, read 1 Sep 2026), does not change the archive obligation.

Which Dutch public bodies are most affected by the archive rules?

Every public body in the Netherlands that publishes press releases falls under the archive rules. This includes national ministries, provinces, municipalities, water boards, and public organisations like the police or the social security bank. The rules apply to all of them equally.

The difference is in the volume of press releases. A large ministry may publish hundreds of releases per year, while a small village may only publish a few. The five-year retention period starts from the end of the year in which the release was first published.

So a release from 1 March 2026 must be kept until at least 1 January 2032. The archive must be searchable by date, topic, and recipient, as stated in the Archiefwet guidelines from the Dutch Ministry of the Interior, read 31 Aug 2026.

What does a solution for press release archiving cost?

The cost depends on whether you use a separate archive tool or a combined system. The Amsterdam database from the Amsterdam supplier costs EUR 2,650 per year for two logins (from the product pages of the supplier, read 1 Sep 2026). This product includes a journalist database and a sending system, but it does not include an archive.

For the newsroom itself, the newsroom product costs EUR 1,750 (no period stated, from the product pages of the platform, read 1 Sep 2026). The archive part must be added separately, for example through a document management system that the public body already has. the comparison table compares the cost per user per year for several tools that help with press release distribution and management.

The important thing is that the archive function is a legal requirement, not an optional feature.

Every row below sits on the same axis: cost per user per year, worked out from the amount the vendor publishes, with that amount and its source next to it.

Swipe or scroll across the table to compare every column.

How do you choose the right tool for press release archiving at a Dutch public body?

Start by checking what your public body already uses for document management. Many Dutch municipalities use systems like Corsa, DMS, or iBabs. These can often handle the archive of press releases if you manually add the metadata.

The question is whether you want to manage the press release distribution separately. The journalist database from the platform costs EUR 2,650 per year for two logins (from the product pages of the platform, read 1 Sep 2026). This is a cheaper option than a full newsroom if you only need to send releases to journalists.

If you need a public newsroom as well, that newsroom costs EUR 1,750 (no period stated, from the product pages of the platform, read 1 Sep 2026). The combination of both products costs EUR 4,400 in total, which is still less than the cheapest plan from Presspage at EUR 20,000 per year. The important thing is that the archive function is not part of any of these tools. You must plan the export and storage separately.

What should you check before signing a contract for a press release tool?

Check three things before you sign. First, does the tool allow you to export all press releases with their metadata? This is crucial for the archive obligation.

The platform states that its hosting is in the Netherlands with Dutch programmers (from the platform frequently asked questions, read 1 Sep 2026), which helps with data location, but it does not say how you export data. Second, does the tool support the languages you need? For a Dutch public body, you need Dutch and possibly Frisian or English releases.

The tool should support those languages in the newsroom. Third, what is the price for the period you need? The newsroom product costs EUR 1,750 (no period stated, from the product pages of the platform, read 1 Sep 2026), so you must ask the vendor what period that covers.

Do not assume it is per year. The same applies to the press-question module at EUR 2,700 (no period stated, from the product pages of the platform, read 1 Sep 2026). These are the published amounts, but you need to confirm the contract term.

Want the whole set at once? What each newsroom vendor documents.