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Netherlands

The Netherlands allows selling images of public-space works, with the limit that a single copyrighted work must not be isolated as the sole subject.

Verified Jun 28, 2026 2 official sources
Permit: conditionalPanorama: Liberal, with one limit

Guidance, not legal advice

Rules change and enforcement varies. Confirm with the issuing authority before you shoot. Drone law depth lives at Drone Authority.

Permit

Conditional

Issuer: Municipalities for shoots that obstruct public space; site owners for managed locations; no permit for personal street photography

Cost: No permit for personal photography; commercial shoots on managed sites or that obstruct public space may need municipal permission

Standard street photography needs no permit. Commercial shoots on managed sites or that obstruct public space may need municipal permission.

Drone / airspace

Governed by EU EASA rules overseen by the ILT; the Netherlands implements them strictly, with registration and mandatory liability insurance

For the category detail, see Drone Authority.

Street / public space

Yes to photograph; publishing is governed by portrait right (portretrecht)

Non-commissioned portraits may in principle be published unless the subject has a reasonable interest opposing it. Commercial or advertising use of an identifiable person generally needs consent.

Freedom of panorama

Liberal, with one limit

Article 18 of the Copyright Act permits photographing and selling images of works permanently in public space as they are situated there. The accepted limit is that a single copyrighted work must not be isolated as the reproduction's sole subject.

Practical notes

  • A crowd shot or a person incidental to a scene is generally publishable; a recognizable individual as the clear subject can invoke portrait right, especially for commercial use.
  • Cityscapes and landmark photos are fine to sell; isolating one copyrighted public sculpture as the product's entire subject is the trap to avoid.

Sources

Keep shooting

Knowing the rules is half the job. The craft side:

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