In order to register for elections in the Netherlands, a political party needs to be an association (), which can be founded by two or more members."Hoe richt ik een politieke partij op?" (in Dutch), Government of the Netherlands. Retrieved 4 March 2017."Hoe richt ik een vereniging op? " (in Dutch), Notaris.nl. Retrieved 4 March 2017. The Vereniging Groep Wilders (Association Group Wilders) was founded by the natural person Geert Wilders and Stichting Groep Wilders (Foundation Group Wilders), of which Wilders is the only board member.Koen Vossen, "Een unieke partij. De organisatie van de PVV" (in Dutch), Montesquieu Instituut, 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2017.Paul Lucardie, "PVV partijgeschiedenis" (in Dutch), University of Groningen, 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2017. The association was later renamed to Partij voor de Vrijheid (Party for Freedom). After the creation of the association, Wilders disabled new member registration, resulting in his remaining the sole member of the party. The party is considered unique in Dutch politics in that it does not organise public party conferences and does not have local departments, a youth wing, or a research institute. Instead, PVV supporters have the option of financially donating to the party or signing up as unaffiliated volunteers during elections. Candidates are mostly handpicked by Wilders who also writes the PVV's platform. Former PVV politician Hero Brinkman unsuccessfully tried to lobby for the party to adopt a conventional membership system and a youth wing. However, Wilders has defended the party's structure, stating that he does not want extremists to take over the PVV, while others have cited the example of the defunct Pim Fortuyn List party which shared many similar policies to the PVV but succumbed to factional infighting following the murder of its founder. Commentators have also cited Wilders as one of the first party leaders to use web and social media messages to reach voters instead of traditional public campaigning such as public rallies or meet and greets.
