It began in August 2015 with the first matches of the season and ended in May 2016 with the finals of the promotion/relegation play-offs, also involving the 16th- and 17th-placed teams from the 2015–16 Eredivisie.
This change in the league system was approved in a KNVB assembly in December 2014.
Roda JC Kerkrade and De Graafschap won the post-season playoff, and were replaced in the 2015–16 Eerste Divisie by NAC Breda and Go Ahead Eagles.
No teams were relegated, but Jong FC Twente voluntarily withdrew from the league.
[3] Ten teams, two from the Eredivisie and eight from the Eerste Divisie, play for two spots in the 2016–17 Eredivisie, the remaining eight teams play in the 2016–17 Eerste Divisie.