In NL it's plus or minus 30 minutes of EOBT for VFR. (ref NL AIP, ENR 1.10) (*)
Trying to leave more than 30 minutes early requires a cancellation and refile, which is easiest done if you call the FIS directly. Leaving late requires sending a Delay message.
(If the delay is due to weather then I typically call up Rotterdam Delivery on their frequency and ask them to push back the plan a bit. They are normally kind enough to keep pushing it back if the weather conditions don't improve as quickly as planned, until I contact them to ask for startup, or cancel the flight altogether.)
Formally a flight plan needs to be submitted an hour before EOBT, but in practice it can be much less. VFR flight plans submitted electronically (homebriefing.nl, SkyDemon, whatever) still need a human in the FIS office pushing the button before it's distributed. They tend not to be amused if you make a habit out of submitting them with very short notice when there's no need. So if you do need to file at short notice, best to call them and coordinate with them. Once the person at the other end of the phone line has accepted your plan and submitted it for distribution, it will be available at the TWR virtually instantaneously.
We fly VFR from a controlled field (EHRD) in the Netherlands, which requires a formal flight plan for every flight. All the "based" pilots tend to get very proficient at "working the system" very quickly. There have been several occasions where I called Delivery for startup and found out there was something wrong with the plan. Grab the cellphone, call the FIO, sort out the problem and have them submit a new plan. Switch on the avionics again and ask for startup again. Easy.
(Edited)
(*) The plus 30 minutes window is pretty well established, but I can't find any reference in the AIP for the minus 30 minutes window. Maybe it's in EASA-SERA?
Last edited by BackPacker; 1st Jan 2018 at 12:40.