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Frequently asked questions

  • I am looking for a domain name registrant. Where can I look it up?

    The Whois is an easy-to-use tool for checking the availability of a .nl domain name. If the domain name is already taken, you can see who has registered it.

    On the page looking up a domain name you will find more information about what a domain name is, how the Whois works and how the privacy of personal data is protected. Alternatively, you can go straight to look for a domain name via the Whois.

  • I would like to transfer my domain name to another registrar. What is the procedure?

    To get your domain name transferred, you need the token (unique ID number) for your domain name. Your existing registrar has the token and is obliged to give it to you within five days, if you ask for it. The procedure for changing your registrar is described on the page transferring your domain name.

  • The details registered about me/my company are incorrect or out of date. How can I get them updated?

    To update the contact details associated with your domain name, you need to contact your registrar. Read more about updating contact details.

  • Why is my domain name in quarantine?

    When a domain name is cancelled, we aren't told the reason, so we can't tell you. You'll need to ask your registrar. The advantage of quarantine is that, if a name's cancelled by mistake, you can always get it back.

    One common reason is that the contract between you and your registrar says you've got to renew the registration every year. If you haven't set up automatic renewal and you don't renew manually, the registration will expire.

  • Ik heb een klacht over mijn provider/registrar. Kan ik daarvoor bij SIDN terecht?

    Wanneer je een klacht hebt over of een geschil met je registrar dan zijn er verschillende mogelijkheden om tot een oplossing te komen. Hierover lees je meer op pagina klacht over registrar. SIDN heeft geen formele klachtenprocedure voor het behandelen van een klacht over jouw registrar.

  • What conditions do I have to meet as a registrar?

    Would you like to be able to register domain names for customers or for your own organisation by dealing directly with SIDN? If so, you can become a .nl registrar. Read more about the conditions and how to apply for registrar status on the page becoming a registrar.

More frequently asked questions
Anniversary logo on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the .nl domain

.nl is thirty-five years old!

And we'd like to celebrate reaching this milestone with you! So here's a big 'thankyou' to everyone who helps to make .nl so successful:

  • All the .nl registrants making active use of their names

  • All the registrars who make it possible to register and use .nl.

  • All our people who work on the security and stability of .nl,

We're dedicated to a problem-free, opportunity-rich digital living for everyone.

Screenshot of an animation on the occasion of 35 years of .nl

Godfather of .nl

Piet Beertema, .nl pioneer

One of the trailblazers who played a special role in creation of the .nl domain and SIDN is Piet Beertema. When working as a system administrator at the National Research Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science (CWI), Piet had the great idea of asking to establish the .nl top-level domain. Setting up a new TLD needed the approval of Jon Postel, a US internet pioneer. Jon approved the request and .nl came into being. On 1 May 1986, the CWI registered the very first .nl domain name: cwi.nl. With that registration, .nl became the first active country-code domain outside the US.

Special anniversary appeal

Piet Beertema doesn't want any gifts to mark .nl's thirty-fifth anniversary. But he'd love your help with a cause that's close to his heart. Free a Girl is a globally active Dutch organisation dedicated to rescuing under-age girls from prostitution and pursuing the people who exploit them. Piet started an appeal with the goal of raising € 35,000 for Free a Girl by 10 May: a thousand euros for every year of .nl's existence. Thanks to your generosity, the appeal actually raised an amazing € 57,000! The anniversary appeal has now closed, but Free a Girl's work continues. Piet therefore invites anyone who missed the anniversary appeal to make a donation direct to Free a Girl or to one of the ongoing appeals.

Piet Beertema the godfather of .nl

The podcast 'The silent big bang'

How did the idea for .nl come about? It is one of the lucky coincidences that Piet Beertema was the first in the world to come up with the idea of ​​using internet domain names that end with a 2-letter country code. Why was it necessary for Beertema to come up with this solution? And why does the CWI actually play such an important role in the genesis of .nl? You will find out all about it in the first episode of our podcast series about 35 years of .nl.

Listen with Anchor to 'The silent big bang'

Amazing discovery by Piet: 2 + 5 + 4 +1 + 9 + 8 + 6 = 35 years!

More than 6.2 million .nl domain names!

In thirty-five years, the number of .nl domain names has climbed to more than 6,2 million! Yet it's still easy to find your perfect .nl using our search bar ('Whois') and the suggestion tool.

.nl domain names

Did you know...?

  • When .nl started in 1986, it was the world's very first active country-code domain.

  • Today, .nl is the fifth largest country-code domain, after China, Germany, the UK and Tokelau.

  • Every day, our systems process 2.5 billion search queries.

  • Amsterdam has the biggest concentration of .nl registrants? The areas around the university cities of Eindhoven, Enschede, Groningen and Nijmegen are also major registration hotspots.

Did you know...?

  • In the Netherlands, .nl has a 64 per cent share of the domain name market.

  • Twenty-seven .nl domain names currently have the maximum permitted number of characters (63). One is: www.delangstewebsitenaamvannederlanddietotnutoebestaateningebruikis.nl which means 'the longest Dutch website name yet registered and in use'.

  • The .nl domain name with the highest resale price so far is vakantie.nl ('vacation-dot-nl'), which fetched 2.5 million euros.

  • The average .nl domain name is thirteen characters long.

Danielle Hermsen, Support Manager at SIDN, in conversation with His Majesty the King Willem Alexander during an online working visit to SIDN.

King makes virtual working visit to SIDN

His Majesty the King paid a digital working visit to SIDN on Tuesday morning, 16 November 2021. During the visit, the King spoke with SIDN employees about, among other things, the history of SIDN and the development of the .nl domain, and about the steps being taken.

Milestones for .nl

Here are the key milestones in the history of the .nl domain:

The milestones of the .nl domain from 1986 the registration of the 1st .nl domain name: cwi.nl untill 2021 in which the .nl domain will have existed for 35 years and SIDN for 25 years.

Tabel of the milestones of the .nl domain

We list the most important milestones of recent years for you:

Milestones of the .nl domain

Years '20

2021

the .nl domain will have existed for 35 years and SIDN for 25 years

2020

the 6 millionth .nl domain name was registered

Years '10

2018

3 million .nl domain names are secured with DNSSEC

2016

marks .nl's 30th anniversary.

2013

1.5 million .nl domain names are secured with DNSSEC

2012

the 5 millionth .nl domain name is registered and securing .nl domain names with DNSSEC becomes possible

2011

.nl domain exists 25 years

2010

the 4 millionth .nl domain name is registered.

Years '00

2008

the 3 millionth .nl domain name was registered and the covenant was signed with the Ministry of Economic Affairs to safeguard the .nl domain

2006

2 millionth .nl domain name was registered

2003

the 1st million .nl domain names were registered

2000

the first person domain name registration took place with .nl: jansen.123.nl

Years '90

1996

Establishment of Stichting Internet Domeinregistratie Nederland by Piet Beertema, Ted Lindgreen and Boudewijn Nederkoorn to manage the .nl domain.

Year '80

1986

registration of the 1st .nl domain name: cwi.nl. The country domain .nl was applied for by Piet Beertema at the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica in Amsterdam. .nl was the first active country domain outside the US.