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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  • The details registered about me/my company are incorrect or out of date.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

How to spot a fake URL

Scammers have upped their game

Recognising fake websites and domain names isn't as easy as it used to be. The days are gone when badly written text, illogical URLs and the absence of a padlock symbol gave the game away. Nowadays, internet users really need to be on the ball. So we've put together some advice to help you out.

As internet users have got wise to many common scams, scammers have upped their game. Many fake websites nowadays have green padlocks, for example. And their look and feel are often indistinguishable from the real thing, right down to a convincing-looking URL. So how can you tell a fake site from a real one? One good way is to check the URL.

How to check

Step 1: Find out what the company's official URL is.

Not sure? Call the company to ask what their real web address is.

Step 2: Decipher the URL

It's important to be aware that URLs often have several parts. Here are two examples to show you how to read a URL. 

Example 1: https://www.example.nl

  1. https://

  2. www. (= subdomain)

  3. example.nl (= primary domain) 

Scammers often use more complicated URLs. So you might come across something like this second example, which has five parts: Example 2: https://www.example.nl.examplelogin.nl/mail/login/

  1. https://

  2. www.example.nl (= subdomain)

  3. examplelogin.nl (= primary domain in this example)

  4. /mail/ (= folder)

  5. login/

With the URL in example 2, it's less obvious what the domain name is. That's because the scammers have included the official domain name as a subdomain to catch people out. A subdomain is the part of an address that comes before the domain name. In most genuine addresses, that's 'www'. But here the subdomain is 'www.example.nl'. So, at first glance, the URL looks as if it belongs to example's official website, when really it'll take you to examplelogin.nl. That's a fake domain name dreamt up to look as if it belongs to example, when it doesn't really.

Tip 1. Look at the country code

Every domain name includes a 'top-level domain' at the end. In this case it's .nl, but you'll often see .com and sometimes .shop, .eu and others. Is the firm you're interested in Dutch? If so, there's a good chance that their actual URL will end with '.nl'. If you get mail from a domain ending with .tk (Tokelau), .in (India) or .ru (Russia), ask yourself whether that tallies with the sender.

Tip 2. Check that the firm's name is spelled correctly

Scammers often use domain names that are almost like a real company's name, but not quite. They try to catch you out by, for example, using a name with a zero where the letter 'o' should be. Or by slipping in an extra letter that many users won't notice. As in 'abnambro.nl', which is easy to mistake for 'abnamro.nl' (used by a big bank in the Netherlands).

Tip 3. Remember: the actual domain is at the end

To see what the actual domain is, look at everything between the https:// and the first / in the address. In our second example, that's 'www.example.nl.examplelogin.nl'. The actual domain is always the last part of that string. So you can see that if you click on our example URL, it'll take you to examplelogin.nl. If there isn't a /, read the last part of the URL first.

Why are those URLs so long? 

To make their URLs seem real, scammers often include familiar-looking elements both before and after the actual domain name. The parts after the domain name are called folders. Crooks try to catch people out by giving their folders genuine-sounding names. They might include the name of the company they are pretending to represent, or one of its brands or services. Users see a folder or subdomain with a name that they know, and they're tricked into trusting a URL where the actual domain name is something very different. In our second example, there's a folder called 'login', so that a reader in a hurry will expect the link to lead to a website log-in page. Of course, that's just what the scammers want. Fake internet banking sites often use that trick.

First check what the real internet address is that you are being referred to by moving your mouse pointer/cursor over the link.

And don't forget that the whole link might not be immediately visible. So it's a good idea to check a link before you click on it.