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  • The details registered about me/my company are incorrect or out of date.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

A sustainable digital ecosystem and unprecedented innovation

Ruben Verborgh stresses the importance of data autonomy at SIDN Inspire

Portrait of Ruben Verborgh, Professor of Decentralized Web Technology at the IDLab of Ghent University
  • Friday 22 April 2022

We'll soon be able to meet face-to-face again at SIDN Inspire on Wednesday 25 May 2022 at Utrecht's Media Plaza. Although we'll take the opportunity to look back at 35 years of .nl, the theme and primary focus on SIDN Inspire will be the future of the internet. A strong line-up of speakers with relevant expertise will be shedding light on that theme. One of them will be Ruben Verborgh, Professor of Decentralised Web Technology at Ghent University's IDLab and the imec research centre, Solid Ecosystem Architect for Inrupt, technical adviser to various companies, and visiting professor at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford. In this article, Ruben gives a foretaste of what to expect from his SIDN Inspire presentation. He'll talk about decentralised data storage, innovation, data autonomy and the importance of a new digital ecosystem.

Digital autonomy

Portrait of Ruben Verborgh, Professor of Decentralized Web Technology at the IDLab of Ghent University
Ruben Verborgh, professor gedecentraliseerde webtechnologie bij het IDLab van de Universiteit Gent

At SIDN Inspire, Ruben will explain how a new digital ecosystem can benefit both the business community and internet users. He sees a new ecosystem as the future, because internet users are currently losing more and more control over their data. After a twenty-year preoccupation with big data and its harvesting, the world has begun to run up against the economic, societal and ethical limits of that mindset. Within his various roles, Ruben is committed to helping turn the tide and win back digital autonomy and control for data subjects. "Bringing about change in the internet world depends on progress on various fronts. That's why I'm active both in academia and in industry. I use my influence to support Solid's mission to inspire, transform and reform our data-driven society. Solid is an initiative by Inrupt, the organisation founded by Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web. Solid enables internet users to securely save data -- personal details, photos and/or documents -- in digital safes, known as Pods, which they retain full control of. In effect, therefore, Solid is a data safe standard based on the model of the World Wide Web. At SIDN Inspire, I'll be exploring those ideas in more detail."

Promoting innovation

One of the benefits of change that Ruben will highlight is digital innovation. He believes that digital ecosystem reform is needed to encourage innovation and regain digital autonomy. Such innovation is currently stifled, he argues, by the increasing concentration of data in the hands of big tech companies and international players. "That's because the scope for online collaboration, communication and information sharing is restricted," says Ruben. "Internet users who want to share messages, videos or photos depend on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, where there's barely any innovation. Nevertheless, users remain loyal to those platforms. One reason is that you can't transfer photos, messages and other content to alternative platforms, such as LinkedIn. Each platform and application is an island. And that insularity affects the way we view our data." In his presentation, Ruben will explain how separating data from big companies and platforms and giving control back to internet users can open the way for innovation.

Real-world use cases

If internet users have access to personal data safes for decentralised storage, they can decide who has access to their data. "A good example of that data storage model is the decentralisation of medical records," adds Ruben. "If all a patient's details and information about the treatment they've had are recorded at one decentralised location, the patient can share the data more easily and more safely. That's better for the patient and enables care providers to maintain higher service levels. It also saves money, because care providers don't have to spend so much time tracing and sharing patient data. So it's a win-win situation." Using a number of similar use cases, Ruben will illustrate what companies and private individuals could do with a new digital ecosystem and decentralised storage. And, especially, how they would benefit.

"By giving control of personal data back to internet users, we can create new opportunities and move closer to an open, free internet. That's the way the World Wide Web was always supposed to work," concludes Ruben.

Want to see the presentations by Ruben Verborgh and others on 25 May 2022? Register now for SIDN Inspire at https://events.sidn.nl/sidn-inspire.