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  • The details registered about me/my company are incorrect or out of date.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

Dutch domain name market contracts as 12-month non-renewals rise

Likely causes include sluggish economy and decline from pandemic-era registration peak

Decreasing growth visualized by blocks with arrows

Over the last year, the number of .nl domain names has fallen by 1.7 per cent. The contraction is in line with the wider Dutch and European market trends. Putting our own data together with information published by the trade association CENTR.org, it's clear that the pandemic-era market high is behind us. We consider the causes of the downturn and the implications for the period ahead.

Dutch market

In the Netherlands, the .nl domain has contracted by 1.7 per cent – a little more than the 1.3 per cent recorded for the market as a whole. Nevertheless, the brand preference for .nl remains unchanged. The main reason for the discrepancy is that many Dutch businesses have been expanding into neighbouring markets. As a result, Dutch registrations of French (.fr), German (.de) and UK (.uk) domain names were significantly up, with a combined annual net growth of 84,000 domain names. The number of .uk registrations in the Netherlands was particularly striking, given that the UK's domestic domain name market contracted by 12 per cent in the same period. The main driver of such registrations seems to be the export activities of Dutch businesses, which are forecast to grow significantly in 2024. Here in the Netherlands, the other top-level domains to contract included .eu and a number of new generic TLDs, such as .online and .top.

Contraction of .nl due to non-renewals after first year

The main reason for the fall in the overall number of .nl domain names was that fewer registrations were renewed at the end of the first year. Non-renewal can have various causes. Often, a registrant will register a name in connection with plans that ultimately don't go ahead. Another factor is that initial registrations are frequently discounted by registrars. When the time comes to renew at the full price, it seems that a growing number of registrants have second thoughts, especially since the price rises introduced in 2022 and 2023 when the cost of energy shot up. The wide disparity between the discounted introductory prices of .nl domain names and the renewal prices is likely to be significant in this context: the average first-year price is now just 10 per cent of the average renewal price. Discounting is a marketing strategy that registrars independently choose to adopt.

What's driving contraction in the Netherlands?

Naturally, the figures prompt the question, why is the domain name market contracting? While the precise cause is hard to pinpoint, a number of significant factors have been at play in the last year:

  • In the early part of 2024, the Dutch economy shrank more than forecast (-0.5 per cent), impacting the demand for business domain names.

  • Google made a number of updates to its algorithm, which adversely affected bloggers and affiliates. That resulted in a sharp drop in demand from those quarters for websites and domain names to go with them.

  • Artificial intelligence has started to displace conventional browser-based searching. Although this trend has yet to gather real momentum, it certainly seems that the popularity of large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT is on the rise. Domain names play a much less prominent role in AI-based searching than in traditional searching.

The latter 2 factors could explain why markets are shrinking not only in the Netherlands, but all across Europe. The Google updates were rolled out simultaneously in all EU countries, and the rise of AI is a general phenomenon.

Implications for the domain name industry

For hosting and domain name registration service providers, the Dutch market is not as attractive as it used to be. Much will depend on service providers' ability to adapt to the new climate by, for example, focusing more on activation, customer retention and upselling. Such strategies can reduce the percentage of registrants that don't renew after the first year, which is likely to be the key to growth. We're committed to helping registrars maintain the health of the market for .nl domain names. As well as to the development of activities that contribute to the quality and security of registrars' services. For example, we invest in the security of the zone, providing a sound infrastructure, communicating with start-up businesses, and, crucially, partnering with domain name registration service providers.

At the time of writing, not all TLD registries had published data for the first half year. This article therefore doesn't take account of developments involving various TLDs, including .com.

Article by:

Michiel Henneke

Michiel Henneke

Marketing Manager