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  • The details registered about me/my company are incorrect or out of date.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

GeoTLD application criteria unchanged

New window for city and regional TLDs expected in 2021 or 2022

  • Thursday 14 November 2019

ICANN's 66th conference was held last week in Montreal, Canada. One item on the agenda was the criteria that cities and regions wanting their own geographical top-level domains (geoTLDs) will have to meet in the planned application window. The main conclusion there was that the criteria should be almost the same as in the previous window. That was the recommendation of the working group that has been reviewing the procedure for the last two years plus. The group's final report will be submitted to the ICANN Board for approval in the near future.

GeoTLDs are popular

GeoTLDs are one of the more popular categories of new TLD, because many local authorities see them as excellent vehicles for profiling their cities and regions. Examples include .amsterdam, .frl (Friesland) and .bayern (Bavaria). Some geoTLDs have done well, while others have struggled. Amsterdam's city TLD is one of the most successful in the world, relative to the size of the city and local economy. Unfortunately, other geoTLDs -- including .ruhr and .vlaanderen -- have failed to capture the public imagination. In practice, success isn't simply about having a large population and a dynamic economy: the geoTLD for a relatively small region such as Tirol can do well, while the TLD for the populous, wealthy Ruhr doesn't take off. Sentiment and the cachet of the name are apparently what matters. Thorough market research in the city or region is therefore a vital precursor to creating a geoTLD.

Sensitivities

Many geoTLDs evoke significant sensitivities. They may for example reflect a region's desire to be distinct from its parent nation, as with .cat (Catalonia) and .eus (the Basque Country) in Spain. Then there are place names that are also generic terms, such as the French city Tours, whose name could easily be misunderstood in the English-speaking world if used as a TLD. And special cases, such as the well publicised .amazon question. That TLD is claimed by the US retail giant, but several South American countries in the Amazon region are strongly opposed. It's therefore good to know what criteria a geoTLD application must fulfil in the upcoming window.

Official approval

First and foremost, an application for a geoTLD associated with a city or region should have the backing of the corresponding local authorities. At the very least, the applicant needs to provide a statement from the authorities saying that they have no objection. If, for example, you want to create a .brabant geoTLD, you'll need the consent of the authorities, not only in the Dutch province of Brabant, but also in the Belgian province of the same name. Official approval is needed for any geoTLD that corresponds to a region on the UNESCO list (e.g. Catalonia) or is an exact match with the name of an administrative region (e.g. Overijssel). With cities, the situation is more complex. There is no 'official list' of cities, so local authority approval is required only if it is clear that the geoTLD is intended for use in connection with a particular city. In other words, you need the okay of the Municipality of Tours only if you want to create a .tours TLD for people or organisations linked to the city. If you plan to use .tours for travel domains, no official approval is needed. Another example is .vegas: that doesn't count as a geoTLD, because the word has global associations with betting. Nevertheless, official support is nearly always very important for an application to succeed. If the local authorities plan to use an extension, that's a valuable endorsement.

Next steps

ICANN is currently preparing for a new application window, which is likely to open in 2025. If the working group's recommendations are accepted, would-be applicants will know what conditions they need to fulfil. Clarity about the criteria is important, because preparing an application can easily take a year or more. Anyone wanting to create a new geoTLD will therefore need to start work some time next year. Market research, technical preparations and the identification of a suitable registry service provider will all need to be addressed.