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  • The details registered about me/my company are incorrect or out of date.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

ICANN Grant Program funds innovative internet projects

Grant application window open from 25 March to 24 May

Multiple ICANN logo on one screen
  • Tuesday 27 February 2024

ICANN is making its first call for proposals under the ICANN Grant Program, with the application window opening on 25 March 2024. The programme is ICANN's new vehicle for funding promising and innovative projects that can promote an open, globally interoperable internet. An internet that enables optimised, secure communication between organisations and systems all around the world. Realisation of that goal is vitally important, because the internet is an increasingly significant feature of economic, social and political systems worldwide. Like their counterparts elsewhere, organisations in the Netherlands can apply for ICANN Grant Program funding to support internet projects with aims such as facilitating open internet access or making identification systems more stable.

ICANN Grant Program

Both the size of the internet and its usage continue to grow. At the same time, cyberthreats and technological challenges are increasing, placing ever greater strain on the reliability, stability and security of the internet and the Domain Name System (DNS). Around the world, there is consequently a growing need for resilient, sustainable networks and systems. Against that background, the ICANN Grant Program has been set up as a vehicle for investment in projects that contribute to a reliable, stable, secure and interoperable internet. The programme is intended to make a positive contribution to the internet ecosystem and to the experience of users everywhere. It therefore plays a role similar to that fulfilled by the SIDN Fund.

Valerie Frissen, director SIDN fund
Valerie Frissen, CEO SIDN Fund

The Fund's CEO Valerie Frissen says, "It's great to see the ICANN Grant Program up and running after a long period of planning and preparation. Like the SIDN Fund, the programme seeks to strengthen the internet as an infrastructure with a vital societal function, and to invest in the digital skills of end users. Those goals are shared by many other bodies as well. Numerous national and regional registries have developed programmes that support the interests and development of a wide stakeholder base or society as a whole. The ICANN Grant Program can benefit from the experience gained by such programmes and organisations, because they are firmly embedded in the local networks that will form the sources of future project proposals."

The ICANN Grant Program is itself financed by the net proceeds of ICANN's generic top-level domain auctions in 2012, a sum of 217 million dollars. The programme will involve multiple project funding cycles, with a portion of the total auction proceeds allocated to each cycle. The amount available for the first cycle is 10 million dollars.

Application criteria

The application window for the first ICANN Grant Program funding cycle opens in March. Organisations all around the world will then have until 24 May 2024 to submit project proposals. To qualify for a grant, a project must promote the development, dissemination and evolution of a unique identification system, supporting structure of the internet or the internet infrastructure. It's also important that a project promotes innovation, open standards or open internet access, encourages skills development within a population group, or addresses diversity, participation or inclusivity issues in a developing region.

About ICANN

ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) is a public, non-profit organisation whose role includes assigning top-level domains to registries such as SIDN and IP addresses to Regional Internet Registries such as RIPE NCC. ICANN is committed to a stable, secure and open global internet, and pursues initiatives that contribute to that mission. It does so in partnership with member organisations from around the world, including SIDN.

To succeed, an application must additionally align with one of the 2 funding themes. The first theme is the internet's unique identification systems. Under this theme, ICANN is looking to fund projects aimed at, for example, supporting the long-term reliability and sustainability of the DNS or making unique identification systems more secure and stable. The second theme is internet unity. This theme will cover projects in fields such as open internet access and enhanced interoperability. Applicants will also be able to make joint proposals if their goals or approaches are mutually complementary. An Applicant Guide has been produced, describing the themes in more detail and setting out the criteria that proposals must meet.

Application process

Anyone interested in applying for a grant is strongly advised to study the Applicant Guide closely. Applications can be submitted from 25 March, using ICANN's online grant management system. To access the system and get the latest news about the ICANN Grant Program, visit icann.org/grant-program. Project proposals will be assessed by an independent panel once the application window has closed. The panel will be made up of experts in the fields covered by the grant programme themes. At the end of the assessment process, ICANN will contact the successful applicants and disburse the funds. While the funded projects are in progress, the organisers will be expected to submit regular reports detailing how their grants have been used and how their projects are progressing. Afterwards, each organiser will need to provide ICANN with a final report setting out the results achieved.

Want to know more about the ICANN Grant Program? Mail grantprogram@icann.org or get the latest news from ICANN at icann.org/grant-program.