Chose your color

Frequently visited

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  • The details registered about me/my company are incorrect or out of date.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

.nl in the spotlight: onlinekookcollege.nl

Online cookery classes are a hit for Janco following enforced switch to the web

  • Wednesday 9 September 2020

One reason why .nl has grown so big is the confidence that Dutch businesspeople have in their local country-code domain. Thanks to them, we recently passed the milestone of six million registered domain names. And, behind every business registration, there's a story. A story of vision and ambition. A story of exploration in the world of e-commerce. We're celebrating reaching six million by telling some of those stories. This week it's the story of Janco Robben and onlinekookcollege.nl. When lockdown put a stop to his cookery classes, Janco moved them online. And the switch has been a big success!

How did you come up with onlinekookcollege.nl?

Janco Robben registered onlinekookcollege.nl.

"I used to work for the cookery website smulweb.nl, based in Amersfoort. Below their offices there was a cookery studio called kookcollege.nl, which I got the chance to take over a few years ago. It was going well until the pandemic hit. Like so many others, the business was forced to close its doors because face-to-face classes weren't allowed. I didn't want to just sit on my hands and wait, so I started looking for ways around the problem. First I tried meal deliveries, but I didn't enjoy it. I felt like a sort of takeaway food service."

"I discussed the situation with some friends who have an audiovisual production business (Next Edit). Together, we came up with the idea of onlinekookcollege.nl: cookery workshops you can do at home, with a customised cooking pack and professional instruction videos. The domain name was still available, and my friends thought it would be a fun challenge. They did it as a favour to me, really, because their main business is making TV programmes for broadcasters. They also built the site for me and organised the online promotion. That was mainly organic and based on Instagram. I soon had three hundred followers."

How does it work?

It's very straightforward, really. A business or a private customer orders a cooking pack, which is delivered to their home. The pack includes cards with QR codes that link to instruction videos in which I explain how to prepare the dish in question. Each pack is for two people and you can have it delivered or pick it up from me."

Janco Robben is cooking in his kitchen and in fornt of a camera

And how are things going?

"It's gathering momentum all the time. I started with mainly private customers who had come across me on Instagram and who typically ordered one or two packs. The first business customers followed after a couple of months. So some orders are now for twenty-five to fifty packs. With orders like that, the numbers stack up quite quickly. And I'm very glad of the new income stream, because, although face-to-face cookery classes are allowed again now, many businesses remain cautious about organising external events. So the face-to-face classes and the online classes are a good combination now."

"I definitely intend to keep the online classes going when the crisis is over. In the short term, the plan is to do more online promotion and make some new videos for seasonal autumn dishes."

Finally, do you have a message for anyone else thinking of taking their business online?

If you're going to succeed online, you need something a bit different. It might seem as if everything has already been thought of, but distinctive concepts are still possible. And, if your concept is distinctive, people will find their own way to you.

Want to read more business stories?

Take a look at other entrepreneurs and startups and their .nl.