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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  • The details registered about me/my company are incorrect or out of date.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 performs well on a stable market in 2021

Net growth was 119,000, with no cancellation peaks

Illustration of papers and a tablet with charts

At the end of 2021, there were 6,231,000 .nl domain names. That's a net year-on-year increase of 119,000: less than the 206,000-plus growth seen in the record-breaking year of 2020, but better than forecast. At the start of the year, we feared that many of the business registrants who flocked online during spring 2020's first lockdown wouldn't renew a year later. In fact, it seems that the ongoing pandemic persuaded many that online or hybrid trading was here to stay.

Fewer cancellations than expected

New registration numbers were relatively high, particularly in the spring and autumn. Over the full twelve months, 900,000 new .nl domain names were registered. That's down on the 1,040,000 registered in 2020, but up on the pre-pandemic level. More strikingly, we saw no cancellation peaks. A total of 781,000 domain names were cancelled: far fewer than expected in line with the previous year's registration boom. In absolute terms, cancellations were actually down on the 788,000 recorded in 2020, when the absolute number of domain names was smaller.

Digitisation is the main driver

Registrations were driven mainly by the ongoing digitisation of business. In 2020, almost all start-ups in the Netherlands were trading at least partially online. That led to a further increase in the percentage of businesses with websites. At the end of 2020, 84 per cent of all Dutch businesses had websites, but the corresponding figure this year is likely to be 90 per cent. A quarter of all businesses generated more than 1 per cent of their income from e-commerce in 2021*.

Established businesses also fuelling growth

However, the growth of .nl wasn't attributable entirely to start-ups. Many established businesses also opened new online channels. Common phenomena included wholesalers creating new brands for direct selling, and service providers realising the efficiency benefits of moving activities online.

Cybercrime threat

One dark cloud hanging over the dynamic world of e-commerce in 2021 was cybercrime. An increasing number of businesses came under cyber-attack, with ransomware the most high-profile problem. Globally, the Anti-Phishing Working Group reported that the size of the problem was breaking record after record. Yet two thirds of SMEs surveyed by ABN AMRO in summer 2021 said they didn't regard themselves as attractive targets for cybercriminals. By contrast, larger organisations were taking more and more steps to protect themselves. By the end of the year, for example, more than three hundred of the Netherlands' biggest brands and trade names were protected by SIDN BrandGuard.

Fake webshops in decline

On the positive side, encouraging progress was made in the fight against fake webshops, thanks partly to research by SIDN Labs. Back in 2019, we and our partners took down nearly 4,500 fake webshops. That year, there was also a clear 'festive season peak', with the majority of fake webshops appearing in the closing months. By comparison, we saw far fewer fake webshops in 2021, and there was no festive season peak. In November and December, we detected 'only' 101 suspect sites, of which thirty-six were indeed fake webshops.

Confidence

Despite the continuing pandemic, we are confident about 2022. With such a large and diverse community of businesses now active online, we have an increasingly robust foundation for economic and social progress.

* https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/publicatie/2021/41/ict-kennis-en-economie-2021

Article by:

Michiel Henneke

Michiel Henneke

Marketing Manager