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  • The details registered about me/my company are incorrect or out of date.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

Privacy and proxy services prohibited from .nl after 1 October

We're changing our General Terms and Conditions from the same date

White cross on a red background
  • Wednesday 19 July 2023

From 1 October 2023, we won't be allowing third parties to act as the nominal registrants of .nl domain names. In practice, the third parties that act as nominal registrants are typically privacy and proxy service providers, and .nl registrars and resellers. From the same date, we're updating our General Terms and Conditions – both those for registrants and those for registrars – to reflect the rule change.

History

Privacy and proxy services came into being because some registrants, usually private individuals, didn't want their details (name, address, phone number, e-mail address) readily available to the public via the Whois service operated by the registry (e.g. SIDN for the .nl domain).

No longer necessary

The registration data for .nl domain names registered to private individuals hasn't been publicly available since 2010. In the .nl domain, therefore, there's been no real need for privacy and proxy registrations for more than a decade. What's more, since 2003, we've operated an opt-out scheme: a mechanism through which people and organisations can have their details protected in special circumstances.

Registrants need to be contactable

It's important that the registrant data in our domain name register is correct. That's important for us, for the domain name's effective controller, and for other people and organisations, including internet users and law enforcement agencies. The effective controller needs to be sure that they remain in control of their domain name's registration. After all, it's only the person or organisation recorded as the registrant that's entitled to SIDN's services, and can exercise the related rights. And accurate registration data means we can make direct contact if the need ever arises (although contact normally goes through the registrar).

Preventing abuse

For SIDN and for other people and organisations, having the true registrant's details in the register is important mainly for preventing abuse. In practice, people who are intending to use domain names for dishonest purposes often register them through privacy and proxy service providers. That makes it harder for us to intervene when we detect abuse. In order to tackle abuse, we need to know who a domain name's effective controller is, and to be able to check their identity, for example.

Inactive status is a solution for legitimate secrecy

Sometimes, there are legitimate reasons for a domain name being registered to someone other than the effective controller, at least temporarily. For example, an organisation planning a product launch or publicity campaign might want to register one or more domain names without revealing their plans. Or a person might want to secure a domain name before starting an opt-out procedure, to make sure no one else can register it while the opt-out request is under consideration. Under such circumstances, a domain name can be assigned 'Inactive' status. That involves the domain being registered to a registrar, without any name servers being linked to it, so that no one can actually reach it.

New General Terms and Conditions

In line with the rule change regarding privacy and proxy services for .nl domain names, we're updating our General Terms and Conditions – both those for registrants and those for registrars. The revised terms and conditions take effect on 1 October. Use the links below to read the new terms and conditions, with the upcoming changes highlighted:

Feel free to get in touch if you've got a question

You can reach us on working days between 8.30am and 5pm (Dutch time) by calling +31 26 352 5555 or mailing support@sidn.nl.

Frequently Asked Questions

What'll happen to an existing domain name whose nominal registrant is a privacy and proxy service provider?

Although the revised General Terms and Conditions for .nl Registrants take effect on 1 October 2023, we don't intend to immediately enforce the new rule in relation to existing registrations.

However, from then on, we'll be monitoring new registrations, and we'll be approaching any privacy and proxy service providers and registrars that continue to act as nominal registrants for their clients. Wherever we come across a registration that contravenes the new rule, we'll give the parties concerned opportunity to transfer the registration to the domain name's effective controller (occasionally after first confirming their identity).

If we suspect that a domain name is connected with abuse, we'll ask the registrar to amend the registration within 3 working days. The new registrant will have to confirm their identity within that time as well. That's the procedure that we already follow, as provided for in article 18 of the General Terms and Conditions for .nl Registrants. We'll apply it in relation to both new and existing registrations where a registrar, reseller or privacy and proxy service provider acts as the nominal registrant.

From 1 October we'll be working in consultation with the relevant stakeholders to gradually eliminate privacy and proxy registrations from the .nl domain as far as possible, by also getting existing registrations modified.

Does this rule also apply to "Lease to own"?

Yes. Also with "lease to own," the idea is that the holder registered with SIDN is the one who determines what happens to the domain name on the Internet. So that is the person who uses the domain name for e-mail or a website. In a "lease to own," this is the person who leases the domain name from the owner. And so even in that case, the domain name should be in the name of the user and not in the name of the owner. The owner will have to make sure in some other way that the user fulfills the agreements made.