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  • The details registered about me/my company are incorrect or out of date.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

Read SIDN's 2015 annual report

  • Wednesday 20 April 2016

2015 was the year that the world's first website – designed in 1990 by Tim Berners-Lee, then working for CERN – celebrated its silver jubilee. And YouTube turned ten years old. It was an interesting year, with some welcome developments, and some less agreeable ones as well. A year in which the economy picked up, while atrocities were committed before our eyes and millions of people were displaced by conflict. A year in which more breakthroughs were claimed than realised, while we also witnessed the emergence of phenomena that will influence the way we use the internet for many years to come.

In short, a year in which so much happened that comprehensive description is impossible. Read about the many things happening in and around SIDN in our annual report for 2015, published today at http://jaarverslag.sidn.nl/jaarverslag2015/en/.

Growth of .nl continues to slow

Despite the continuing strong growth in internet use, the lifecycle of the ccTLD has reached the mature phase. "After years of impressive growth figures, the .nl domain grew very little for the second successive year," commented SIDN's CEO Roelof Meijer. "The .nl zone grew by 73,000 domain names, or 1.3 per cent, to 5,603,805 domain names. Whereas growth in 2014 was 2.7 per cent." Many other ccTLDs actually began to contract. Only a few, mainly in Asia, gained ground and secured substantial growth. "Growth slowed mainly because there were more cancellations," Meijer explained. "More than 800,000 .nl domain names were cancelled in 2015, while about 875,000 new .nl domain names were registered. In other words, there is still a lot of interest in .nl domain names and the position of the .nl domain remains strong. Start-ups and companies that concentrate on e-commerce are most likely to have a clear preference for .nl."

Looking ahead to 2016

"We aren't expecting the .nl domain to grow significantly and are focusing instead on positioning, the active use of domain names and the security and stability of the .nl domain," Roelof Meijer said. "We're going to start providing registry services for .politie and developing a new service that enables companies to publish validated information about themselves using their domain names. The new service will give the enterprise community and ordinary consumers peace of mind by letting them see who they are doing business with."SIDN will also remain involved in various promising initiatives in the field of e-identities. Meijer: "Our expertise in the management of trust frameworks has been growing through our involvement with Simplerinvoicing. In 2016, we intend to utilise that expertise to enter the market for 'authority as a service'. We will present ourselves to the market as a reliable policy enforcer for other trust frameworks. A full portfolio of services for the establishment and management of trust frameworks will be offered. Inevitably, we will also find ourselves facing developments that no one was expecting. Because, if there's one thing I'm sure of, it is that the internet will continue to surprise the world. With new applications, innovative ideas and intelligent networks."

Go to SIDN's Annual report 2015