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  • The details registered about me/my company are incorrect or out of date.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

Registrant data was temporarily visible on sidn.nl

Error caused by maintenance activities

  • Monday 9 September 2024

On the morning of Monday 9 September, during maintenance to the SIDN website, visitors who used the Whois to look up domain names were temporarily able to see registration data that shouldn't have been visible. A total of 1,918 domain names were looked up while the problem was active. The Whois is a search tool that's intended to enable people to look up domain names, but details of private registrants are normally withheld. Registrant details are supposed to be visible only if the registrant is a business.

Cause

The maintenance work that was carried out involved replacing our web servers. Unfortunately, an error was made when connecting the new servers, which resulted in them having greater access than they should have had. Whois users could therefore see more registration data than they should have, including registrant details. The information mistakenly made available was the name, address, e-mail address and phone number of the registrant, the administrative contact and the technical contact. That information should be visible only to the domain name's registrar and to SIDN.

The problem was confined to the Whois service on sidn.nl. Our other information systems (command line-based Whois/Is service and RDAP service) continued to function correctly.

Thorough investigation

Since the incident was detected, we have taken great care to follow the correct response procedure and to report the matter correctly to the Data Protection Authority. We are conducting a thorough investigation to establish exactly what happened and the exact impact. Appropriate steps will then be taken to prevent recurrence.

Update, 11 September 2024

All the registered contacts for the 1,918 domain names affected by the data breach have now been identified. We have today e-mailed the people in question, telling them about the data breach and explaining the remedial action we have taken. The incident has also been reported to the Data Protection Authority.

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.