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  • The details registered about me/my company are incorrect or out of date.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

Root KSK rollover postponed

  • Thursday 18 April 2019

Yesterday, ICANN announced that the definitive root KSK rollover scheduled for 11 October was being postponed indefinitely. The decision was motivated by fears that many internet users would encounter problems if the rollover went ahead on the planned day. Once the rollover is complete, all internet domains will become unreachable for anyone relying on a resolver that doesn't have the new KSK-2017 trust anchor installed.

Back out scenario

Just four weeks until the root KSK rollover: time to check your DNSSEC trust anchors!

Although this development is disappointing, the rollover process has always allowed for the back out scenario now being implemented. It's estimated that about 750 million people around the world (a quarter of all internet users) use a DNSSEC-validating resolver. So the impact of going ahead with a rollover that access providers and network operators weren't ready for was potentially enormous.

ICANN was persuaded to postpone the rollover by statistics compiled on the basis of the relatively new RFC 8145 protocol. The key tag signalling process defined in the protocol enables a validating resolver to tell a server which keys it is using as a trust anchor to build the chain of trust. So the operator of a signed domain is provided with client-side information about the progress of a key rollover.

According to the data reaching the root server operators, more than 5 per cent of reporting resolvers only have the KSK-2010 trust anchor installed. However, RFC 8145 is currently supported only by recent versions of BIND (9.10.5b1 and 9.11.0b3 and above) and Unbound (1.6.4 and above). On the other hand, RFC 8145 data is also being sent by some non-validating resolvers that run BIND.

What next?

ICANN is currently working with the technical internet community to establish why so many validating resolvers don't yet have the new trust anchor installed.

ICANN President Göran Marby says that he hopes the rollover can go ahead in the first quarter of next year, but no new date has been set.

In the meantime, we are advising validating resolver operators who haven't already done so to update their systems as a matter of urgency.