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  • The details registered about me/my company are incorrect or out of date.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

STARTTLS and DANE for outgoing mail mandatory for government organisations

DANE validation added to 'use-or-explain' list

Red colored envelope icon on a screen
  • Monday 14 January 2019

At the end of 2018, the validation of DANE for outgoing mail was  added to the Forum for Standardisation's 'use-or-explain' list. Addition to the list means that government and quasi-government organisations are more or less obliged to implement the standards.Together, TLS, StartTLS and DANE provide for a secure — i.e. cryptographically protected — connection for the transmission of e-mail messages. The three standards build on the existing infrastructure for DNSSEC, which has been on the 'use-or-explain' list for quite some time.

Pinning TLS certificates

Many SMTP servers (MX gateways) already offer the option of enabling TLS, the same form of security as used in HTTPS for the web. Delivering mail systems can then use the StartTLS command to upgrade their TCP connections to TLS. Unfortunately, clients are not obliged to cooperate, and a man-in-the-middle can easily hide a server's StartTLS capability from a client (a 'downgrade attack'). Consequently, StartTLS is not a complete solution.

However, if the mail service's TLS certificate is pinned in a DNSSEC-secured TLSA record (on TCP port 25, by means of a hash), a client can be sure that the server in question supports TLS.

Support for DANE validation

A lot of MTA software can now be configured to go through a DANE validation procedure before delivering mail to an MX gateway. Programs that support DANE validation include:

Use increasing rapidly

STARTTLS and DANE for incoming mail were added to the 'use-or-explain' list back in 2015. However, mandatory DANE validation wasn't introduced at the same time because not enough software supported the technology.

Now the use of DANE for mail is increasing rapidly [1, 2]. According to SIDN Labs' TLSA statistics, cryptographic anchoring of TLS certificates on MX gateways in the .nl zone has roughly doubled in the last six months. The implementation of DANE by One.com, which manages a considerable number of .nl domains, has been an important contributor to that trend. TransIP configured DANE for its domains some time ago.

More recently, the registry for Sweden's .se country-code domain introduced a financial incentive scheme to promote the use of DANE. We may well consider following suit in due course. Our experience with DNSSEC (signing) shows that incentivisation can be very effective in promoting adoption. Details of SIDN's current incentive schemes for registrars are given in section 7 of our earlier IPv6 inventory.