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  • The details registered about me/my company are incorrect or out of date.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

Very last IPv4 addresses to be assigned later this year

RIPE NCC scrapes together address block remnants

Red stamp on white background with the text sold out
  • Wednesday 11 September 2019

RIPE NCC, the Regional Internet Registry (RIR) for Europe, Russia and West Asia, expects to assign the very last IPv4 addresses towards the end of this year. Only Local Internet Registries (LIRs) that haven't previously been assigned IPv4 address blocks will be considered as recipients, and only for /24 blocks (256 addresses).

Because addresses will no longer be available for immediate assignment, would-be recipients will be placed on a waiting list. Addresses returned to internet registries by LIRs in dribs and drabs will then re-assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.

Reuse

The following chart shows how, over time, RIPE NCC has worked through its pool of available IPv4 addresses.

The dark blue area at the bottom shows what's happened with the 185.0.0.0/8 address block assigned to RIPE NCC by global administrator IANA in 2011. That block was the final /8 block available to our region. Since September 2012, RIPE NCC has been redistributing it on a conditional basis: each LIR was allowed to receive one further /22 block (1024 addresses), but only if the LIR already had an IPv6 address block. By attaching that condition, RIPE NCC hoped to promote the adoption of IPv6. As the graph shows, that supply of address blocks more or less ran out roughly eighteen months ago. The chart's light blue central area shows the IPv4 addresses returned to RIPE NCC and made available for reuse. They include some larger address blocks, enabling this 'recovered pool' to serve as a source of /22 blocks. When those run out, RIPE NCC will assign the remaining addresses in tranches of 1,024, made up of multiple /23 and /24 blocks (512 addresses and 256 addresses, respectively). Such fragmented assignments imply additional demands on routing capacity. Once those blocks have gone as well – probably this autumn – the only way of getting addresses will be to go on the waiting list to receive a returned allocation of 256 addresses.

Strictly rationed

As the above account makes clear, IPv4 addresses have been strictly rationed since September 2012. Hence our repeated assertion that the supply of IPv4 addresses effectively ran out long ago. That's also reflected in the fact that a lively trade in "second-hand" IPv4 address blocks has developed. The going rate is currently about 25 dollars per address, but the price is expected to rise sharply in the years ahead.

Most of the demand for second-hand names naturally comes from ISPs, particularly large cloud service providers such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Alibaba. Such firms need IPv4 addresses to make their customers' portals, services and interfaces accessible to the outside world. One effect of the address shortage has been to effectively bar new players entry to the market for internet services. For more information about the economic damage caused by the slow adoption of IPv6, see our earlier IPv6 Inventory and this article. The problems for internet users are described here [1, 2, 3].