Chose your color

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  • The details registered about me/my company are incorrect or out of date.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

RESTful Provisioning Protocol: from vision to IETF working group

The future of domain name provisioning is being designed now. Get involved!

Abbreviation API (Application Programming Interface) on blue background.

The original blog post is in Dutch, this is the English translation of it.

A little over a year ago, in a blog entitled 'Future-proofing the EPP protocol: RESTful EPP', we presented the case for a modern alternative to the Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP). Now, following a year of intensive consultation with other technical experts and lobbying by SIDN Labs at various IETF meetings, a major step forward has been made: an official IETF working group for the RESTful Provisioning Protocol (RPP) has been established.

The problem: why a RESTful alternative is needed

EPP has been the standard for domain name provisioning for over 15 years now, and is still widely used within the industry. Although it functions well, EPP has a number of drawbacks:

  • Complexity – EPP is an XML-based protocol that relies on stateful TCP connections. As a result, it is more complex than more modern, lighter stateless alternatives, such as REST APIs based on HTTP and JSON.

  • Less scalability – EPP clients often simultaneously maintain multiple persistent connections to a registry, which is inefficient in environments where scalability is vital.

  • Lack of web-native integration – In a world where API-first and new software engineering technologies such as Kubernetes are becoming the norm, EPP is out of step with modern development practices.

  • Fragmentation – Some registries have implemented their own REST-like solutions. However, without standardisation, such initiatives are causing fragmentation and extra integration work for registrars.

RPP resolves those problems by introducing a uniform RESTful API aligned with the best modern software development practices. That makes domain name provisioning more efficient, easier to integrate with cloud-based infrastructures (whether on premises, or in a private or public cloud), and more future-proof.

Formation of the RPP working group

The charter of the new IETF RPP working group was formally approved by the IESG on 20 February this year, thus officially establishing the new RPP working group. The group's creation owed much to the efforts of various ccTLD registries, registrars and technical experts within the IETF. Getting a new IETF working group established is no small matter: the process began at IETF 118, the meeting in November 2023. A year later, at IETF 121, we organised a 'BoF meeting', at which it was established that there was sufficient support for the formation of a new working group. We then worked with the IETF community to draw up a charter for the new working group. In the months since, the charter has completed the various steps on the way to IETF approval. The group's objective is to develop RPP as a standardised alternative to EPP by:

  • Defining a RESTful provisioning protocol as a modern RESTful API for domain name registration, based on web technologies such as REST and JSON

  • Improving interoperability between registrars and registries, so that integrations are more straightforward and efficient

  • Enabling high-performance, scalable domain name registration systems in the cloud and other modern environments

The new working group will hold its first meeting and get started on the practical realisation of those objectives at the upcoming IETF 122 in Bangkok. The group also plans to start work on the development and implementation of RPP at the IETF-122 hackathon.

One of the working group's 2 co-chairs will be SIDN Labs team member Marco Davids. In that role, Marco will be responsible for organising meetings and managing the document development process. Having considerable technical expertise with EPP and REST, Maarten Wullink will be involved in a more technical capacity, focusing on the RPP protocol's development and formalisation in IETF standard documents.

RPP development plan

The working group has drawn up a development plan with concrete milestones, including:

  • Definition of the core architecture and extension mechanisms for RPP

  • Definition of a standard for domain name provisioning within RPP

  • Development of mapping between RPP and EPP to enable smooth transition

The first draft documents should be ready in the coming months, and will be published through the IETF (mailing list).

Get involved!

The future of domain name provisioning is being designed now. And registrars, registry operators and other stakeholders are invited to get involved in the RPP working group discussions. Your input can help the group develop a protocol that'll be widely accepted and used.

If you're interested, join the RPP mailing list and visit the IETF RPP page for more information.

Article by:

Maarten Wullink

Research engineer

Marco Davids

Marco Davids

Research engineer