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  • The details registered about me/my company are incorrect or out of date.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

SIDN Labs and TU Delft deliver final report for ICANN study

When many of you were enjoying your summer holidays, we at SIDN Labs and our partner Delft University of Technology enjoyed finishing the final report of the project “Statistical Analysis of DNS Abuse in gTLDs” (SADAG). SADAG is the first empirical study to assess the impact of the New gTLD Program on abuse in both legacy and new gTLDs.

TU Delft and SIDN Labs kickoff new study for ICANN

Interesting results from the report

An interesting finding of our study is a clear upward trend in the absolute number of phishing and malware domains in new gTLDs while these numbers remain relatively constant in legacy gTLDs. Also, we discovered that new gTLDs have affected the number of domains used for spam in legacy gTLDs: abused domains in new gTLDs do not increase the number of total malicious registrations. Instead we observe a shift from legacy gTLDs to new gTLDs. Our findings suggest that some new gTLDs have increasingly become a target for malicious actors. For example, Spamhouse blacklisted at least 10% of all registered domains in as many as 15 new gTLDs at the last quarter of 2016. See the report for more details.

Assessment of effects of the new gTLD program

We conducted the SADAG study for the Competition, Consumer Choice, and Consumer Trust Review Team. The CCT Review Team was established to review how the New gTLD Program impacts competition, consumer choice and consumer trust. ICANN awarded the research contract to SIDN Labs and TU Delft last year and the project officially started in late 2016. ICANN introduced the New Generic Top-Level Domain Program, which has enabled over 1.200 new gTLDs to enter the domain name system since the first delegations occurred in late 2013. The Review Team will use our results to propose recommendations for prevention and mitigation of domain name abuse.

SADAG used security metrics developed during REMEDI3S-TLD project

We built on the expertise we developed over the previous years during the REMEDI3S-TLD project, which was a joint effort of SIDN Labs and TU Delft as well. During this project we developed the security metrics that we also applied in SADAG.

Results and methodology SADAG study incorporated in new study of SIDN Labs

We are incorporating the methodology and results of the SADAG study and REMEDI3S-TLD project into a new SIDN Labs project called DNS-EMAP (DNS Ecosystem MAPper). The goal of this project is to map the DNS ecosystem within a TLD into a longitudinal and searchable data structure, for instance to identify players with high concentrations of abuse and analyze the relationships of these players with other players. We will for instance use the SADAG methodology and metrics to model the players within a TLD (such as DNS resolvers, Domain names, Registrars, and Web servers) and assign security attributes to them.

ICANN published report SADAG for public comment

ICANN published our report and an announcement for public comment, which is a 40-day period during which the ICANN community has the opportunity to comment on the data, methodology, and results of the report.

Download the report.

Article by:

Maarten Wullink

Research engineer