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  • The details registered about me/my company are incorrect or out of date.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

Dutch people don't pay enough attention to smartphone security

In the Netherlands, only a third of people use their fingerprints or PINs to secure their smartphones, and 37 per cent have 'find my phone' or 'remote location' features enabled. Fortunately, nearly half have anti-virus apps installed.

The figures come from a survey of three thousand people in the Netherlands carried out by SIDN as part of the Hackman campaign. SIDN started Hackman to raise the Dutch public's awareness of on-line identity security issues. The campaign featured a series of videos, in which ethical hacker Rickey Gevers found his way into the virtual world of actress and presenter Lieke van Lexmond.

Automatic updates

As well as watching the videos, visitors to hackman.nl were able to find out how secure their own smartphones were by completing a questionnaire. From the findings, it seems that Dutch people are pretty good about installing software updates: 'only' 12 per cent swipe away update reminders and forget about them. Nearly a third of respondents said that they had automatic updates enabled, and a similar number updated promptly after getting notifications.

Two-factor authentication

One in three respondents said that they use two-factor authentication (2FA) for logging in to their social media accounts. With 2FA, the user has to identify themselves using two out of the three possible ways: with something that they know (e.g. a PIN), with something that they have (e.g. a smartphone), or with some unique physical feature (e.g. a fingerprint). Apps are also available that will handle your social media log-ins on the basis of 2FA. Password managers were used by 14 per cent of the people who completed the questionnaire, while 33 per cent let their phones save their details for automatic log-in. One in five opt to retype their password every time.

"Some Dutch people are aware of the risks of lax smartphone security. However, our findings confirm the bottom line of the National Cybersecurity Awareness Survey 2018, published yesterday by NCTV and the Alert Online initiative. In short: there's enormous room for improvement," says SIDN's CEO Roelof Meijer. "For example, only a third of people are using two-factor authentication for mobile social media log-ins. On the plus side, 60 per cent of the Dutch public say they install software updates straight away, while 30 per cent swipe away update notifications, but install the updates later."