.nl Domain
The Netherlands' Official Country Domain
Register your .nl domain from just £11.99/yr. Free DNS management, email forwarding, and 10GB mailbox included with every domain.
This domain has registration restrictions
Anyone in the world may register a .nl, but SIDN imposes a Dutch domicile address, bans privacy and proxy registrants, and can demand proof of your data at three working days' notice. Read the full eligibility rules.
What is a .nl domain?
The .nl domain is the country code for the Netherlands, managed by SIDN (Stichting Internet Domeinregistratie Nederland). With over 6 million active .nl registrations, it's one of the most popular ccTLDs in the world per capita. The Dutch are among Europe's most active online shoppers, and .nl is the domain they trust for domestic purchases. Registration is open to anyone worldwide with no residency requirement.
Who should register .nl?
Dutch businesses, UK companies with Dutch operations, e-commerce brands targeting the Netherlands, and European logistics companies.
Why choose .nl?
- Netherlands' official country code
- Over 6 million active registrations
- Open to worldwide registration
- Dutch consumers are Europe's most active online shoppers
Who runs .nl, and since when
Registry data from the .nl delegation record held by IANA, which maintains the internet's root zone. Eligibility comes from the registry's own policy, and the prices are ours.
- Extension type
- Country-code (ccTLD)
- Registry operator
- SIDN (Stichting Internet Domeinregistratie Nederland)
- The organisation that runs the extension
- In the root zone since
- 1986
- Delegated 25 April 1986
- Who can register
- Open to anyone worldwide; SIDN supplies a Dutch domicile address if you have none
- Checked against the registry's own policy
- Our price
- £11.99 a year
- Ex VAT. Renews at the same price
What SIDN asks of a .nl registrant based abroad
Register a .nl domain from Britain and you quietly acquire a Dutch address. SIDN, the registry, says that "all .nl registrants whose addresses are outside the Netherlands automatically use our address as a domicile address", which is the address at which a bailiff can formally serve documents such as a summons. You do not apply for it, you cannot decline it, and SIDN is blunt that it does not forward ordinary post and is not responsible for anything reaching you.
That is the entirety of the local presence question. No residency test, no Dutch company, nothing to evidence at the point of order. A British sole trader can register one this afternoon, which is a large part of why .nl is so widely held outside the Netherlands.
Where SIDN is stricter than most registries
Since 1 October 2023 a third party may not act as the nominal registrant of a .nl domain. That closes off the privacy and proxy services sold as an add-on almost everywhere else, and it also stops a registrar or reseller parking its own details in the registrant field. SIDN published its reasoning: it wants to know who actually controls a name so it can act when one is abused, and it noted that people intending to misuse a domain often hide behind a proxy provider.
The privacy position is better than that makes it sound. Registration data for .nl names held by private individuals has not appeared in the public Whois since 2010, and SIDN has run an opt-out scheme for special circumstances since 2003. The bargain is that the registry knows who you are and the public does not, which is a different trade from .in and .us, where the details are published outright. Where a name has to be held quietly for a while and there is a real reason for it, SIDN offers an Inactive status instead: the domain is registered to the registrar with no name servers attached, so it exists but resolves to nothing.
One thing to know before you put a mailbox on a .nl. If SIDN sees anything suggesting a name is being used for fraud, it can ask for evidence that the registration data is correct, and if that evidence does not arrive within three working days it can delink or change the domain's name servers. Keep the registrant record accurate and keep the contact address monitored. Our steer: a .nl earns its keep when you are selling to Dutch customers and want to read as a Dutch supplier. If the Netherlands is a maybe, register it defensively, redirect it, and leave your main site where it is.
We therefore work around the clock to keep the domain functional, secure and stable. As a result, .nl is one of the biggest and most secure internet domains in the world.
What that means if you are buying one
The context matters more than the claim. Meijer was speaking as SIDN renewed its covenant with the Dutch economics ministry, an agreement first signed in 2008 and now extended by a further seven years, under which the state stands behind the domain in an emergency. Very few extensions have anything like it. Read it as a reason to trust .nl for the long haul rather than a reason to buy one today.
Who is allowed to register .nl?
Anyone in the world may register a .nl, but SIDN imposes a Dutch domicile address, bans privacy and proxy registrants, and can demand proof of your data at three working days' notice.
- Who qualifies
- Everyone. There is no nationality test, no residency requirement and no need for a Dutch company or a Dutch trading presence. This is one of the more open country extensions and has been for years.
- The Dutch domicile address
- Every registrant with an address outside the Netherlands automatically uses SIDN's own address in Arnhem as a domicile address, so that official documents can be formally served on them in the Netherlands. It is applied without you asking, and SIDN states that it does not forward other post and accepts no responsibility for anything reaching you.
- No privacy or proxy registrants
- From 1 October 2023 a third party may not be recorded as the registrant of a .nl domain. Privacy services, proxy providers, registrars and resellers all fall under that. The registrant on the record has to be whoever actually controls the name, and only that party is entitled to SIDN's services.
- Proving your registration data
- Where SIDN sees signs that a .nl name is being used for fraud, it can ask the registrant for evidence that the registration data is correct. If that evidence does not arrive within three working days, it can delink or modify the domain's name servers, which takes the website and the email with it.
Rules taken from SIDN on the .nl domicile address. Registry policy can change, so check before you buy if the answer matters to you.
Not sure whether you qualify? Ask us before you order and we will check the registry rules with you. We would rather answer the question than take an order the registry will refuse.
Is .nl the right choice for you?
We would rather sell you the right extension once than the wrong one twice.
.nl works well if
- You sell to Dutch consumers and want to look like a Dutch supplier at the point where they scan a search result and decide whether to click.
- You are opening a Benelux operation and want the country address before somebody else takes the name, which happens faster in a market this densely registered.
- You want a country extension with no eligibility paperwork at all, because the one local requirement is handled by the registry on your behalf.
- You value a registry that is open about how it works. SIDN publishes its rule changes, the reasoning behind them and its dealings with the Dutch government.
Look elsewhere if
- You want your registrant details behind a privacy service. Third parties cannot be the registrant of a .nl at all, so the usual add-on is unavailable at any price.
- Your customers are British. A .nl points Google at the Netherlands, which does nothing for you in UK results and costs more than a .co.uk.
- You cannot respond quickly to a registry query. SIDN gives three working days to evidence your data before it can pull the name servers, and a holiday inbox is no defence.
- You expect to say the address aloud to British customers. "Dot en el" gets heard as "dot in el" often enough to be a nuisance on a phone line.
Only selling to UK customers? The .co.uk is cheaper, transfers near instantly and carries the geographic signal you actually want. See .co.uk pricing.
.nl vs .co.uk: which should you register?
For a UK business this is rarely an either-or. The real question is whether the Netherlands justifies a second annual bill on top of the .co.uk you already hold.
A Dutch buyer treats the extension as information. A .nl says the supplier is set up for the Dutch market, and translated copy on a .co.uk does not say that as quickly. Against it, a .nl is a commitment: SIDN can demand evidence of your registration data at three working days' notice, and privacy services are off the table, so somebody has to own that record.
Two differences are worth pricing in. A .co.uk moves between registrars almost instantly, because it is an IPS tag change rather than a full transfer, and we do not charge for it. A .nl transfer runs to hours or days. And a .co.uk gives a UK individual free privacy under Nominet's consent rules, where .nl reaches much the same outcome by SIDN simply not publishing a private registrant's details.
| .nl | .co.uk | |
|---|---|---|
| Who may register | Anyone worldwide | Anyone worldwide |
| Geographic signal | Netherlands | United Kingdom |
| Local address | SIDN supplies a Dutch domicile address | None required |
| Privacy services | Prohibited; private registrants withheld anyway | Free for UK individuals under Nominet rules |
| Transfer to 365i | Hours to days | Near instant, an IPS tag change |
| Annual cost | A little above a .co.uk | The cheapest option here |
.nl domain questions, answered
What people ask us before registering a .nl domain.
Can't find what you're looking for?
Ask us directlyYes, and there is nothing to apply for. SIDN sets no nationality or residency requirement, so a UK company or individual can register one directly. The only local element is handled for you: every registrant with an address outside the Netherlands automatically uses SIDN's own address in Arnhem as a domicile address, which exists so that official documents can be formally served in the Netherlands. SIDN does not forward ordinary post to you, so it changes nothing about your day to day.
Not as a service, but you may not need one. Since 1 October 2023 a third party cannot be the nominal registrant of a .nl, which rules out privacy and proxy providers entirely. Against that, the registration data of private individuals has not been shown in the .nl Whois since 2010, and SIDN has operated an opt-out scheme for special circumstances since 2003. Business registrants are treated differently and their name is shown, so a limited company should expect to be identifiable.
It goes into quarantine for forty days, and during that window nobody but you can re-register it. Your registrar can bring it back out, and so can a new one if you are changing provider at the same time. Exactly forty days after quarantine begins the name is released and anyone can take it, after a short random delay of up to an hour. That is more forgiving than several extensions manage, but it is still a deadline rather than a safety net.
For Dutch customers, usually yes, because the extension carries information that a .com does not. Google treats .nl as a country extension, so it reads the site as aimed at the Netherlands, and Dutch shoppers see a domestic supplier rather than an import. The caveat is scope: if you sell across Europe from one site, a national extension works against the other markets, and a neutral primary domain with the .nl running a Dutch section is the better shape.
SIDN, a Dutch not-for-profit that has run the extension for decades and works with well over a thousand registrars. It holds a covenant with the Dutch economics ministry, first signed in 2008 and renewed in November 2022 for a further seven years, under which the two sides work to keep .nl available and rooted in the Netherlands. Very few country extensions have a published agreement of that kind with their government, and it is a reasonable answer to anyone asking about long-term risk.
It is SIDN's answer to the legitimate reasons somebody might want a name held quietly. The domain is registered to the registrar with no name servers linked to it, so it exists and cannot be taken by anyone else, but nothing resolves and no site or email can run on it. SIDN gives the examples of an unannounced product launch and someone securing a name while an opt-out request is being considered. It is a holding position, not a way around the ban on proxy registrants.
Included with Your .nl Domain
DNS Management
Full DNS zone editor to manage A, CNAME, MX, TXT, and all record types.
Email Forwarding
Set up professional email addresses and forward to any inbox.
Auto-Renewal
Never lose your domain with automatic renewal protection.
Free 10GB Mailbox
One 10GB mailbox (POP3/IMAP) included with every domain, on any TLD.
Other Geographic Domains Extensions
Register your .nl domain today
Secure your .nl domain from just £11.99/yr. Free DNS management, email forwarding, and 10GB mailbox included.
