.DE is the country code TLD (ccTLD) for Germany and is regulated by DENIC eG.
- Registration requirements
- Residency requirements
- Nameserver requirements
- Renewals
- Transfers
- Additional resources
Registration requirements
There was a restriction on name length for.DE domains that are one to 63 characters before the TLD and the third-level domain registrations for.DE is not supported.
VAT ID is not required. If you don't have a VAT ID and if you see the mandatory field, you can use NA on the field to proceed further.
Residency requirements
From May 2018, .DE domains can be registered from any owner country. So, the local presence is no longer required.
Nameserver requirements
To activate .DE domains, you need at least two functional name servers, and also the Nameserver must active on two different subnets. It should be certified for the domain name at registration. The registry NAST tool verifies the functionality of the name servers.
SeekaHost’s default name servers can be used during domain registration.
Once you have registered the domain name but the Nameservers are not active, you have 30-days to activate and park the name on them. If you fail to activate the Nameserver within the 30-days period, DENIC deletes the domain name without providing any refund.
If you wish to change the Nameservers that are associated with the domain name, it can be modified during the 30-day period, subject to DENIC verification but the name servers do not meet DENIC criteria, then your request is ignored.
Renewals
All .DE domains are set to auto-renew and there is no grace period for .DE domains as they enter the redemption period immediately after expiry.
If you fail to renew the domain, the redemption period is 30 days after deletion. Within this 30-days period, the last domain holder can re-register the domain or in the name of a third party defined by the domain holder.
Transfers
Auth codes are required for all .DE transfers. The auth code expires after 30 days.
The other TLD domains have a 60-day post-registration transfer-hold restriction for the registrar to registrar transfers but .DE domains have no restriction to transfer away which means you can easily proceed with the transferring process at any time after a domain is registered.
Additional resources
