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.DE

Germany

DENIC eG · ccTLD · Updated 2026-09-10

OpenIDNDNSSECIPv6

Specifications

Zone
.de
Registration
Real-time
Registration period
1 month / 1-10 yr
Character length
1-63
IDN
Yes
DNSSEC
Yes
IPv6
Yes
DNS pre-configuration required
Yes
Nameservers
2-13 nameservers
Renewal on transfer
Yes
Transfer time
Real-time
Auth code format
12 - 16 chars
Redemption period
30 d
Handle updates
Yes
WHOIS update
Real-time
WHOIS server
whois.denic.de
Connection
Direct
Data set
ccTLD
Registry lock
Yes
IDN character sets
ISO_8859_1
Auth code
Yes

Eligibility & Restrictions

Open to anyone worldwide. As of 14 April 2026, a German-based domain holder or AdminC is no longer required. Trustee service is no longer necessary for private individuals living abroad or companies without a registered branch in Germany. All domain holders must complete email verification; address data is strictly validated; DENIC may also request identity verification of the domain holder at any time. See NIS2 Compliance for full requirements.
Mandatory email verification (DENIC NIS2): all domain holders must verify their email address. Failed verification leads to domain deactivation after 7 days and automatic deletion after a further 90 days (no RGP). Applies to legacy and new .de domains.
Existing .de domains held by trustees: domain holder should be updated to the actual registrant before the next email verification cycle. A failed verification on the trustee contact can deactivate all domains under that same trustee.

Registration

Minimum 1 year. No maximum. Auto-renews by default. Registration is real-time. Nameservers must pass the DENIC NAST check before the domain can be delegated. 30-day window to configure nameservers; domain deleted if not configured.
NAST check: Nameservers must be correctly configured before registration completes. Test at nast.denic.de.

Transfer Procedure

AuthInfo code required. Registrant requests from current registrar; DENIC stores it as a hash. Transfer completes in real-time if AuthInfo correct. No 60-day transfer lock. Transfers permitted any time after registration. Upon successful transfer, domain renewed for one year; registration period resets.
📘 ICANN Transfer Policy (IRTP) — See ICANN Transfer Policy for the full IRTP framework, auth code rules, 60-day lock periods, and TEAC.

Registrant Change

Change of holder is free. Registration term does not change. No 60-day lock on registrant changes. Written confirmation from current holder necessary. Cannot change name/organisation within existing contact handle; must create new handle and assign via ModifyDomain.
A holder change cannot be performed if the domain carries a DISPUTE entry at DENIC.
📘 ICANN OwnerChange (COR) — See ICANN OwnerChange for COR triggers, FOA/DA modes, 60-day lock, and opt-out.

Renewal & Deletion

.DE domains are registered on a monthly or yearly basis and cannot be renewed explicitly. Set renewal mode to AUTORENEW or RENEWONCE. Deletion requires authorisation from domain owner. Without authorisation, use AUTOEXPIRE to push to DENIC Transit.
Do NOT set AUTOEXPIRE if restore is needed. AUTOEXPIRE pushes the domain to DENIC Transit (not RGP). Use AUTODELETE to preserve restore capability.
📘 ICANN ERRP — See ICANN ERRP for the standard gTLD expiry lifecycle (Auto-Renew Grace → RGP → Pending Delete → Released).

Restore / Redemption Grace Period

AUTODELETE: domain enters standard 30-day RGP after deletion. Restore possible during RGP. AUTOEXPIRE: domain pushed to DENIC Transit (NOT RGP). Domain is NOT deleted; it is transferred to DENIC administration. Registrant must transfer to a new provider or DENIC manages directly. Restore via standard path not possible for AUTOEXPIRE domains. Use AUTODELETE if you need restore capability.
DENIC Transit: If domain expires while set to AUTOEXPIRE, it is pushed to Transit, not RGP. Registrant must transfer to new provider or delete within 4 weeks, or DENIC transfers to DENICdirect and charges the registrant directly.
📘 ICANN ERRP — See ICANN ERRP for RGP details and standard restore fees.

WHOIS / Privacy

Standard WHOIS at whois.denic.de. No WHOIS privacy service in standard DENIC model. Registrant data publicly visible. NSentries (A/MX records) supported as alternative to nameservers. WHOIS updates real-time.
📘 ICANN Registration Data Policy — See Registration Data Policy for RDP 2025, RDAP, redaction defaults, and privacy/proxy rules.

NIS2 Compliance

Effective 14 April 2026, DENIC has implemented NIS2 requirements for all .de domains: (1) mandatory email verification for all domain holders; (2) strict validation of address data on contact creation and update; (3) DENIC may request identity verification of the domain holder at any time (free service via IDnow, covered by InterNetX); (4) trustee requirement eliminated. Failed verification leads to 7-day deactivation followed by automatic deletion after a further 90 days without an RGP phase.
📘 NIS2 Compliance — See NIS2 Compliance for full DENIC implementation, verification workflows, and API references.

Known Error Codes & Notes

  • NS config invalid: 'Name server configuration invalid' or '118 - Inconsistent set of NS RRs'. Run DENIC NAST check at nast.denic.de.
  • Vanity NS error: Vanity nameservers pointing at registrar IPs may trigger 'Inconsistent NS RRs'. Use default registrar nameservers.
  • AUTOEXPIRE trap: AUTOEXPIRE pushes to DENIC Transit (not RGP). Domain cannot be restored. Must transfer back with AuthInfo or delete via DENIC form.
  • DISPUTE block: Domains with active DISPUTE entry cannot undergo holder change and are excluded from RGP on deletion.
  • NIS2 phone: Phone number mandatory for domain holder since Dec 2025. Registration fails if phone field is empty.

Data controllers

  • DENIC eG (org) Theodor-Stern-Kai 1, Frankfurt am Main 60596, Germany
  • DENIC eG — Vorstand DENIC eG (admin) Theodor-Stern-Kai 1, Frankfurt am Main 60596, Germany

Error codes

  • EF00803
  • EF01007
  • EF03008
  • EF00512
  • EF02009
  • EF03005
  • EF01002
  • EF03007
  • EF03018
  • EF03006
  • EF01075
  • EF03023
  • EF03011
  • EF02098
  • EF01055
  • EF03010
  • EF01095
  • EF01074
  • EF0103118
  • EF011316

Required fields

  • ownerc/email

Restrictions

  • If the OwnerC does not have an address in Germany, then he/she must be able to name the address of an authorized recipient with a street address in Germany at the request of the registry.
  • Nameserver must be set up in advance and provide an authoritative response.

Root nameservers

  • F.NIC.DE
  • L.DE.NET
  • N.DE.NET
  • S.DE.NET
  • A.NIC.DE
  • Z.NIC.DE

Tasks (API)

  • restore · available · chargeable · manual
  • update · available · automatic
  • authinfo · available · automatic
  • create · available · chargeable · automatic
  • authinfo2 · available · chargeable · automatic
  • transit · available · automatic
  • preack · available · automatic
  • authinfoDelete · available · automatic
  • transfer · available · chargeable · automatic · AuthInfo required
  • authinfoCreate · available · automatic
  • delete · available · automatic

API

Domain Create

POST https://api.autodns.com/v1/domain?ignoreWhois
{
  "name": "example.de",
  "ownerc": {
    "id": 23142212
  },
  "adminc": {
    "id": 23142212
  },
  "techc": {
    "id": 23142212
  },
  "nameServers": [
    {
      "name": "ns1.example.com"
    },
    {
      "name": "ns2.example.com"
    }
  ],
  "confirmOrder": false,
  "extensions": {
    "de": {
      "holderPerson": "",
      "acceptTrusteeTac": "<0|1|2>",
      "abuseContact": ""
    }
  }
}
⚠ Nameservers must pass DENIC NAST check before delegation. 30-day window to configure.

Domain Transfer

POST https://api.autodns.com/v1/domain/_transfer
{
  "name": "example.de",
  "auth": "(AUTH_CODE)"
}
⚠ auth field: 12-16 chars, restricted charset (no I, l, O, o, 0, 1). Transfer renews for 1 year.

Create AuthInfo1

POST https://api.autodns.com/v1/domain/example.de/_authinfo1
Valid 30 days. Can also request AuthInfo2 (certified mail, not free).

Domain Restore

POST https://api.autodns.com/v1/domain/example.de/_restore
⚠ 30-day RGP. Domains with DISPUTE entry excluded.

TLD Extension Parameters

extensions.de.holderPerson
true|false — true = natural person, false = organisation. Auto-detected from org field if omitted.
extensions.de.acceptTrusteeTac
0|1|2 — 0 = no trustee, 1 = monthly billing, 2 = annual billing. Required if owner has no German address.
extensions.de.abuseContact
URL or mailto:email — Optional abuse contact shown in WHOIS.
extensions.de.generalRequest
URL or mailto:email — Optional general/technical contact shown in WHOIS.
extensions.de.nsEntry[0-4]
DNS record — Up to 5 NSentries (A/MX) as alternative to nameservers. If provided, nameservers are ignored.

Frequently used

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