European country codes: nl, de, uk, fr, be, eu
Six European extensions account for most country code resale activity in the region. Each has its own registry, its own transfer mechanism and its own eligibility rules.
In its own market a country code is not a fallback. Dutch, German, British, French and Belgian buyers treat the national extension as the normal address for a national business. That expectation is what allows a strong national name to outsell the matching .com, particularly for services delivered in one language and one territory.
The registry rules that matter
| Extension | Registry | Who may register | Registrar transfer |
|---|---|---|---|
| .nl | SIDN | Open, including registrants outside the Netherlands | Transfer token from the current registrar |
| .de | DENIC | Open, subject to registrant data verification | Provider change with an authorisation code |
| .co.uk | Nominet | Open | Change of IPS tag, not an authorisation code |
| .fr | Afnic | Restricted to the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland | Authorisation code |
| .be | DNS Belgium | Open to anyone | Transfer code issued by the registry |
| .eu | EURid | Union citizens, residents and entities, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway | Authorisation code |
Netherlands
SIDN imposes no residency requirement. Registrants whose address is outside the Netherlands automatically use the registry's own address as a domicile address, meaning legal documents can be served there and are forwarded on. Transfers run on a token, which the current registrar is obliged to supply within five days of a request from the registrant.
Cancelled names go into quarantine for forty days. During that period only the previous registrant can reinstate the name, through any registrar; at the end of it the name is released to anyone. The exact release time is published, so competition for good Dutch names at release is organised rather than accidental.
Buyer behaviour is pragmatic and price aware. Dutch companies expect the national extension, negotiate directly, and respond well to a clear fixed price.
Germany
DENIC applies no local presence requirement, and since data protection reform in 2018 it no longer records an administrative contact at all. Names run from one to sixty-three characters and may include letters with diacritics, so single character and umlaut names both exist.
Registrant data obligations have tightened under the German implementation of the network security directive: contact data must be accurate and verifiable, the registrant email address has to be confirmed, a telephone number is required for new registrations and transfers, and data for legal entities is published. Names attached to unverified contact data can be suspended and eventually deleted, so a portfolio bought in bulk needs its contact records checked.
German buyers are documentation minded. Clear ownership, a written agreement and a defined transfer procedure carry weight, and hyphenated compound names are far more acceptable than in English speaking markets.
United Kingdom
Nominet transfers work differently from every other extension here. Each registrar holds an IPS tag, and a transfer happens when the losing registrar changes the tag to that of the gaining registrar. There is no authorisation code, which makes the losing registrar's cooperation a practical requirement.
The expiry process is fixed and public. A name stays operational and renewable for thirty days after expiry, then stops resolving while remaining renewable until ninety days, then becomes non renewable and drops shortly after. Drop lists give the exact release time for each name, so a release is a scheduled event.
The second level namespace opened in stages. Holders of a third level name had a right to register the matching second level name; that right ended in June 2019 and the unclaimed names have been available on a first come basis since July of that year. Many businesses still hold the third level name only, which is a recurring source of end user demand.
France
Afnic restricts eligibility. A registrant must be a natural person resident in, or a legal person with a registered office or main establishment in, an EU member state, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland. Registrants who ceased to qualify when the United Kingdom left the Union keep and may renew names registered while they were eligible, but cannot register new ones. The registry also maintains reserved and restricted terms.
This eligibility rule matters to investors outside Europe: the extension is closed to them, which keeps the buyer and seller pool regional.
Belgium and the European Union
DNS Belgium takes the opposite approach: .be names may be registered by anyone, anywhere, with a minimum of two characters. Transfers use a code issued by the registry, valid for a short window and requestable a limited number of times. Deleted or unrenewed names sit in quarantine for forty days.
EURid runs .eu on eligibility rules set by Union regulation. A citizen of a member state qualifies regardless of where they live, as does a non citizen resident in a member state and any undertaking or organisation established in the Union; citizens, residents and entities of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway were added in 2021, and United Kingdom registrants lost eligibility on departure. In practice .eu sells to organisations operating across several member states rather than to buyers seeking a national identity, and that narrower use case shows in its resale prices.
What happens to a national name when the generic equivalent is taken and in use is covered in the extension effect, and lifecycle timings and transfer mechanisms are compared in the extension table.