Correct registrant details and verification of your domain

Whenever you register a domain, you provide details: the holder's name, address, an email address and often a phone number. These details must be accurate and complete, and registrars and registries are required to verify them. In this article you'll learn why, what happens if they're wrong and how to keep them up to date.

Why your details matter

Your details are used at the moments when it really counts:

• For .de, DENIC sends the transfer code on request by registered letter to the holder's address. If the address is wrong, the letter won't arrive.
• For .be, DNS Belgium emails the transfer code to the holder. An old email address means: no code.
• For .nl, mail from SIDN to the administrative contact is deemed received by the holder, even if nobody reads that address anymore.
• Renewal reminders go to the contact address. If they don't arrive, your domain may expire without you noticing.

What NIS2 and the Cyberbeveiligingswet require

Article 28 of the European NIS2 Directive requires registries and registrars to:

1. collect and maintain accurate and complete registration data;
2. publish how they verify that data (their verification procedures);
3. publish data that isn't personal data, such as that of companies;
4. respond promptly to lawful, duly justified requests for data, in any case within 72 hours.

In the Netherlands, NIS2 was implemented through the Cyberbeveiligingswet (Cybersecurity Act), which came into force on 15 August 2026. In Germany, the obligation to keep accurate domain data is set out in the BSI-Gesetz; this is why DENIC may ask for proof and contact holders by email or post. Whether your business itself falls under the Cyberbeveiligingswet is a separate question; see NIS2 and the Cyberbeveiligingswet: does my business fall under it?.

For you as a holder, this means: registrars must verify your details. So you may receive an email asking you to confirm your details or your email address. That's a legal duty, not a scam. Do stay alert, though: don't just click a link in an unexpected email, but log in to your registrar yourself. See Emails from ICANN or the registry about your domain: real or fake, and what should you do?.

What happens if they're wrong

If your details are incorrect, or you don't respond to a request to confirm them, the registry can step in. For .eu, EURid can suspend the name ("suspended") if the holder doesn't confirm their details after a verification request. The name then stops working, you can't transfer it, and the Whois shows "Server Hold". If you no longer meet the .eu eligibility requirements (or never did), you may even lose the name. Other extensions also state in the registry's terms that you must provide accurate details.

Accurate isn't the same as usable. Also watch out for a holder that is a dissolved company, an old office address, the email address of an employee who has left, or an email address on the domain itself, which won't work if the domain isn't working.

Choose a good email address for the holder

The holder's email address receives verification requests, transfer codes, confirmations of a holder change and reminders. So choose an address that:

• you actually read, even when you're on holiday or someone is ill;
• doesn't depend on one person, ideally a general address of the organisation;
• isn't on the domain itself, or at least has a second address on another domain.

How to manage this at WebOké

In My WebOké, the domain page shows the Domain contacts card with the holder. The Contacts tab lists the Holder (registrant) and the Administrator (admin contact). On the Domain / Email health card, under Holder confirmation, you can see whether the holder's email address has been confirmed, and you can have the confirmation email sent again. If required registration details are missing, you'll get a reminder every 14 days until they've been filled in. For .nu, the registry requires an identification number; you enter it via a personal link.

Your account details (who logs in and receives the invoices) are separate from the domain contacts. If you change one, check the other as well. See Managing domain contacts in one overview and Changing domain contacts and the owner.

Check your details once a year, and straight away when your business moves or when the employee whose address is listed as a contact leaves.

Want to learn more? Take the free course Choosing and managing a domain name, lesson 3.3 Accurate details, verification and NIS2.