In this article, we will explain to you what conditions need to be met in order to register a .DE domain. Each country has its own requirements, and Germany is a bit stricter when it comes to registering and renewing .DE domains.
.DE is the country code TLD (ccTLD) for Germany and is regulated by DENIC.
Registration requirements
Name length requirements for .DE domains are one to 63 characters before the TLD. (before .DE)
Residence conditions
.DE domains can be registered from any country of the owner. Local presence is no longer required as of May 2018. DENIC (.DE Registry) can request an authorized representative located in Germany to receive official or court documents in case of any legal issues. Such details shall be submitted within two weeks of a corresponding request by DENIC.
Nameserver Terms
Activation requires at least two functional nameservers. Nameservers must be active on two different subnets and must be authoritative for the domain name at registration. NAST registry tool verifies nameserver functionality. There you can check whether your nameservers are valid for registration, as well as what their errors are (if any). When the domain name is registered and the nameservers are not active, the registrant has 30 days to activate and park the domain name on them. If the 30-day period ends with no active name servers, DENIC deletes the domain name without refund.
.DE domain renewal
All .DE domains are set to auto-renew. You should pay your renewal invoice few days before expiry. It is desirable to renew domain no later than 11 days before the expiration date. There is no grace period for .DE domains because they enter the redemption period immediately upon expiration. Redemption period is 30 days after expiration. During this period, the domain can be re-registered only in the name of the last owner of the domain or in the name of a third party designated by the owner of the domain.
.DE domain transfer
EPP code is required for all .DE transfers. The confirmation code expires after 30 days. Unlike standard gTLD domains, which have a 60-day post-registration transfer hold limit for registrar-to-registrar transfers, a .DE transfer is not limited to any hold period. This means that the transfer can be made at any time after the domain registration.
