DENIC Domain Guidelines and Data Protection Information (English version)

Please note: The English translation of the DENIC Domain Guidelines is provided for the convenience of non-German-speaking customers. Only the original German-language version is legally binding.

DENIC Domain Guidelines and Data Protection Information

I. General Information

(1) DENIC (full name: DENIC eG) administers and operates the registry for internet domains under the Top Level Domain (TLD) .de. DENIC operates on a non-profit basis for the benefit of all parties interested in the internet and complies with internationally recognised standards for the operation of country code Top Level Domain registries.

(2) Details of DENIC:
DENIC eG
Theodor-Stern-Kai 1
60596 Frankfurt am Main
Germany
E-mail: info@denic.de

Registered in the register of cooperatives at the Local Court (Amtsgericht) Frankfurt am Main under number 770.
VAT ID: DE 189976656
Members of the Executive Board: Thomas Keller, Martin Küchenthal, Sebastian Röthler, Barbara Stolz.

II. Domain Applications

Applications for domains may be submitted either through a DENIC member or directly to DENIC (DENICdirect). Applications are processed only if the requested domain complies with the provisions set out in section V and if the information required under section VI is provided completely and correctly. The domain application constitutes a binding offer by the (future) Domain Holder to conclude a Domain Contract.

III. Registration and Redemption Grace Period

(1) DENIC registers a domain on a first-come, first-served basis, provided it is not already registered to another party and is not in the Redemption Grace Period. DENIC may reject an application if there are obvious indications that the Domain Holder’s data is incorrect or incomplete, or if the registration would clearly be unlawful.

(2) A domain enters the Redemption Grace Period when it ceases to be registered for a Domain Holder, unless
a) the registration ends due to termination under § 1 (1) sentence 3 of the DENIC Domain Terms and Conditions, or
b) the domain is subject to a Dispute entry under § 2 (3) of the DENIC Domain Terms and Conditions, or
c) the registration ends due to a domain transfer or re-registration for another Domain Holder, or
d) DENIC terminates the Domain Contract under § 7 (2) lit. a), b), c), d), f) or g) of the DENIC Domain Terms and Conditions, or
e) termination by the Domain Holder is deemed to have occurred under Article 894 of the German Code of Civil Procedure.

(3) During the Redemption Grace Period, DENIC will re-register the domain for the last Domain Holder if they submit a new application. If the application is not submitted through the last administering DENIC member, or not directly to DENIC in the case of direct administration, the application must include the provider transfer password issued during the Redemption Grace Period.

(4) DENIC will register the domain for a third party designated by the last Domain Holder if that third party submits an application and provides the valid provider transfer password.

(5) The Redemption Grace Period lasts until the 31st day after the registration ended, until a randomly determined point in time on that day. If a provider transfer password is issued during this period, the Redemption Grace Period extends to 30 days after the password is first set. The last Domain Holder may waive the Redemption Grace Period by written declaration to DENIC.

IV. Domain Contract

(1) The Domain Contract is concluded between the (future) Domain Holder and DENIC upon successful registration of the domain.

(2) The Domain Contract is terminated immediately if the Domain Holder applied through a DENIC member and fails to establish the required technical conditions for domain connectivity within four weeks.

(3) The Domain Contract is subject to the DENIC Domain Terms and Conditions, as amended from time to time.

V. Domain Name Requirements

(1) In addition to the TLD ".de", a domain name may consist only of digits (0–9), hyphens, the letters A–Z of the Latin alphabet, and the additional characters listed in the Annex. A domain name must not begin or end with a hyphen, nor have hyphens in both the third and fourth positions. Upper and lower case letters are treated identically.

(2) The minimum length of a domain name is one character and the maximum length is 63 characters. For internationalised domain names, the maximum length is determined by the ACE-encoded form as defined in RFC 5890.

VI. Domain Holder Data

The Domain Holder is DENIC’s contractual partner and holds the material rights to the domain. Multiple Joint Domain Holders are permitted.

For natural persons, the given name and surname must be provided. For legal entities, the full company name including legal form must be stated. In all cases, the street address, e-mail address and telephone number must be provided. A post office box address is not sufficient. These requirements apply separately to each Joint Domain Holder.

VII. Data Protection Information

(1) For the establishment, performance and termination of the Domain Contract, DENIC processes the Domain Holder’s data in accordance with Article 6 (1) lit. b) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In addition, DENIC is legally required to process certain data under Section 49 of the German BSI Act, based on Article 6 (1) lit. c) GDPR.

(2) DENIC stores Domain Holder data until the domain registration ends or, if applicable, until the Redemption Grace Period expires, and at least until the end of the sixth full calendar year following registration, in accordance with statutory retention obligations.

(3) If the Domain Holder is not a natural person, DENIC makes the data publicly available via the DENIC domain query service. Otherwise, data is disclosed only to parties demonstrating a legitimate interest or where legally required.

(4) The Domain Holder has rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing and data portability in accordance with Articles 15 to 18 and 20 GDPR and applicable national law.

(5) The Domain Holder may lodge a complaint with the Hessian Data Protection Authority.

(6) DENIC’s Data Protection Officer can be contacted at the address listed above or via e-mail at datenschutzbeauftragter@denic.de.

Annex

The Annex contains a list of permitted non-ASCII characters for .de domain names, including their Unicode code points and English character descriptions.

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