.de

Overview

.de is the country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Germany. The label "de" derives from the German name for Germany, Deutschland. The zone is operated by DENIC eG (DENIC), allows direct second-level registrations, supports internationalized domain names (IDNs) including German diacritics and the eszett (ß), and has DNSSEC enabled. As of 2025-03-31 there were 17,639,014 registered .de domains.

History

• Introduced / implemented: 5 November 1986.
• Registry / sponsor: DENIC eG (DENIC) operates and sponsors the .de ccTLD.
• Early operations: the first point of registration was at the Department of Computer Science of the University of Dortmund; uni-dortmund.de was among the earliest registered .de domains.
• Policy milestone (2009): following a lawsuit by Volkswagen, on 23 October 2009 DENIC was required to allow registration of single-character, two-character, and number-only domains (e.g., 1.de, xx.de, 123.de). Prior to that, a minimum length rule (three characters) had been in place for new registrations.
• International context: East Germany had ISO code "dd" but never delegated a .dd ccTLD; .de is based on "Deutschland."

Usage and Audience

• Primary audience: entities connected with Germany — businesses, organizations, institutions and individuals targeting the German market.
• Popularity: .de is one of the largest ccTLDs worldwide and is reported as the second most popular ccTLD by registration count (after .cn); it ranks highly among all TLDs (behind .com and .cn).
• Common uses:
  • National branding and localization for German audiences.
  • Domain hacks and creative uses (examples include alongsi.de and elforo.de style constructions that exploit "de" in Romance-language phrasing).
  • Use by international services targeting German-speaking users.

Registration Rules

• Eligibility and obligations:
  • Registrants must assure that the data provided are correct and that registration/use does not infringe others' rights or break law.
  • If a registrant is not domiciled in Germany, they must name an authorized representative domiciled in Germany within two weeks of a corresponding request by DENIC to receive official or court documents.
• Character set and length:
  • Minimum length: 1 character.
  • Maximum length: 63 characters.
  • Allowed characters: letters of the Latin alphabet, digits 0–9, the hyphen (-), and the set of IDN characters accepted by DENIC (93 IDN characters), which includes German diacritics and ß.
  • Hyphen restrictions: the first character, the last character, the third and the fourth characters must not be hyphens.
• Structure and process:
  • Registrations are made at the second level (example: example.de).
  • Domains may be registered directly via DENIC but are typically registered through DENIC members (registrars) for faster and cheaper service.
• Restrictions: DENIC lists no special nationality or residency restrictions beyond the representative requirement for non-residents; historical minimum-length rules were relaxed after 2009.

SEO and Brand Impact

• Recognition and trust: .de is widely recognized in Germany and is a primary choice for businesses and organizations targeting German audiences. Its large registration base and DENIC management contribute to its strong national brand presence.
• Security and technical features: support for IDNs enables localized names (including German characters); DNSSEC support enhances domain security and trust.
• Branding uses: commonly used for German-market localization, national branding, and creative domain hacks that can aid memorability or marketing when relevant to target audiences.

Notable Cases or Examples

• Early/notable registrations:
  • uni-dortmund.de — among the first .de registrations (University of Dortmund).
  • db.de — Deutsche Bahn (Deutsche Bahn had an existing two-letter domain before the three-character rule).
  • ix.de — iX magazine.
  • hq.de — an early two-letter registration.
  • bb.de — Bilfinger Berger (later deregistered and subsequently registered by another company).
• Policy/legal case:
  • Volkswagen lawsuit: Volkswagen's legal action to obtain vw.de led to the relaxation of DENIC rules and the allowance of 1- and 2-letter domains and numeric-only domains from 23 October 2009.
• Example uses:
  • Numeric and short domains such as 123.de illustrate permitted numeric registrations.
  • Domain-hack examples: alongsi.de and elforo.de (used to form readable phrases in Romance languages).

% IANA WHOIS server
% for more information on IANA, visit http://www.iana.org
% This query returned 1 object

domain:       DE

organisation: DENIC eG
address:      Theodor-Stern-Kai 1
address:      Frankfurt am Main 60596
address:      Germany

contact:      administrative
name:         Vorstand DENIC eG
organisation: DENIC eG
address:      Theodor-Stern-Kai 1
address:      Frankfurt am Main 60596
address:      Germany
phone:        +49 69 27235 0
fax-no:       +49 69 27235 235
e-mail:       ianacontact@denic.de

contact:      technical
name:         Business Services
organisation: DENIC eG
address:      Theodor-Stern-Kai 1
address:      Frankfurt am Main 60596
address:      Germany
phone:        +49 69 27235 272
fax-no:       +49 69 27235 234
e-mail:       dbs@denic.de

nserver:      A.NIC.DE 194.0.0.53 2001:678:2:0:0:0:0:53
nserver:      F.NIC.DE 2a02:568:0:2:0:0:0:53 81.91.164.5
nserver:      L.DE.NET 2001:668:1f:11:0:0:0:105 77.67.63.105
nserver:      N.DE.NET 194.146.107.6 2001:67c:1011:1:0:0:0:53
nserver:      S.DE.NET 195.243.137.26 2003:8:14:0:0:0:0:53
nserver:      Z.NIC.DE 194.246.96.1 2a02:568:fe02:0:0:0:0:de
ds-rdata:     26755 8 2 f341357809a5954311ccb82ade114c6c1d724a75c0395137aa3978035425e78d

whois:        whois.denic.de

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: http://www.denic.de/

created:      1986-11-05
changed:      2023-04-04
source:       IANA