The English translation of the DENIC Domain Guidelines is provided for the convenience of our non-German-speaking customers. Regardless of this, only the original German-language version is legally binding.
DENIC Domain Guidelines
I.
(1) DENIC (in full: DENIC eG) administers and operates the registry for Internet domains under the Top Level Domain (TLD) .de. It does this without the intention to make any profit, for the benefit of everyone with an interest in the Internet. In doing so, DENIC complies with the internationally recognized standards for the operation of country code Top Level Domain registries.
(2) Particulars of DENIC: DENIC eG, Kaiserstraße 75-77, 60329 Frankfurt am Main, Germany; e-mail: info@denic.de; entered into the public register of cooperatives at the local court (Amtsgericht) of Frankfurt am Main under the number 770, value added tax identification number DE 189976656; members of the Executive Board: Helga Krüger, Martin Küchenthal, Andreas Musielak, Dr. Jörg Schweiger.
II.
Applications for domains may be submitted either through a DENIC member or directly to DENIC (DENICdirect). Such applications are only processed if the requested domain satisfies the provisions laid down in point V and if the information required in accordance with points VII–X is provided completely and accurately. The domain application represents a binding offer of the (future) domain holder to enter into the contract.
III.
(1) DENIC will register the domain if it has not already been registered for someone else ("first come, first served") and provided that it is not in the Redemption Grace Period. It may, however, reject the application if it is obvious that the registration would be illegal.
(2) A domain will enter the Redemption Grace Period as soon as it ceases to be registered for a particular Domain Holder, unless
a) the registration ceases because the Domain Contract was cancelled in accordance with § 1 (1) sentence 3 of the DENIC Domain Terms and Conditions, or
b) at the time the registration ceases, the domain is subject to a Dispute entry in accordance with § 2 (3) of the DENIC Domain Terms and Conditions, or
c) the registration ceases due to a domain transfer in accordance with § 6 (2) of the DENIC Domain Terms and Conditions or any other reregistration for another Domain Holder or
d) DENIC ends the registration by terminating the Domain Contract by declaration in accordance with § 7 (2) li. a), b), c) or d) of the DENIC Domain Terms and Conditions, or following a declaration of termination by the Domain Holder which is deemed to have been made within the meaning of § 894 of the German Code of Civil Procedure.
(3) During the Redemption Grace Period, DENIC will register the domain for the last Domain Holder if they submit an application for the domain (point II). If this application is not made through the DENIC member who last administered the domain, or - in case the domain was administered directly by DENIC - submitted directly to DENIC (DENICdirect), the domain application must include the provider transfer password which was sent to the last Domain Holder in reply to their request they submitted during the Redemption Grace Period through a DENIC member.
(4) Notwithstanding subsection (3), DENIC will register the domain for a third party designated by the last Domain Holder if the third party submits an application for the domain and at the same time transmits the provider transfer password the last Domain Holder has received pursuant to the second sentence of subsection (3).
(5) The Redemption Grace Period shall last until the 31st day after the registration for the last Domain Holder ceased, until a point in time to be randomly chosen by DENIC on this 31st day. If, during the Redemption Grace Period, a password for a provider transfer has been issued in accordance with the second sentence of subsection (3), the Redemption Grace Period shall extend until the 30th day after such a password has been set for the first time, until a point in time randomly chosen by DENIC on this 30th day. The last Domain Holder may waive the Redemption Grace Period at any time by an explicit written declaration to DENIC; in this case, the Redemption Grace Period will end at a point in time randomly chosen by DENIC, but no later than on the first working day after DENIC has received the declaration of waiver.
IV.
(1) The Domain Contract is effected between the (future) Domain Holder and DENIC upon successful completion of domain registration.
(2) The Domain Contract, however, is terminated immediately when the Domain Holder has applied for registration of a domain through a DENIC member and subsequently fails to create within a period of four weeks the necessary technical conditions for connecting up the domain, which shall include transmission of the corresponding technical data to DENIC (https://www.denic.de/en/service/tools/nast/) (condition leading to termination).
(3) The Domain Contract is subject to the DENIC Domain Terms and Conditions. The respective current version is available at https://www.denic.de/en/domain-terms-and-conditions/.
V.
(1) In addition to the TLD ending ".de", a domain may only be comprised of digits (0–9), hyphens, the letters A-Z of the Latin alphabet and the other letters listed in the Annex. It may neither begin nor end with a hyphen, nor may it have a hyphen as both its third and fourth characters. No distinction is made between upper and lower case.
(2) The minimum length of a domain is one character and its maximum length is 63 characters; if the domain includes characters listed in the Annex, the decisive criterion for determining the maximum length is the so-called ACE-encoded form of the domain as defined in RFC 5890.
VI.
For each domain, DENIC registers not only the Domain Holder (point VII) but also an Administrative Contact (point VIII), a Technical Contact (point IX) and, provided the Domain Holder delegates name servers for the domain, a Zone Administrator (point X), along with the technical data for the domain's connectivity.
VII.
It is the Domain Holder who is DENIC’s contractual partner and who thus holds the material rights to the domain. It is permissible for a domain to have several Joint Domain Holders. If the Domain Holder or one of the Joint Domain Holders is not a natural person, the full name of the incorporated organization (legal person) must be supplied (including the indication of its legal form). Moreover, the full postal address of the Domain Holder and, in case of several Joint Domain Holders, the full postal address of at least one of these must be supplied. A post-office box number does not suffice for this purpose.
VIII.
The Administrative Contact (admin-c) is a natural person appointed by the Domain Holder to act as their authorized representative who has the authority and, vis-à-vis DENIC, also the duty to take binding decisions in all matters concerning the domain. It is impossible to appoint more than one admin-c for each domain. If the Domain Holder or one of the Joint Domain Holders is a natural person, they are at liberty to assume the admin-c function themselves. The following data must be supplied for the admin-c: name, address, telephone number and e-mail address. If the Domain Holder is not domiciled in Germany, the admin-c will also be the person authorized to accept service for the purposes of § 184 of the German Code of Civil Procedure (Zivilprozessordnung), § 132 of the German Code of Criminal Procedure (Strafprozessordnung), § 56 (3) of the Rules of the Administrative Courts (Verwaltungsgerichtsordnung) and § 15 of the Administrative Procedures Act (Verwaltungsverfahrensgesetz) and the corresponding provisions of the Administrative Procedures Acts of the respective states of the Federal Republic of Germany; in that case the admin-c must be domiciled in Germany and their full postal address must be supplied.
IX.
The Technical Contact (tech-c) looks after the technical side of the domain. The tech-c may be either a named natural person or a group of people with an abstract designation (a so-called role account, such as "DENIC-Hostmaster"). The following data must be supplied for the tech-c: name, address, telephone number and e-mail address. In addition, the telefax number may be supplied.
X.
The Zone Administrator (zone-c) looks after the name server(s) for the domain; for the zone-c the same rules apply as for the tech-c (point IX.). It is impossible to appoint a zone-c for a domain for which no name servers have been delegated.
Annex
Letter | Decimal Position in Unicode V5.2 | Hexadecimal Positionin Unicode V5.2 | Notation English | Notation German |
á | 225 | 00E1 | Latin small letter a with acute | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe a mit Akut |
| à | 224 | 00E0 | Latin small letter a with grave | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe a mit Gravis |
| ă | 259 | 0103 | Latin small letter a with breve | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe a mit Brevis |
| â | 226 | 00E2 | Latin small letter a with circumflex | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe a mit Zirkumflex |
| å | 229 | 00E5 | Latin small letter a with ring above | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe a mit Ring oben |
| ä | 228 | 00E4 | Latin small letter a with diaeresis | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe a mit Diärese (= Umlaut ä) |
| ã | 227 | 00E3 | Latin small letter a with tilde | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe a mit Tilde |
| ą | 261 | 0105 | Latin small letter a with ogonek | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe a mit Ogonek |
| ā | 257 | 0101 | Latin small letter a with macron | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe a mit Macron |
| æ | 230 | 00E6 | Latin small letter ae | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe ae |
| ć | 263 | 0107 | Latin small letter c with acute | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe c mit Akut |
| ĉ | 265 | 0109 | Latin small letter c with circumflex | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe c mit Zirkumflex |
| č | 269 | 010D | Latin small letter c with caron | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe c mit Caron |
| ċ | 267 | 010B | Latin small letter c with dot above | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe c mit Punkt oben |
| ç | 231 | 00E7 | Latin small letter c with cedilla | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe c mit Cedille |
| ď | 271 | 010F | Latin small letter d with caron | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe d mit Caron |
| đ | 273 | 0111 | Latin small letter d with stroke | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe d mit Querstrich |
| é | 233 | 00E9 | Latin small letter e with acute | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe e mit Akut |
| è | 232 | 00E8 | Latin small letter e with grave | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe e mit Gravis |
| ĕ | 277 | 0115 | Latin small letter e with breve | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe e mit Brevis |
| ê | 234 | 00EA | Latin small letter e with circumflex | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe e mit Zirkumflex |
| ě | 283 | 011B | Latin small letter e with caron | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe e mit Caron |
| ë | 235 | 00EB | Latin small letter e with diaeresis | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe e mit Diärese |
| ė | 279 | 0117 | Latin small letter e with dot above | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe e mit Punkt oben |
| ę | 281 | 0119 | Latin small letter e with ogonek | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe e mit Ogonek |
| ē | 275 | 0113 | Latin small letter e with macron | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe e mit Macron |
| ğ | 287 | 011F | Latin small letter g with breve | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe g mit Brevis |
| ĝ | 285 | 011D | Latin small letter g with circumflex | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe g mit Zirkumflex |
| ġ | 289 | 0121 | Latin small letter g with dot above | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe g mit Punkt oben |
| ģ | 291 | 0123 | Latin small letter g with cedilla | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe g mit Cedille |
| ĥ | 293 | 0125 | Latin small letter h with circumflex | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe h mit Zirkumflex |
| ħ | 295 | 0127 | Latin small letter h with stroke | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe h mit Querstrich |
| í | 237 | 00ED | Latin small letter i with acute | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe i mit Akut |
| ì | 236 | 00EC | Latin small letter i with grave | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe i mit Gravis |
| ĭ | 301 | 012D | Latin small letter i with breve | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe i mit Brevis |
| î | 238 | 00EE | Latin small letter i with circumflex | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe i mit Zirkumflex |
| ï | 239 | 00EF | Latin small letter i with diaeresis | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe i mit Diärese |
| ĩ | 297 | 0129 | Latin small letter i with tilde | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe i mit Tilde |
| į | 303 | 012F | Latin small letter i with ogonek | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe i mit Ogonek |
| ī | 299 | 012B | Latin small letter i with macron | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe i mit Macron |
| ı | 305 | 0131 | Latin small letter dotless i | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe i ohne Punkt |
| ĵ | 309 | 0135 | Latin small letter j with circumflex | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe j mit Zirkumflex |
| ķ | 311 | 0137 | Latin small letter k with cedilla | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe k mit Cedille |
| ĺ | 314 | 013A | Latin small letter l with acute | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe l mit Akut |
| ľ | 318 | 013E | Latin small letter l with caron | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe l mit Caron |
| ļ | 316 | 013C | Latin small letter l with cedilla | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe l mit Cedille |
| ł | 322 | 0142 | Latin small letter l with stroke | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe l mit Querstrich |
| ń | 324 | 0144 | Latin small letter n with acute | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe n mit Akut |
| ň | 328 | 0148 | Latin small letter n with caron | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe n mit Caron |
| ñ | 241 | 00F1 | Latin small letter n with tilde | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe n mit Tilde |
| ņ | 326 | 0146 | Latin small letter n with cedilla | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe n mit Cedille |
| ŋ | 331 | 014B | Latin small letter eng | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe Eng |
| ó | 243 | 00F3 | Latin small letter o with acute | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe o mit Akut |
| ò | 242 | 00F2 | Latin small letter o with grave | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe o mit Gravis |
| ŏ | 335 | 014F | Latin small letter o with breve | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe o mit Brevis |
| ô | 244 | 00F4 | Latin small letter o with circumflex | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe o mit Zirkumflex |
| ö | 246 | 00F6 | Latin small letter o with diaeresis | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe o mit Diärese (= Umlaut ö) |
| ő | 337 | 0151 | Latin small letter o with double acute | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe o mit Doppel-Akut |
| õ | 245 | 00F5 | Latin small letter o with tilde | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe o mit Tilde |
| ø | 248 | 00F8 | Latin small letter o with stroke | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe o mit Querstrich |
| ō | 333 | 014D | Latin small letter o with macron | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe o mit Macron |
| œ | 339 | 0153 | Latin small ligature oe | Kleine lateinische Ligatur oe |
| ĸ | 312 | 0138 | Latin small letter kra | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe Kra |
| ŕ | 341 | 0155 | Latin small letter r with acute | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe r mit Akut |
| ř | 345 | 0159 | Latin small letter r with caron | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe r mit Caron |
| ŗ | 343 | 0157 | Latin small letter r with cedilla | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe r mit Cedille |
| ś | 347 | 015B | Latin small letter s with acute | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe s mit Akut |
| ŝ | 349 | 015D | Latin small letter s with circumflex | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe s mit Zirkumflex |
| š | 353 | 0161 | Latin small letter s with caron | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe s mit Caron |
| ş | 351 | 015F | Latin small letter s with cedilla | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe s mit Cedille |
| ß | 223 | 00DF | Latin small letter sharp s | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe ß |
| ť | 357 | 0165 | Latin small letter t with caron | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe t mit Caron |
| ţ | 355 | 0163 | Latin small letter t with cedilla | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe t mit Cedille |
| ŧ | 359 | 0167 | Latin small letter t with stroke | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe t mit Querstrich |
| ú | 250 | 00FA | Latin small letter u with acute | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe u mit Akut |
| ù | 249 | 00F9 | Latin small letter u with grave | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe u mit Gravis |
| ŭ | 365 | 016D | Latin small letter u with breve | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe u mit Brevis |
| û | 251 | 00FB | Latin small letter u with circumflex | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe u mit Zirkumflex |
| ů | 367 | 016F | Latin small letter u with ring above | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe u mit Ring oben |
| ü | 252 | 00FC | Latin small letter u with diaeresis | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe u mit Diärese (= Umlaut ü) |
| ű | 369 | 0171 | Latin small letter u with double acute | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe u mit Doppel-Akut |
| ũ | 361 | 0169 | Latin small letter u with tilde | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe u mit Tilde |
| ų | 371 | 0173 | Latin small letter u with ogonek | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe u mit Ogonek |
| ū | 363 | 016B | Latin small letter u with macron | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe u mit Macron |
| ŵ | 373 | 0175 | Latin small letter w with circumflex | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe w mit Zirkumflex |
| ý | 253 | 00FD | Latin small letter y with acute | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe y mit Akut |
| ŷ | 375 | 0177 | Latin small letter y with circumflex | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe y mit Zirkumflex |
| ÿ | 255 | 00FF | Latin small letter y with diaeresis | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe y mit Diärese |
| ź | 378 | 017A | Latin small letter z with acute | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe z mit Akut |
| ž | 382 | 017E | Latin small letter z with caron | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe z mit Caron |
| ż | 380 | 017C | Latin small letter z with dot above | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe z mit Punkt oben |
| ð | 240 | 00F0 | Latin small letter eth | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe Eth |
| þ | 254 | 00FE | Latin small letter thorn | Kleiner lateinischer Buchstabe Thorn |