.de domains

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.de domains

Last updated October 15, 2026 16:29

Learn about the guidelines and features of .de domains.

You can register, transfer, or connect domains ending in .de to Squarespace if you have a mailing address in Germany. This TLD is a great option if you have a business or professional presence in Germany and you want a domain that matches your location.

The .de TLD follows different rules than most other TLDs we offer. This guide covers certain special requirements and exceptions from Squarespace and the relevant organization that oversees .de domain registration. To learn more about these requirements and exceptions, visit TLD registry policies.

To find a domain's price, you can search for it on our domain name search page or in your domains dashboard.

TLD features

Browse the table below to learn about the unique features and rules of registering or transferring a domain ending in .de. If you connect a .de domain to your site from a third-party provider, these guidelines don’t apply.
Feature Rules
Address requirements Registrants located outside Germany must have an Admin contact with a mailing address located in Germany.
Domain locking Domains can't be locked.
Domain registrant verification emails Your domain registrar and the domain name registry, DENIC, may email you to confirm your contact details. Always read these messages to ensure your domain doesn't expire or get suspended. If you're unsure if an email is legitimate, contact the registry or your registrar to verify the request.
Failed payments and expired domains If a .de domain expires, it will be pushed into TRANSIT at the DENIC registry. To learn more about DENIC TRANSIT visit the Denic Transit page. Domains with an ongoing dispute are excluded from the Redemption grace period rule and will be deleted directly and irrevocably. To keep your .de domain active and linked to your site, ensure that you have a valid payment method on file. If your payment method is a credit card and we can’t charge it, we'll make additional attempts to charge your card every 5 days after the first failed charge. If we’re still unable to charge your card 10 days after the payment was due, the domain will expire and will no longer connect to your site. Your next steps depend on who your registrar is: Tucows: When these domains expire, we can’t renew them for you, but you'll have a 30-day redemption period to contact Tucows and request a renewal. Keep in mind, there may be a fee to restore the domain in addition to the domain’s regular renewal cost. Key-Systems: If the domain expires, it will no longer appear on your account dashboard and you can't reactivate it through Squarespace. The domain enters a 30-day redemption grace period during which you can reactivate it through DENIC. Email the DENIC customer support team for help with this process. If you don’t reactivate the domain in the 30-day timeframe, the domain will be deleted, and the domain status in public records changes to “RedemptionPeriod.” If the domain registrant requests an AuthInfo2 code during the redemption grace period, the grace period is reset to 30 days. .de domains that are registered with another provider and are in the redemption grace period can be restored with a TransferDomain command (when specifying the AuthInfo2 code) and transferred to RRPproxy.
Five-day registration grace period There’s no five-day grace period to cancel .de domains and no refunds. Before you register the domain, ensure that you want to keep it. Double-check the domain for typos.
Free domain offer You can use the free domain offer when registering or transferring a .de domain.
Nameservers Denic is the TLD registry for .de domains. They enact policies to ensure all .de domains in their registries are safe and secure. Before changing to custom nameservers, use Denic’s Name Server Tester (NAST) tool to ensure they meet Denic’s requirements. If your nameservers aren't valid with Denic, you'll receive an error message when trying to add them. To edit the nameservers of a Squarespace-managed .de domain, follow our steps.
Phone number requirements Enter your phone number including the country code and leaving out any dashes. For example, if your country code is 49, you'd enter 491234567890.
Registration contact options There’s only an Registrant contact. You won’t see Admin, Tech, or Billing contact options.
Registration period A .de domain can only be registered for one year at a time.
Renewals We charge these domains for renewal at least 18 days before the official expiration date shown in your public records and on your domains dashboard. If your payment fails, you have 15 days from that initial renewal charge date to renew your domain before it expires. The renewal date listed in the domain details page is the last possible date you can submit a renewal payment, which is earlier than when the domain officially expires. The auto-renew option locks when your domain is within five days of renewal (10 days after your charge date), or within three days if SEPA is your payment method and Tucows is your registrar of record.
Transferring to Squarespace Transferring a .de domain to Squarespace gives you one new year of registration, but won’t carry over any remaining time from your previous provider.
Privacy If you register as an Individual person, your registrant information is private. If you register as an Organization your registrant information is public.

Why is my domain registration “in progress?”

If your .de domain has a Pending label in your domains dashboard, it needs more time to fully resolve to your site. You don't need to take any action. After the domain is activated, your domain will have a green label in your domains dashboard.

Most .de domains take less than 24 hours to fully resolve, though it may take up to 48 hours. If your .de domain still isn't active after 48 hours, contact us and we'll take a look at your settings to ensure everything is set up correctly.

Transferring .de domains

.de domains have a few special rules and steps needed to transfer them to and away from Squarespace successfully.

Transferring a .de domain to Squarespace

The process of transferring a .de domain to Squarespace is nearly the same as other TLDs, with the addition of these details:

  • Review your domain's DNS records before starting the transfer. If there's a DNSSEC record in place, contact your current domain provider and ask them to delete it. Domains with DNSSEC won't properly transfer to Squarespace.
  • Transferring a .de domain to Squarespace gives you one new year of registration, but won’t carry over any remaining time from your previous provider.

Transferring a .de domain away from Squarespace

You can transfer your .de domain away from Squarespace at any time. You don’t need to wait the usual 60 days after registering or transferring it. Note that any remaining time on your registration won’t carry over to your new provider.

Unlike other TLDs, you don't need to unlock the domain. Follow these steps to transfer your domain away:

  1. In your domains dashboard, click the .de domain you’re transferring away.
  2. Click Send Transfer Code.
  3. The domain’s Registrant contact will receive an email with the transfer code. You'll provide this code to your new domain provider to authorize the transfer.

Your transfer code expires 30 days after it’s issued, so ensure that you start the transfer process soon after receiving it.

Clicking Send Transfer Authentication Code more than once sends multiple unique transfer codes. Only the most recent code is valid, so delete any previous emails to avoid confusion.

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.de domains