If you’d not only like to know whether a certain domain already exists under .DE, but on top in whose name that domain is registered, then you can use DENIC’s domain lookup (WHOIS) for both. Yet, for privacy reasons, domain holders‘ data is revealed via WHOIS only if these are legal entities.
As the central registry managing Germany‘s name space on the internet, DENIC knows the holder of every single domain ending in .DE.
For internet users, too, it may sometimes be useful and good to know who has registered a particular domain: Perhaps you’ve come across an appealing online shop with a .DE extension that you’ve never heard of before and are unsure whether to trust the seller? So that before ordering anything from there, you might want to crosscheck if the company listed in the shop‘s legal notice also holds the domain through which you accessed its website? While overall, this is a good and commendable idea that might help you make a decision, you should nevertheless be aware that contrary to popular belief, such crosscheck alone can in no way be taken as a clear sign of whether a certain website can be trusted or not.
Or perhaps you have reasonable doubts regarding a particular domain not being used by its holder in a legal and trustworthy way? For example, because you received a dubious-looking email via that domain from a sender you don’t know. Or perhaps because the website the domain leads to lacks a legal notice, the domain doesn’t seem to match the website’s content, or the products offered there and their prices seem suspicious to you.
For such cases, DENIC’s open to the public online domain lookup service (WHOIS) is in place to help you search quickly and easily who holds a specific domain — provided that the holder is a legal entity, such as a business, an association, or another organization governed by private or public law.
How does data retrieval via DENIC‘s domain lookup (WHOIS) work, and what information does it provide?
The domain lookup (WHOIS) is integrated into DENIC‘s website. When you enter a domain into the “Check Domain Availability Now” dialogue box, right at the top of the starting page, the registration data stored by DENIC for that domain is displayed — showing either the entire dataset or merely a subset, depending on the domain holder being a legal entity or an individual.
Regardless of a holder’s personal status, DENIC’s whois lookup reveals certain basic information for each registered domain. This includes, for example, technical details about the name servers employed to make the domain accessible via the internet. Further shown are the date when the domain was registered, as well as the name and contact information of the DENIC member registrar who manages the domain on behalf of its holder.
For domains held by legal entities — such as businesses, associations, or other organizations — WHOIS will also display the domain holder’s name and postal address, along with their email address and phone number.
For domains held by natural persons — that is, private individuals — holders‘ data is not disclosed via WHOIS and therefore not open to the public. Under the provisions of Europe’s data privacy and security law (GDPR), such information is considered personal data and hence subject to special protection. If third parties wish to obtain information about such personal domain data, they must — in accordance with the requirements laid down in GDPR —demonstrate to DENIC a legitimate interest in retaining that data.
Which legitimate interests and access seekers are recognized by DENIC to request personal data?
Under the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), sharing personal data with third parties is limited to such cases in which a legitimate interest exists and is substantiated by the claiming party. Accordingly, DENIC discloses such data only upon individual request and on a case-by-case basis to such third-party entities who are generally eligible to legally access personal information. To this end, in each case the access seeker’s demonstrated legitimate interest must override the domain holder’s privacy right and interest in protecting their personal data when the two are weighed against each other. Legitimate access seekers include, for example, state authorities who are discharging their statutory functions (including criminal prosecution, public safety, or civil enforcement) as well as intellectual property rights holders taking action against trademark infringements, creditors having obtained an enforceable title, or insolvency practitioners who are licensed to take charge of the assets of domain holders.
For each different group of legitimate access seekers, DENIC provides dedicated enquiry forms allowing to request case-specific information about a particular domain holder.
As an individual and domain holder, how can I access my personal data that is stored with DENIC but not publicly listed in WHOIS?
Occasionally, domain holders no longer remember which data they originally provided when registering their domain because it was a long time ago. Perhaps your email address is no longer up-to-date? Or else you may have moved or got married and changed your name since then, but aren’t sure whether you had your domain registration data updated afterwards.
Either way, according to DENIC‘s Domain Terms and Conditions, domain holders are required to notify DENIC of any changes to their data. Otherwise, DENIC is entitled to terminate the domain contract after issuing a formal warning stating a deadline for compliance and following the expiry of such deadline.
To avoid such risk, individuals whose personal domain data are not disclosed to the public via WHOIS, in compliance with GDPR, can exclusively look up their own holder data stored by DENIC (name, postal address, email address, telephone number) by using a special access function included in the DENIC website: To do so, first enter your domain in the WHOIS search box, next in the window that opens, select the menu item ‘Domain holder information‘ and then complete the process by submitting either your postcode or your email address via the dialogue box labelled ‘Note for domain holders‘ at the bottom of the page. If the data you provided match those on DENIC’s records, you will afterwards receive an access link sent to your email address that was provided to DENIC upon domain registration. Using this link will allow you to view your holder data for a limited period of time.
If, however, checking your data in DENIC’s database reveals that these are no longer up-to-date, you should contact the registrar who registered the domain with DENIC on your behalf right away and ask them to update the details that are no longer accurate.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Through the domain lookup tool (WHOIS) open to the public on its website, DENIC enables interested parties to find out whether a particular .DE domain is still available or has already been registered, as well as who is its holder – provided that the registrant is a legal entity.
If the domain holder is a natural person, data protection rules in force require that, in order for their identity to be disclosed to third parties, a dedicated request for information must be filed with DENIC, that demonstrates the access seeker’s legitimate interest in receiving that specific data.
Natural persons can access their personal data stored by DENIC and relating to their domain via a standardised special access procedure using a time-based access link.
