Stichting Internet Domeinregistratie Nederland


Type:	Non-Profit
Industry:	Registry
Founded:	April 25, 1996
Founder(s):	Piet Beertema
Headquarters:	Meander 501 6825 MD Arnhem
Country:	Netherlands
Employees:	51-200
Email:	support[at]sidn.nl, info[at]sidn.nl
Website:	SIDN
LinkedIn:	SIDN
Key People
Roelof Meijer, CEO

Stichting Internet Domeinregistratie Nederland or SIDN (Netherlands Domain Registration Foundation) is the national manager of the Dutch ccTLD and provides registry services in Netherlands for .nl domains. It is ICANN accredited and is responsible for issuing all Dutch domain names. It has around 1,100 registrars and ISPs operating under it.^[1]

.nl is the fourth largest ccTLD in the world, after China, Germany and the UK. In 2024 we registrated around 6.2 million .nl domain names

ICANN signed the Accountability Framework for the .nl TLD with SIDN in 2007.^[2] SIDN is a member of ICANN's ccNSO.^[3]

Our history begins in the eighties[edit | edit source]

Our backstory begins in the 1980s. The internet was new, and it needed a system for assigning domain names. Because to begin with every internet user had a list of all the others, showing each one's internet address. Those addresses weren't like the ones we use now: they were just numbers. As the number of addresses increased, it became hard for users to keep their lists up to date. The solution was the Domain Name System (DNS), which enables people to reach each other using names instead of numbers. For example, SIDN.nl instead of 212.114.98.237.

Piet Beertema, the man behind .nl[edit | edit source]

Piet Beertema was system manager at the National Research Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science (CWI). He had the great idea of asking for the Netherlands to have its own the top-level domain: .nl. He put the idea to Jon Postel, a US internet pioneer. Jon approved Piet's request and .nl was created. On 1 May 1986, the CWI registered the first .nl domain name: cwi.nl. So .nl was the first active country-code domain outside the US. And to this day, Piet is still the registrant of godfatherof.nl.

Listen to the podcast 'silent big bang (in Dutch)

The start of SIDN[edit | edit source]

In the 1990s, the internet grew rapidly, and so did the number of users. Registering all their domain names soon became a big job. Big enough to justify setting up a national foundation to do it: the Foundation for Internet Domain Registration in the Netherlands (SIDN). The people behind the new foundation were Piet Beertema, Ted Lindgreen and Boudewijn Nederkoorn. We took over responsibility for registering .nl domain names on 31 January 1996.

Listen to the podcast 'the early years' (in Dutch)

Explosive growth[edit | edit source]

Since 2003, anyone has been allowed to register a .nl domain name. No matter where you are and whether you're a business or a private individual. Our first CEO, Hans Kraaijenbrink, worked hard to get that reform, finally succeeding in the year of his death. After that, .nl grew enormously, reaching a million names in the same year. Today, there are more than 6 million names, making .nl the fifth largest country-code domain in the world. For more facts and figures, visit our statistics page.

Listen to the podcast 'explosive growth' (in Dutch)

Milestones[edit | edit source]

When?	What?
2023-11	CIRA and SIDN agree on partnership to build new registry platform
2023-04	Introduction of the new identity wallet: Yivi
2021-04	.nl exists 35 years
2021-01	SIDN 25 years at the heart of the internet
2020-06	6 million .nl domain names registered
2020-03	Majority stake in Connectis sold
2019-11	SIDN launches user-friendly security solution for SMEs, CyberSterk
2019-11	5.9 million .nl domain names registered
2019-11	The Internet celebrates its 50 year anniversary
2019-09	SIDN and Privacy by Design join forces for privacy-friendly electronic identities based on IRMA
2017-12	5.8 million .nl domain names registered
2017-02	5.7 million .nl domain names registered
2017-01	Majority stake in Connectis
2016-04	.nl domain celebrates its 30 year anniversary
2016-04	5.6 million .nl domain names registered
2015-02	SIDN becomes registry service provider for .amsterdam
2014-09	5.5 million .nl domain names registered
2014-05	Foundation of SIDN Fund
2014-04	SIDN becomes registry service provider for .aw (Aruba)
2013-05	1.5 million .nl domain names secured with DNSSEC
2012-09	5 million .nl domain names registered
2012-08	Protection of .nl domain names using DNSSEC becomes possible
2011-11	.nl domain celebrates its silver jubilee
2008-06	Covenant with the Dutch government assures .nl's future
2003-06	1 million .nl domain names registered
2000-11	Registration of the first third-level domain name: jansen.123.nl
1996-01	Foundation of SIDN
1986-05	Registration of the first .nl domain name: cwi.nl
1986-04	.nl the first active ccTLD in the world due to Piet Beertema