WWW4 — domain names on our own Belgian DNS servers

Registering a .be domain name

The .be extension is the country code of Belgium and is managed by DNS Belgium. Anyone may register a .be, even without a Belgian address. If you target Belgian visitors, this is the extension they expect and type out of habit.

A .be is usually one of the cheapest extensions and the rules are simple. Below is what DNS Belgium requires for a registration, how a transfer runs and what happens if you miss a renewal.

What does a .be domain name cost?

.be domein
€ 18.00 /year

Price in euros, per year and excluding 21% VAT. Renewable annually; price changes by the registry are reserved.

Register your .be

The rules of DNS Belgium for a .be

Who may register

Anyone, private individual or business, anywhere in the world. An address in Belgium is not required. The holder details must be correct, though: DNS Belgium may delete a name registered with false details.

Characters and length

Letters, digits and the hyphen, with a length of two to sixty-three characters. A hyphen may not appear at the start or the end. Accented letters are possible, but bear in mind that not everyone types them.

Term and renewal

You register per year and renew each time before the expiry date. Switch on automatic renewal: a missed renewal is the most common reason a .be is lost.

Transfer with a transfer code

You move with a transfer code that you request from your current registrar. With .be the transfer itself is usually completed within a few hours and extends the name by a year.

Expiry and quarantine

If a .be is not renewed, it goes into quarantine. DNS Belgium applies a period of forty days during which the holder can still recover the name. After that it becomes available again to everyone.

Which sites is a .be suited to?

Companies and self-employed people in Belgium

A .be says immediately where you are based and who your customers are. For a local business there is rarely a reason to choose anything else.

Associations and local initiatives

A club, school or municipal project is recognised by a .be. The extension is familiar and costs little.

As main name alongside a .com

If you also work across the border, register the .be and the .com and have one redirect. That way you keep the Belgian recognisability without leaving the international variant to someone else.

What most often goes wrong with a .be

Missing the renewal

A .be that ends up in quarantine can still be saved, but by then your site and email are already down. Automatic renewal and a valid email address in the holder details prevent that.

Outdated holder details

The transfer code and the expiry notices go to the address known to the registry. If you change your email address, update it for the domain name too.

Confusing transfer and hosting

Transferring a domain name changes nothing about where your site and mail run, unless the DNS settings do not come along. Check those before you start the transfer.

Other extensions and further reading

.eu domain name .com domain name .nl domain name .vlaanderen domain name .brussels domain name All extensions and prices Transfer a domain name
Check whether your .be is available Transfer a .be

Frequently asked questions about a .be domain name

Anyone, private individual or business, anywhere in the world. An address in Belgium is not required. The holder details must be correct, though; DNS Belgium, the registry behind .be, may delete a name registered with false details.
Letters, digits and the hyphen, with a length of two to sixty-three characters. A hyphen may not appear at the start or the end. Accented letters are possible, but not everyone types them; so preferably choose a spelling without accents or register both variants.
You register per year and renew each time before the expiry date. With automatic renewal that happens by itself and you run no risk of the name expiring unnoticed. Without renewal the name goes into quarantine after the expiry date.
You request a transfer code from your current registrar and pass it on to the new one. With .be the transfer is usually completed within a few hours and extends the name by a year. Make sure the DNS settings come along, otherwise your site and email go down.
The name goes into quarantine. DNS Belgium applies a period of forty days during which the holder can still recover the name. After that period it becomes available again and someone else can register it. During quarantine your website and email already no longer work.
For Belgian visitors, yes: it is the extension they expect and type out of habit. If you also work internationally, register both and have one redirect. That way you keep the Belgian recognisability without leaving the international variant to someone else.
Yes. A domain name and hosting are independent of each other. You can secure the name and link a website or email to it later. In the meantime you manage the DNS settings yourself in the customer portal.
Call us
Send an email