Danish Act on Internet Domains

The Danish Act on Internet Domains provides the basis for administration of .dk domains handled by DIFO and DK Hostmaster. DIFO and DK Hostmaster must comply with a range of requirements and are supervised by the Danish Business Authority.

This Act also guarantees the user a number of rights as well as the option to bring a dispute about domain names before a complaints board.

Administrator’s licence

The current Danish Act on Internet Domains is from 26 February 2014. It is popularly known as the Domain Names Act and provides a framework for access to and use and administration of the .dk domain.

The Act contains a number of provisions which ensure that the Danish Business Authority may issue invitations to tender for administration of internet domains. The licence is awarded for a six-year period with an option to extend.

Requirements for the administrator

The Domain Names Act is a so-called framework act for the administrator. For example, the administrator is entitled to make its own rules for its business, including the terms and conditions with which a user of a .dk domain name must comply. Our rules are documented in DK Hostmaster’s terms and conditions for the right of use to a .dk domain name. For information about our terms and conditions, see the menu to the left.

According to the provisions of the Danish Domain Names Act, administration of .dk domain names must be non-profit and based on a principle of equality, and operations must be transparent, secure and reliable.

The public WHOIS database

The Danish Domain Names Act ensures transparency of Danish domain names by making details such as a user’s name, address and telephone number publicly available.

DK Hostmaster publishes these details for the approximately 1.3 million registered .dk domain names on its website, unless users have name and address protection. We continually compare our data with the Danish National Register of Persons so that users with name and address protection are also protected at DK Hostmaster. These users are referred to as anonymous registrants.

Good domain name practice and complaints board

The Danish Domain Names Act forbids registration and use of domain names inconsistent with good domain name practice. This term is not defined in the actual Act but by the Danish Complaints Board for Domain Names. Consequently, the Board has the authority to assess whether a user makes correct use of his or her right to use a domain name, based on considerations of public interest or technological developments.

The Complaints Board also settles other disputes between users and may review decisions made by DK Hostmaster. Read more about the Complaints Board for Domain Names.