Summer 2026 has brought several milestones for Openprovider. We crossed 4 million domains under management, passed 700,000 .nl domains, and became the number 2 .nl registrar globally.
SIDN also presented us with an award marking 25 years as an accredited registrar.
None of this would have been possible without the domain resellers, web hosting providers, and digital agencies who trusted us with their domain infrastructure. We have had the privilege of helping these brilliant businesses be successful with domains, and to mark this moment, we want to share what 25 years and 700,000 .nl domains have taught us.
In this .nl domain reseller guide, we bring together the lessons we have learned, the latest data on the Dutch domain market, and the legal landscape that is changing under resellers’ feet. Together, that is everything you need to grow a .nl portfolio that pays off.
Lessons from managing 700,000 .nl domains: what separates growing portfolios from shrinking ones
Across a portfolio this size, one number matters more than any other: renewal rate.
Overall, 85.4% of existing .nl domains were renewed in 2025, according to SIDN. That figure blends together every renewal a domain ever goes through, including the ones that happen almost automatically once a domain has been active for years. Look specifically at domains hitting their first renewal, though, and the rate drops to just 68%.
Almost all of the gap between that 85% average and the reality on the ground sits in that first renewal.
Why the first year is different
A domain that survives its first renewal behaves differently from a new one. By then, the registrant has usually:
- Built a site on it
- Connected email to it
- Launched a campaign around it
That activity means leaving costs more than staying. When thinking about how to reduce .nl domain churn, attaching more to the domain, like email, SSL, or security, is one of the most reliable ways to do it: the more a client runs on it, the more they stand to lose by leaving.
Domains that lapse in year one are typically ones nobody really used: registered without a clear plan, registered speculatively, or bundled into a package the client never engaged with.
What growing portfolios do differently
Resellers whose portfolios grow treat that first year as an active job, not a step to complete and forget. They check that:
- The domain is in use
- DNS is set up correctly
- The renewal reminder was seen and understood
What shrinking portfolios have in common
A domain sits untouched until it isn’t paid for again: a renewal, and often a client, you don’t get a second chance to keep. Most of that lost renewal traces back to a handful of avoidable mistakes, and they are worth naming one by one.
The 5 most expensive .nl portfolio management mistakes Dutch resellers make
Most of the margin lost on a .nl domain portfolio never looks like an obvious mistake. It builds up through small, repeated gaps that are easy to miss one at a time, but expensive across a full client base.
| Mistake | Why it costs you | How to fix it |
|---|---|---|
| Not turning on auto-renewal by default | First-year cancellations rise sharply when renewal depends on a client remembering to act | Make auto-renewal the default when registering, and let clients opt out if they choose |
| Treating WHOIS and KvK data as a one-time entry | Wrong registrant data creates legal risk under NIS2 and slows down transfers | Check WHOIS and Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KvK) data on a regular schedule |
| Skipping DNSSEC because it “isn’t required yet” | You miss out on SIDN Registrar Scorecard (RSC) rewards, and fall behind a market where 54%+ of domains are already signed | Turn on DNSSEC by default when registering, not only when a client asks |
| Selling .nl on its own, with nothing added | You lose the extra margin and loyalty that come from adding security and other services | Offer SSL, DNS, and business emails together with .nl as standard, not as an add-on |
| Not checking in regularly on the portfolio | Missed renewals, signs of abuse, and setup errors go unnoticed until clients are affected | Check the whole portfolio (ownership records, DNS health, renewal status) at least every three months |
Each of these looks small on its own. Across several hundred or several thousand .nl domains, they add up to the difference between a portfolio that grows by itself and one that always needs manual work. Get these right, and the wider market conditions matter less.
DNSSEC signing rate and Registrar Scorecard details: SIDN, DNSSEC statistics and SIDN, Registrar Scorecard. NIS2 and the Cyberbeveiligingswet are covered in full further below, sourced to Bird & Bird.
The Dutch domain market in 2026: what the numbers mean for resellers
The .nl zone contracted slightly in 2025, according to SIDN, driven mainly by more cancellations than new registrations. That is a gap between exits and new business, not a drop in demand for .nl itself. The number of active registrars fell too, which points to the market consolidating around stronger players rather than one that is struggling.
Behind those numbers sits a familiar cause: the Dutch business climate. Business closures outpaced new business openings over the same period, and that combination drove the cancellation numbers on its own, independent of anything happening in the domain market itself.
Brand preference for .nl has not moved either: Dutch registrants still overwhelmingly choose .nl over any other extension. Growth in Dutch registrations of neighboring ccTLDs like .fr, .de, and .uk points the same way: businesses expanding abroad, not businesses in trouble at home.
Worth noting: early 2026 data already shows the zone growing again, so the figures below describe where the market was in 2025, not necessarily where it is heading.
.nl market snapshot 2025
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Total .nl domains registered | 6.06 million (down 1.92% YoY) |
| New registrations | 758,000 |
| Cancellations | 812,000 |
| Number of active .nl registrars | 1,058 (down from 1,098) |
| DNSSEC signing rate | 54%+ |
| Brand preference (.nl vs .com) | 67% vs 26% |
A well-run portfolio holds up fine against these numbers. That resilience matters even more once new compliance rules come into play.
Security and compliance: what the Cyberbeveiligingswet means for Dutch domain resellers
For resellers, compliance and margin protection are becoming the same thing. The Cyberbeveiligingswet, the Dutch law that implements the EU’s NIS2 Directive, passed the House of Representatives on 15 April 2026 and was approved by the Senate on 7 July 2026. It is expected to take effect on 15 August 2026, with no delay before the rules apply (Bird & Bird). For domain registrars and resellers, it brings mandatory rules on checking registrant data, using DNSSEC, and reviewing security across their suppliers.
Checking registrant data properly makes WHOIS accuracy a legal requirement for the first time. Resellers who already run regular data checks are continuing something they should be doing anyway.
DNSSEC rules reward resellers who turned it on early, before it was required: the Netherlands already leads the world on DNSSEC use, and SIDN has recently moved the .nl zone itself to the newer algorithm 13 (ECDSA Curve P-256). Reviewing supplier security means looking at every vendor that touches the domain infrastructure, including DNS providers, email security tools, and hosting platforms.
Resellers who use fewer, well-chosen vendors have far less to check and explain than those spread across many separate tools. DANE email security, which links email checks to DNSSEC-signed domains, is worth watching too. It is a natural next step for Dutch resellers who are already ahead on DNSSEC. That kind of readiness is also where the next opportunity begins.
The growth opportunity: how smart Dutch resellers are expanding regardless of which way the market moves
A shrinking zone and a growing portfolio can happen at the same time. So can a growing zone and a stuck portfolio. What decides the outcome is whether a reseller wins business from registrars and competitors who are slower to adapt.
Three opportunities stand out:
- Bringing scattered portfolios together: with the number of registrars falling, some of those departing registrars leave client portfolios that need a new registrar or a more competitive one. Resellers who offer fewer vendors, one control panel, and one bill win that business.
- Related security services: a reseller who handles DNSSEC, WHOIS accuracy, and NIS2 compliance well has already earned the trust to sell SSL, DMARC, and premium DNS alongside it. A conversation about compliance can easily become a conversation about a sale.
- Outbound growth into neighboring markets: Dutch businesses expanding abroad need the same support there that they have at home. A reseller with access to ccTLDs like .fr, .de, and .uk at wholesale prices, on the same platform as their .nl portfolio, can keep that business rather than lose it to someone else.
Turning any of these three into steady revenue starts with how you package the services.
Bringing it together: the .nl digital identity bundle
Selling these layers together as a standard package turns a single .nl registration into recurring revenue across everything you sell.
| Layer | Purpose | Openprovider product |
|---|---|---|
| Domains | The registered identity itself, at wholesale .nl domain pricing | .nl registration |
| DNS | Keeps the domain online reliably and supports IPv6 | Premium DNS |
| Security | Protects against DNS spoofing and shows Dutch visitors and search engines the site can be trusted | DNSSEC (enabled at registration) and SSL Certificates |
| Professional, branded email under the client’s own .nl domain | Business Email Solution | |
| Email security | Protects domain reputation and email delivery, including DANE support | EasyDMARCSpamExperts |
What the future of .nl looks like for resellers who prepare now
Across 700,000 .nl domains and 25 years of managing them, the lesson holds steady: resellers who treat .nl as ongoing infrastructure, not a one-time sale, are the ones still growing.
- Good renewal practices reward portfolios where auto-renewal, DNSSEC, and correct WHOIS data are the default, not an extra step
- Predictable economics protect margin as a portfolio grows: Openprovider Membership fixes .nl pricing at registry cost, so renewal income does not shrink as volume increases
- API automation removes the manual work that erodes margin at scale, running registrations, renewals, and DNS updates without anyone logging in to do them by hand.
If your current .nl setup is creating more manual work than it should, set up a free Openprovider account and try out our platform and API for yourself.
As we look ahead to our 30th anniversary as an SIDN accredited registrar, we would be proud to help you build successful domain infrastructure.
