.BE

.BE is the country code Top-Level-Domain (ccTLD) of Belgium. A .BE domain is normally used by companies or private entities who are located in Belgium or who have business relationships with Belgium.

Introduced	1988
Country	Belgium
Registry	dns.be
IDN Capable	Yes
Webpage	Register .BE

Registry

TLD	.be
Registry	dns.be
Dispute Policy	Rules
Registrar	1api GmbH
WHOIS-Server	whois.dns.be
WHOIS-Update	Real-Time
Min. Characters	2
Max. Characters	63
Character Set	Letters and numbers Hyphens ("-"), however not at the beginning or directly in front of the TLD IDN: allowed
Limitations	Registrant Contacts: Required: 1 / Maximum: 1 Admin Contacts: Required: 0 / Maximum: 1 Tech Contacts: Required: 1 / Maximum: 10 Billing Contacts: Required: 0 / Maximum: 1
{{{Possible Extensions}}}
IDN capable	Yes
Restore capable	Real-Time
Handle Updates	Supported (partially)
Registration System	Real-Time
Allowed number of NS	0 to 13
Registry Nameservercheck	No
Host IP-Addresses Type	IPv4 / IPv6
Hosts managed as	Attribute
Root Nameserver Update	every 30 minutes
SEC DNS Interface	KEY data interface
Transferclass	Pull
Transfer Periods	reset, 1 year added
Transfer Authcode required	Yes
Transfer Real-Time	Yes
Transfer Lock	Yes
Transfer Confirmation (Request / Approve)	- / -
Owner Change by	Trade
Trade Real-Time	No
Trade Periods	reset, 1 year added
Trade Confirmation (Request / Approve)	- / -
Trade ACK by	Customer
Trade NACK by	Customer

Periods

{{{Possible Extensions}}}
Registration Periods	1 year
Add Grace Period	0 days
Accounting Period	-1 week
Finalization Period	-1 day
Failure Period	-1 day
Payment Period	-61 days
Deletion Restorable Period	40 days
Deletion Hold Period	0 days
Explicit Renewals	No
Renewal Periods	1 year

API

Domain Registration

Domains can be registered in Real-Time with the API AddDomain command.

command = AddDomain
domain  = (DOMAIN)

REQUIRED

ownercontact0 = (CONTACT)
admincontact0 = (CONTACT)
techcontact0 = (CONTACT)
billingcontact0 = (CONTACT)
nameserver0 = (NAMESERVER)
nameserver1 = (NAMESERVER)

OPTIONAL

auth = (TEXT) | (NULL)
period = (PERIOD)
transferlock = 0 | 1 | (NULL)

Domain Transfer

The transfer has to be initiated by the gaining registrar and can be requested with the API TransferDomain command.
A valid Authorization Code must be provided to initiate a transfer successfully.
Domain transfers are processed in Real-Time.

Upon successfully transferring the domain, the registration date will be reset by the registry. The new expiration date will be 1 year in the future.

command = TransferDomain
domain = (DOMAIN)

REQUIRED

auth = (TEXT) | (NULL)

OPTIONAL

period = (PERIOD)
transferlock = 0 | 1 | (NULL)
action = REQUEST | APPROVE | DENY | CANCEL | USERTRANSFER

Further information can be found at TLD specific

Delete Domain

Domains can be deleted with the API DeleteDomain command.
There is a Deletion Restorable Period of 40 days.

command = DeleteDomain
domain = (DOMAIN)

Restore Domain

Restores can be processed in realtime. A restore is possible within 40 days upon deletion. Please use the command RestoreDomain.

command = RestoreDomain
domain = (DOMAIN)

OPTIONAL

subuser = (TEXT)
renewalmode = (NULL) | (TEXT)

Further information can be found at TLD specific

Ownerchange

All contact information with the exception of registrant Name and Organisation can be updated through the ModifyDomain command.

Please note that the registry does not support handle updates. You have to create a new handle containing the same information for Name and Organisation as well as the updated contact information and assign it to the domain with the ModifyDomain command.

command = ModifyDomain
domain = (domain)

REQUIRED

ownercontact0 = (CONTACT)

In order to change the owner you have to request a trade with the TradeDomain command. This can be done through our web interface or through our API:

command = TradeDomain
domain = (DOMAIN)

REQUIRED

ownercontact0 = (CONTACT)
auth = (TEXT)

Further information can be found at TLD specific

TLD specific

Registrant Validation

After registration or trade has been submitted, the domain name will be activated once the contact details of the domain name holder are validated. For more information, you are welcome to visit https://www.dnsbelgium.be/en/verification-status or contact [email protected].

Request domain authcode

The authcode of a .BE domain must be requested from the registry by using the following command:

command = RequestDomainAuthInfo
domain = (DOMAIN)

The registrant of the domain will receive an e-mail with the corresponding auth code.
You can also request that an authorization code be sent to you via the following registry website.
https://www.dnsbelgium.be/en/manage-domain-name/change-registrar

Transfer lock

The registry does not support transferlocks! The lock at HEXONET is only used for USERTRANSFERS inside HEXONET.

Restore from quarantine

It is possible to restore .BE domains which had been deleted by another registrar. This so-called "transfer from quarantine" can be manually initiated by our support team for the doubled cost of a normal restore.

Please note, that the transfer from quarantine has to be confirmed by the registrant as with a normal transfer.

RegistrarOC

Special parameters

The contact commands (AddContact, ModifyContact) may contain two additional parameters for registrarOC customers:

x-be-vat = <Belgian VAT ID>
x-be-lang = <country-code (EN, FR or NL)

x-be-vat defines the VAT ID of the contact,
x-be-lang defines the language of the contact,
which also will be displayed in the .BE Whois

Restore Process

To restore a domain as a RegistrarOC customer, you simply have to execute the RestoreDomain command. HEXONET directly forwards the restore request to the registry, which performs the restore in real-time. As soon as the restore is complete, the domain will get assigned to your account with the original domain data.

Please do not initiate a restore directly at the registry (e.g. using the registrar webinterface). All restore operations must be performed through our system.