Can a foreigner register a .dk domain?

The rules below come from Punktum dk's Conditions for a .dk domain name (version 15, July 2026), its identity-check procedures and the Danish Domain Names Act, cited by clause. Punktum dk was formerly DK Hostmaster.

Who can hold a .dk domain

Any person or company, with a verifiable address

Clause 1.3 of the Conditions says an applicant is a legal or natural person. There is no nationality or residency test. A Danish legal entity gives its CVR number under clause 3.2; everyone else gives a name, a physical postal address, a phone number and an email.

The address is where the check bites. Punktum dk's FAQ says an individual needs a permanent residential address. With only a mailing address you must show that you receive post there, using a bill or bank document under three months old.

The numbers that bound it

The identity check and what happens if you fail it

Two stages

The data check is mandatory for every new registrant: you click a link sent to your email address, and Punktum dk confirms only that you can receive mail there. The ID check depends on where you live. A Danish address means MitID within 30 days, every time. Any other country code goes through an internal risk assessment whose criteria are not published. If you are flagged, you upload documents through its partner AddoSign.

Punktum dk's registrar procedure (version 1.1, July 2026), under which a registrar may run the check instead, lists what is accepted:

• Individuals: photo ID with a recent selfie, an electronic ID, a matching bank transfer or video identification, plus proof of address from a utility, bank, rental or insurance document (section 5).
• Companies: two public-authority documents, at least one not publicly available, or a register extract plus verified ID for the authorised person.
• All: documents in Danish or English, matching the registered name and address, with bills dated within three months (section 5.6).

If you fail or ignore it

Clause 4.4 lets Punktum dk terminate the agreement if a control request goes unanswered for 25 days, or 10 days in exceptional circumstances. The domain is suspended first, which disconnects it from its name servers so the website and email stop. You then have 30 days to send documents, after which it is deleted. Rejected documents suspend it immediately, though you can still complete the check afterwards.

What the terms say about proxies and trustees

The Conditions never use the words trustee, nominee or holder for another, and say nothing for or against a company holding a .dk domain on someone else's behalf. What they do say bears on it directly.

The registrant has a right of use, not ownership

Clauses 1.1 and 1.4 speak of a right of use, which the applicant holds as registrant once the agreement with Punktum dk is in place.

The data must be correct and the registrant identifiable

Clause 4.1 requires the registrant to keep identity and contact information accurate at all times, so that the registrant can be identified and contacted directly. Section 18(2) of the Domain Names Act puts the same duty on the administrator: the data must be accurate, up to date and public. In our reading, a provider that put its own address on your name would fail the address match in section 5.6 of the registrar procedure, and one that registered the name as itself would be the party verified and the party holding the right of use.

A proxy here is an agent, not a holder

Clause 2.2 defines a proxy as someone acting for the registrant in a limited scope: name servers, DNSSEC, the registration period or the billing contact. Clause 4.6 sends control messages to the proxy's own details. Registrar management, which applies to every new .dk since July 2026, goes further under clause 2.1: the registrar acts for the registrant on payments, contact data, identity checks, name servers, transfers and termination. The registrant stays the registrant.

Transfer and exit

Leaving is mostly a matter of moving between registrars, and harder only if a provider has put itself on the record.

1. Change registrar. Clause 2.4 lets a registrant move to another registrar at any time. Punktum dk removed its own transfer fee in January 2025, so any charge is the registrar's.
2. Change registrant. Clauses 7.1 and 7.2: the new registrant signs an agreement with Punktum dk, inherits the prepaid period and passes the same identity control. A name on an existing foreign contact cannot be edited, so a change of name is a transfer.
3. When a transfer is barred. Clause 7.6 blocks it during a pending complaint or court case, bankruptcy, an ongoing identity check, an unpaid invoice or a suspension. A failing check therefore also traps the domain.
4. Terminate. Clauses 7.3 to 7.5: any time, with unused prepaid time refunded less a termination fee, then 30 days of suspension and deletion unless reinstated for a fee.

If a registrar loses its contract, clause 2.4 moves the domain to a temporary registrant-managed state. See transferring a restricted domain for the mechanics across registries.

How registration works

Registrar management, the only route for new names

Since July 2026 a new .dk domain can only be registered through a registrar, for one year at a time (clause 3.1). You supply the name, at least two authoritative name servers and accurate contact details (clause 3.2), and the registration period starts only once Punktum dk has finished its checks (clause 3.4). Clause 6.1 lets it terminate if the name servers stop being authoritative.

Direct registration is being wound down

Punktum dk's self-service, where a registrant managed a name directly with MitID or email login, no longer takes new domains. Names already managed that way stay until June 2028, when the holder must choose a registrar at no charge (clause 2.2). Self-service still issues the authorisation code, valid for 14 days, that moves a domain to a registrar.

Name format and æ, ø, å

Punktum dk's approved-characters procedure (version 2.1, April 2023) allows the letters a to z, the digits 0 to 9, the hyphen, and the Danish letters æ, ø and å, together with ö, ä, ü, é and ß. A label is at most 63 characters. A hyphen cannot begin or end it, and the third and fourth characters cannot both be hyphens. The procedure states no minimum length, and registrars quote one or three characters, so test your name at checkout.

What the public lookup shows

Punktum dk's WHOIS notice says the registrant's name, address and telephone number are published, as section 18 of the Domain Names Act requires. A company's email address is published too and must not contain personal data. Individuals' and sole proprietors' email addresses are not.

There is no privacy service. Section 18(3) hides data only where other law already exempts it from public access and the administrator can see that in a public register: a natural person with name and address protection in the Danish CPR register, or a similar register abroad, and an unlisted phone number. Foreign registrants are not anonymised automatically. Some registrars advertise hidden details for .dk; the registry's published rule governs. More in WHOIS privacy on restricted domains.

Where NIS2 comes in

Article 28 of the NIS2 Directive (EU) 2022/2555 obliges TLD registries and registration-service providers to keep a database of registration data, to run published verification procedures so it is accurate and complete, and to answer lawful access requests within 72 hours. Punktum dk cites section 11 of the Danish NIS2 Act and section 18 of the Domain Names Act as the basis for its checks, which is why an unverified .dk is now suspended instead of left alone. See NIS2 domain identity checks.

If you cannot verify yourself

The usual blocker is documents, not nationality: no permanent address, or a company with no register extract. The second route below is not a product anyone sells.

Registering in your own name through a registrar that handles the check is the normal route. Compare .dk registrars on price, verification and exit. We found no provider that sells a .dk holder or local-contact service.

Frequently asked questions

Last updated October 2026. Registry policies change, and Punktum dk replaced most of its procedures in July 2026. If you spot something out of date, email info@trusteeindex.com.