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Life cycle of a .be domain name

“normal” life cycle

The image below (provided by DNSBelgium.be) illustrates the normal life cycle of a .be domain name.

A Registrar (like Behostings) can modify this lifecycle by performing certain transactions on the domain name.


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In its normal life cycle, a domain name can have the following 3 states:

  • AVAILABLE: The domain is available for registration.

  • REGISTERED: The domain is registered, it is no longer available; a registrar is responsible for this domain for his own account or for the client. This is the normal status of your domain name if it is registered.

  • QUARANTINE: When a domain name is deleted, it goes into a quarantine period of 40 days. A quarantined domain is not available for registration, it can only be "reactivated" or "moved from quarantine"

The following transactions can have an impact on the life cycle of a .be domain name:

  • Create: When a domain name is registered, then it enters the REGISTERED state.
  • Delete: When a domain name is deleted, it then enters the QUARANTINE state.
  • Renew: .be domains are automatically renewed, there is no existing renewal transaction.
  • Transfer: A domain can be transferred to another Registrant / Registrar.
  • Reactivate: The Registrar responsible for the domain name has reactivated it from its QUARANTINE status, the domain then goes into REGISTRED status.
  • Transfer from quarantine: Any registrar to initiate a transfer from a quarantined domain to their registrar account.

For the Transfer and Transfer from quarantine operations, the registrar needs the transfer code that the registrar can obtain via the DNSBelgium site.

Altered domain name life cycle

DNS Belgium may carry out certain operations on the domains due to certain specific circumstances:

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Two special states are added to the lifecycle:

  • OUT OF SERVICE: This is an exception to REGISTRED status. This means that the Registrar with whom the domain name is registered has ceased its activity (its contract with DNS Belgium has been revoked for one reason or another) and the renewal date has passed. (there is no automatic renewal since there is no longer a registrar). The Registrant must transfer the domain to a new registrar within 2 months otherwise the domain returns to AVAILABLE status (there is no passage through QUARANTINE).

  • ON HOLD: This is an exception to REGISTRED status. This situation means that an ADR procedure (Alternative Dispute Resolution, for example with Cepina) or a legal challenge is in progress. This has no impact on the outside world as the domain remains active. However, only the commands 'delete-domain', 'undo-delete-domain', 'update-domain' (without modifying the registrant), 'reactivate-domain' are possible. This allows the registrar to continue the technical management of the domain. If the domain name is deleted, a 40-day period starts from when the 'ON HOLD' status is removed.

Ces états et leurs causes sont détaillées plus largement sur Le site public de DNS Belgium.

Lorsqu'un domaine en répond pas aux conditions de validité d'un nom de domaine .be, le statut suivant est retourné :

NOT VALID: Le domaine ne répond pas aux conditions de validité d'un domaine .be, par exemple le nom de domaine demandé est plus long que 63 caractères.

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