UK: What you need to know about .EU domain names

May 25, 2020

On 1st February 2020, the United Kingdom left the European Union, here is what you need to know about your .EU domain name registration.

Following the United Kingdom (UK) exit from the EU on the 1st February 2020, the transition period, which lasts at least until the 31 December 2020, and the exit agreement covers .EU domain name registrations.

During the transition period, undertakings and organisations established in the UK and UK residents and citizens will continue to be able to hold and register a .eu domain name.

From the end of the transition period only the following will be able to register a .EU domain name:

• a Union citizen, independently of their place of residence;
• a natural person who is not a Union citizen and who is a resident of a Member State;
• an undertaking that is established in the Union; or
• an organisation that is established in the Union, without prejudice to the application of national law.

From the end of the transition period, UK undertakings or organisations established in the United Kingdom but not in the Union, UK citizens who are not resident of a Union Member State, and UK residents who are not Union citizens (hereinafter ‘UK registrants’) will no longer be eligible to hold a .eu domain name.

Unless the EU and the UK jointly agree before 1 July 2020 to an extension of that period, the transition period will end on 31 December 2020. At which point the .EU domain authority EURid, will enforce the following measures:

From midnight 31 December 2020 (CET) EURid will not allow any new domain name registrations by UK registrants. It will also not be possible to transfer and transfer through update of any domain name to a UK registrant.

If you are already a UK registrant with a .EU domain name EURid will, starting in July 2020, start contacting  by email all UK registrants and their registrars to inform them of the risk of forthcoming non-compliance with the .eu regulatory framework and inviting them to demonstrate their eventual continued compliance with the eligibility criteria by updating their registration data.

To keep your .EU registration you will need to show that it belongs to a legally established entity in one of the eligible Union Member States, or updating their residence to a Union Member State, or proving their citizenship of a Union Member State irrespective of their residence.

If you don’t act then you will get another email in October from EURid who will inform notify by email all UK registrants and their registrars that they will lose their eligibility as of 1 January 2021 unless they demonstrate their compliance with the .eu regulatory framework by updating their registration data before 31 December 2020.

Your last warning from EURid will come on 21 December 2020, when they id will notify by email all UK registrants who did not demonstrate continued compliance with the eligibility criteria and their registrars about the risk of forthcoming non-compliance with the .eu regulatory framework.

Still not done anything? Your domain name will no longer be compliant with the .EU regulatory framework and will be withdrawn. A withdrawn domain name no longer functions, as the domain name is removed from the zone file and can no longer support any active services (such as websites or email).

One year later on the 1 January 2022, all the affected domain names will be revoked and will become available for general registration.

It is not all black and white. Union citizens residing in the UK will still be able to hold a .eu domain name after the end of the transition period, but they will have to update their registration data and prove their Union citizenship.

Equally UK citizens residing in an EU Member State will remain eligible to hold a .eu domain name after the end of the transition period. UK citizens residing outside of the Union Member States, on the other hand, will no longer be eligible to hold a .eu domain name after the end of the transition period.

You can find out more here.

Categories : Around the Industry

Tags : .EU domain names Brexit Business Website