About us
DENIC – the registry for .de domains
DENIC eG is the central registry for all .de domains. We ensure that every .de-domain is accessible worldwide in a fraction of a second. With over 17 million registered domains, .de is one of the largest top-level domains worldwide.
Since our founding in 1996, we have been working as a cooperative with around 300 members to keep the Internet reliable, secure, and open.
We as a cooperative
DENIC eG was founded in 1996 with 37 members, based on the motto: “What one person cannot achieve alone, many can.” Today, we bring together around 300 companies and organizations, including international members.
Every vote counts equally in our general assembly. This allows us to make decisions together and by consensus – a proven model in a dynamic technological world.
Our principles are firmly anchored in our statutes:
- Neutrality and independence
- Responsibility and professional competence
- Non-discrimination
- Work without the intention of making a profit
Popular in Germany, in demand worldwide
The .de domain is the most popular internet extension in Germany: one in six German citizens has one. It is also in high demand internationally – over two million domains are registered to owners abroad.
Trust in .de makes this extension the first choice for individuals, companies, and organizations that want to be visible in Germany and worldwide.
Participation in international committees and associations
ICANN is a non-profit organization founded in 1998 and based in California. Its task is the global technical coordination of the Internet in the area of protocols and addresses used, as well as the supervision of generic top-level domains. DENIC has represented the interests of the German Internet community in the ICANN working groups since the beginning. www.icann.org.
CENTR members are primarily European registries for country-code top-level domains. CENTR sees itself as a forum for international discussion of issues and topics related to domain registration. Its main objective is to facilitate the exchange of ideas and information between ccTLD registries. DENIC staff are actively involved in all areas, including administration, technology, legal affairs, and marketing. www.centr.org
The IETF is the standardization organization relevant to the Internet. As an open international community of developers, professional users, manufacturers, and scientists, it is involved in the development and advancement of technical procedures (protocols) important for communication on the Internet and the Internet architecture. We are heavily involved in the working groups that deal directly or indirectly with the Domain Name System. www.ietf.org
Founded in 1989, RIPE is an open community that brings together public and private operators of the European Internet infrastructure. We participate in working groups that are important for ccTLDs and are also a member of RIPE NCC, which is responsible for managing IP addresses in Europe. www.ripe.net
OARC serves as a forum for DNS infrastructure operators to exchange data and experiences. By connecting experts worldwide, it ensures that observations of operationally relevant events are used to gain insights that promote the stability and security of the DNS infrastructure. www.dns-oarc.net
The Internet Society was originally founded as the umbrella organization of the IETF. True to its motto, “The Internet is for everyone,” it is now involved in global networking, network access, the dissemination of innovations such as IPv6 and DNSSEC, as well as data protection and governance. It also represents the technical community on the international political stage in forums such as the IGF. www.isoc.org
The IGF was convened by the United Nations in 2006. Since then, it has brought together all stakeholders (government representatives, international organizations, the private sector, and civil society) on an annual basis to discuss issues of public interest concerning the future shape of Internet governance. www.intgovforum.org
The German section of the Internet Society emerged from the German Internet Interest Group (DIGI e.V.). ISOC has set itself the goal of promoting the open, forward-looking development and use of the Internet. DENIC is active in both national and international ISOC committees. www.isoc.de
BITKOM represents companies such as manufacturers of end devices and infrastructure systems, as well as providers of software, services, new media, and content. One of BITKOM's key objectives is to further advance Germany's progress toward becoming an information society. www.bitkom.org
The CERT Association is an alliance of German security and computer emergency response teams. CERT teams from industry, research, and federal and state institutions work together in this association to jointly ensure the security of German computer systems. www.cert-verbund.de