A .de domain at RichHost costs $24.75 a year, and renewal is the same $24.75; moving an existing .de to us costs $21.45. You do not need to live in Germany to register one. If you are based abroad, though, DENIC can ask you to name an authorised recipient with an address in Germany, and you must do so within two weeks. We checked this and the other registry rules on DENIC’s own pages on 12 November 2026.
.de domain prices
US dollar prices from the RichHost price list dated 12 November 2026.
| Service | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Registration | $24.75 per year | New .de domain |
| Renewal | $24.75 per year | Same as the first year |
| Transfer to RichHost | $21.45 | Needs the transfer password (AuthInfo) from your current provider |
| Restore after deletion | on request | No fixed price in our list; ask support |
The price does not jump in the second year, because registration and renewal cost the same. For a wider comparison of zones, read how much a domain costs.
DENIC rules for .de at a glance
The .de zone is run by DENIC eG in Frankfurt am Main. The key points from the DENIC domain guidelines and domain terms and conditions:
| Rule | What applies |
|---|---|
| Who can register | Any person or organisation; no German residence is required. A holder not domiciled in Germany must, when DENIC asks, name an authorised recipient for official and court documents with a full address in Germany within two weeks (section 3(4) of the terms). A PO box is not enough. |
| Holder data | Full postal address and email; organisations give their full name with legal form. Several joint holders are allowed. |
| Name format | 1 to 63 characters: digits, hyphens and letters a to z. No hyphen at the start, at the end, or in both the 3rd and 4th positions. One-character and all-digit names are therefore possible. |
| Special letters (IDN) | ä, ö, ü, ß and other Latin letters from the annex of the guidelines, such as æ, ø and ł. For these names the length is counted in the encoded (xn--) form. |
| Term | The contract with DENIC has no fixed end date; with us you pay for the domain yearly. |
| Transfer | With the transfer password (AuthInfo) from the current provider. It is valid for 30 days and works only once. |
| After deletion | A deleted .de enters a 31 day Redemption Grace Period, during which the former holder can get it back. |
| WHOIS | For private individuals, the DENIC lookup shows no holder data, only the date and the managing DENIC member. For companies, name, address, email and phone are public. |
The authorised recipient rule is the one that catches foreign owners: if DENIC’s request goes unanswered, DENIC may terminate the domain contract. Keep a German address you can use (a partner, an accountant, a service provider) before you need it. The steps of changing provider are in our guide to transferring a domain to another registrar.
Who .de suits, and the alternatives
.de is the natural ending if your customers are in Germany: an online shop shipping there, a local branch, a German language version of your product. German users trust it the way the rest of the world trusts .com. If you sell in several countries, keep the .com as well and point both to one site.
| Zone | Registration per year | When to choose it |
|---|---|---|
| .de | $24.75 | Customers in Germany |
| .com | $21.07 | International audience |
| .at | $27.50 | Customers in Austria |
| .ch | $16.50 | Customers in Switzerland |
| .net | $26.02 | Technical services |
New .eu registrations are not available from us at the moment. New to domains? Start with what a domain name is.
How to order a .de domain at RichHost
- Check availability in the search form on the RichHost domains page: type the full name, such as example.de.
- Order the domain and give the holder’s full postal address.
- If you live outside Germany, have a German address for an authorised recipient ready in case DENIC asks.
- Connect the domain to your hosting with nameservers or an A record, as shown in how to change domain nameservers.
RichHost gives free WHOIS privacy in every zone whose registry supports it, so check the option when ordering. For private holders, DENIC hides the data anyway.
.de domain with hosting
RichHost hosting starts at $8 a month, with 10% off for yearly payment, on servers in Europe and the USA. Every plan has NVMe disks, unlimited sites and mailboxes, free Let’s Encrypt SSL and our own control panel with an AI assistant. The free domain with a yearly plan covers only .com, .org and .info, so a .de is paid separately; that yearly payment with a free domain is non-refundable, and the 14-day money-back guarantee does not apply to it. See the hosting plans and how the two fit together in domain and hosting.
.de domain FAQ
Can a foreigner register a .de domain?
Yes. DENIC does not require residence in Germany. A holder abroad must name an authorised recipient in Germany within two weeks if DENIC asks; otherwise DENIC may end the contract.
Are umlaut domains like müller.de possible?
Yes, ä, ö, ü and ß are allowed. Register the plain spelling too (mueller.de), because many people type it that way.
How much is a .de renewal?
$24.75 per year, the same as registration.
What happens after a .de is deleted?
It stays 31 days in the Redemption Grace Period and can be restored during that time. Support will tell you the restore price.
How do I move my .de to RichHost?
Ask your current provider for the transfer password and enter it when ordering. It is valid for 30 days; the transfer costs $21.45.
Sources (checked 12 November 2026)
- Characters, length, IDN letters, Redemption Grace Period: DENIC domain guidelines
- Authorised recipient, transfer password, contract term: DENIC domain terms and conditions
- Public holder data: DENIC domain query
- Prices: RichHost domain price list of 12 November 2026, USD.
