Why cant I register a numerical .nl domain name (e.g. 12345.nl)?
• In principle, every individual and organization is free to apply for second-level (i.e. immediately before .nl) .nl domain names. There are, however, some (minimal) technical and administrative conditions to be fulfilled. The technical conditions rule out registration of second-level numerical .nl domain names. Up until 15 November 2000, the reasons for excluding numerical domain names (e.g. 12345.nl) were of a technical nature. Experiences in the (recent) past have demonstrated that the application of numerical domain names may lead to instability of the internet, which would involve safety risks. This is caused by the DNS user interfaces and addressing resolvers, which are as yet insufficiently capable of distinguishing between IP numbers and numerical domain names. Another reason to exclude numerical .nl domain names from registration is the fact that they may cause confusion between telephone numbers and domain names. If it were possible to register domain names consisting of e.g
