Are you a UK company with a .eu domain name? Are you about to lose it because of Brexit?

If you are a UK company with one or more .eu domain names and have not yet taken any action, post Brexit, to secure your right to use those domain names, time may be running out for you to do so.

You are not able to register or renew a .eu domain name if:

+ Your organisation, business or undertaking is established in the UK but not in the EU/European Economic Area (EEA) or

+ You live outside of the EU/EEA and are not an EU/EEA citizen.

On 1 January 2021, following the end of the Brexit transition period, any UK registrant who could not meet the eligibility criteria had their .eu domain names suspended, and the suspended domain name could no longer support any active services (such as websites or e-mail). Accordingly, if this applies to you, you are likely already to be aware that some action is required. A suspended domain can still be reinstated, if registration data is updated to meet the eligibility criteria by 30 June 2021.

Domain names that are not reinstated will be withdrawn as from 1 July 2021. On 1 January 2022, all the withdrawn domain names will be revoked. They will then start to be made available for registration by other entities.

If you are a UK company with an interest in the EU, it is worth taking steps to meet the eligibility criteria in respect of your .eu domain names before 30 June 2021. Otherwise, you face the risk of a third party acquiring those .eu domain names when they become available next year.

For more information on the relevant requirements, see the UK Government advice at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/registering-and-renewing-eu-domain-names-in-the-uk