1 March 2020 1 min read

Amongst the array of uncertainties resulting from the possibility of a no-deal Brexit, have you stopped to consider how your domain name may be affected? 

If you’re one of the 273,000 people that hold an .eu domain name, you need to know how Brexit affects this.

Domain name holders must check if they fulfil the eligibility criteria to keep their .eu domain. Eligibility includes having the registered office, central administration or principal place of business in the EU, or being an organisation established in the EU. 

The European Commission have said that where a holder of a domain name no longer fulfils this criteria, the Registry for .eu will be entitled to revoke such a domain name on its own initiative. 

What does this mean?

Uncertainty around whether we will leave the EU with a deal or not means that domain names are not a priority – there is no clear guidance in the draft withdrawal agreement about this. However, the Government have said that organisations and individuals established in the UK will not be able to renew their .eu domain names in the event of a no-deal Brexit. 

So, domain names are likely to be revoked before renewal. Once you have lost your domain name, this means that any existing links you have will no longer work – including directories, references and your email address. You won’t have access to the .eu anymore, so setting up redirects also won’t be possible.

If you have an .eu domain name, you need to check if you remain eligible after 29th March. If not, you need to start migration to a new domain name now – examples include .co.uk, .com or .org. 

If you require any guidance on how Brexit could affect aspects of your business, feel free to give us a call.

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Jonathan Craddock

Jonathan completed the Legal Practice Course in 2013 before working with some of Southampton’s top law firms.

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