Please note, this article is out of date: it was written in September 2024, and the rules for .hu domains have changed since then, so some parts of it no longer apply. For example, naming an administrative contact is currently not mandatory. You can find up-to-date information in our knowledge base articles on domain contacts and the rules of .hu domain registration.

There are many rules relating to domain names, and users are not aware of most of them at all. To complicate matters further, the rules for .hu and .eu domain names are often quite different.

Below, we have therefore collected the most frequently asked questions and answers on the subject, to make it easier to find your way through the rules. Let’s take a look!

What contact methods do the rules require?

For .hu domain names, the rule is the simplest. Here, the contact method is either document-based or built on an application with a confirmation procedure.

Things are a little more complicated for a .eu domain. Here, document-based administration is not possible, and apart from the email address, no further factor data (the authentication details used to identify the user) can be recorded either.

For a .eu domain name, then, the email address is the only contact method through which the registration can be managed. The reason is that registering a .eu domain name does not require signing and uploading any additional documents: there is no document-based domain application.

Both registration and transfer are automated and can be handled online.

Who has the right to change the domain?

For a .hu domain with the document-based contact method, only the client who concluded the registration contract can do this; for a domain registered through a confirmation procedure, only the person holding the factor data.

If you want to change the details of a .eu domain name, you can do so through the registrar, typically in its online client portal. No factor data are needed for this: anyone who has access to the domain name at the registrar is entitled to change its settings.

Transferring the domain to someone else is, of course, a little more complicated: this requires the involvement of EURid, which sends a code to the administrative email address that allows the whole transfer process to be prepared.

Do the user and the person holding the factor data have to be the same?

This is a very common question about domain names. It is not relevant for .hu domains, as the rules say nothing about it, but for .eu domains the rules are especially strict.

Here, the rules state that the registration details – even the email address – must relate to the applicant, not to the registrar or an authorised representative.

If necessary, EURid can request proof of the user’s identity through the registrar. This matters because the applicant must therefore give an email address that they, or a person they have authorised, can always access.

What conditions apply to the person applying for a domain name?

Strict rules apply here to everyone who wants to apply for a domain name.

For a .hu domain, these are:

• The applicant must be a citizen of a member state of the EU, the Council of Europe, the EEA or EFTA, or of a country neighbouring Hungary, holding an identity card, passport or driving licence issued by an authority of one of these states.
• The applicant may be a natural person holding a Hungarian settlement permit.
• In addition, a legal entity can also apply for a .hu domain name if it meets the criteria set out in the first point and has been registered in accordance with the laws of one of these member states.
• The applicant may also be the holder of a trade mark registered with the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office (Szellemi Tulajdon Nemzeti Hivatala) whose protection extends to Hungary.

For a .eu domain name:

• All EU citizens, regardless of where they live.
• Natural persons who are not EU citizens but live in one of the member states.
• Businesses with a registered office in the EU.
• All organisations established in the EU that do not breach international law.
• When registering, you must give the applicant’s full name or the name of the organisation represented, the full postal address, citizenship, an email address, a telephone number, the language of communication and the domain name requested.

Which contacts are mandatory for domain names?

The .hu domain name is particularly lenient in this respect, as under the .hu Domain Registration Rules (Domainregisztrációs Szabályzat, DRSZ), only an administrative contact has to be named.

For a .eu domain the situation is a little more complicated, although it is enough to provide the holder’s contact details and a so-called onsite contact, which is usually the registrar’s email address.

A separate administrative contact is not mandatory, so there is no administrative email address either, only the email addresses of the applicant and the registrar. Of course, at the applicant’s request, the public WHOIS may include a secondary email address.

Are other contact details mandatory for domain names?

In general they are not mandatory for a .hu domain, but for a natural person the registrar must always be given their name, postal address, email address, telephone number, date of birth and the number of an identity document.

The latter also applies to the heir of a deceased domain user! If the applicant is a legal entity, the registrar must be given the holder’s name, address, email address, telephone number, tax number and the name of its legal representative.

For a .eu domain name, the registrant’s email address, telephone number, language of communication, citizenship, full postal address and name or organisation name are mandatory.

How often does a domain name holder have to update the contact details?

The DRSZ sets no deadline for this for .hu domain names, so the domain user is obliged to keep these details up to date at all times and to report any changes.

Under EURid’s rules, for a .eu domain name it is the holder’s duty to update the details through the registrar as soon as a change occurs.

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