.koeln Domain
Cologne's German-Language City Domain
Register your .koeln domain from just £30.99/yr. Free DNS management, email forwarding, and 10GB mailbox included with every domain.
What is a .koeln domain?
The .koeln domain represents Cologne (Koln in German) using the city's native German spelling. Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city, famous for its Gothic cathedral, Carnival celebrations, and Koelnmesse trade fairs. Managed by dotKoeln GmbH, .koeln resonates with German-speaking audiences while .cologne serves international ones. For businesses rooted in the Rheinland, .koeln is the more natural choice.
Who should register .koeln?
Cologne-based businesses, Carnival-related organisations, trade fair exhibitors, and local services targeting German-speaking Cologne residents.
Why choose .koeln?
- Native German spelling of Cologne
- Germany's fourth-largest city
- Stronger local resonance than .cologne
- Ideal for Carnival, media, and trade fair businesses
Who runs .koeln, and since when
Registry data from the .koeln delegation record held by IANA, which maintains the internet's root zone. Eligibility comes from the registry's own policy, and the prices are ours.
- Extension type
- Generic (gTLD)
- Registry operator
- dotKoeln GmbH
- The organisation that runs the extension
- In the root zone since
- 2014
- Delegated 20 February 2014
- Who can register
- Open to anyone, with no requirement to live or trade in Cologne
- Checked against the registry's own policy
- Our price
- £30.99 a year
- Ex VAT. Renews at the same price
How .koeln differs from .hamburg on eligibility
German city extensions are not written to a common template, and comparing two of them makes the point better than any description. Hamburg runs its extension as a community namespace where the holder has to be able to demonstrate a connection to the region. Cologne does not. The General Registration Policy that dotKoeln GmbH publishes for the .koeln domain sets out what will stop a registration going through, and a missing local connection is not on the list.
What is on the list: choosing a reserved or exempt name without evidence of the right to use it, characters outside the permitted set, an application that did not come through an accredited registrar, personal data that is evidently incorrect or missing, and registration requirements that have not been met. Terms run from one year to ten, in whole years, and the registry gives your registrar at least three months' notice before a term ends.
One policy document covers .koeln and .cologne together, because the same registry runs both. They are not competitors; they are the German-language and English-language halves of the same idea, which is why a business that cares about the name usually takes both and publishes one.
The honest consequence of open registration is worth stating. Because nobody has to prove a connection to the city, holding a .koeln proves nothing about you either. It is a memorable local address for a business that really is in the Rheinland, and an available novelty for anyone else. That is a fair trade if you know which one you are buying.
Is .koeln the right choice for you?
We would rather sell you the right extension once than the wrong one twice.
.koeln works well if
- You trade in Cologne and want a German-language address that a local reader takes at face value straight away.
- The .de version of your name went years ago and you would rather have a short city name than a padded national one.
- You want a city extension without the eligibility conditions and use requirements Hamburg attaches to its own.
- You are running a Cologne event, venue or trade fair presence where the city name is half the brand.
Look elsewhere if
- Your customers are British. Most will not recognise the extension, and spelling out the oe over the phone is a conversation every time.
- You wanted the domain to prove you are local. It cannot, because there is no eligibility test behind it for anyone to rely on.
- You are watching costs. It renews every year at several times a .co.uk, for an address that means nothing outside one German region.
Not actually in the Rheinland? The .com carries no city claim you would have to defend or explain. See .com pricing.
.koeln vs .hamburg: which should you register?
Two German city extensions, launched in the same wave, run on opposite philosophies. Hamburg's is a community namespace: you must be able to demonstrate an economic, cultural, historical, social or other connection to the metropolitan area, the domain has to be in use within 12 months, and a holder who does not meet the conditions can lose the name with no refund. Cologne's general policy asks none of that.
Pick .koeln when you want a city address without conditions attached, or when you are outside the region and want a Cologne name anyway. Pick .hamburg when you are in the Hamburg region and want an extension whose restrictions work in your favour, because a namespace that checks its holders means more to a local audience.
Neither is a mistake. What would be a mistake is assuming they behave the same way because they look alike, then discovering the difference after a registry check.
| .koeln | .hamburg | |
|---|---|---|
| Local connection | Not required | Required, to the metropolitan area |
| Checked by registry | No eligibility check | At the registry's discretion, later |
| Use requirement | None | In use within 12 months |
| If you do not qualify | Does not arise | Deleted, fees not refunded |
| Sibling extension | .cologne, same registry and policy | None |
.koeln domain questions, answered
What people ask us before registering a .koeln domain.
Can't find what you're looking for?
Ask us directlyNo. The general registration policy published by dotKoeln GmbH lists the obstacles to registration, and a local connection is not among them. Registrations are refused for reserved or exempt names without evidence of a right to use them, for characters outside the permitted set, for applications not made through an accredited registrar, and for evidently incorrect personal data. Location is not tested.
Take .koeln for a German-speaking audience and .cologne for an international one. Both are run by the same registry under the same general registration policy, so there is no difference in rules, term or process. Where the name matters to the business, most holders register both and publish the one that matches the language of the site, pointing the other at it.
One to ten years, in whole years. The registry notifies your registrar at least three months before a term ends, which is useful but not a substitute for your own reminder, because that notice goes to the registrar rather than to you. On any domain a business depends on, set the renewal to happen automatically and keep the card on the account current.
No, and it is worth knowing that before you rely on one as a trust signal. Anyone anywhere can register a .koeln, so the extension tells a visitor what the holder wants to be associated with rather than where they are. Hamburg's city extension does test its holders, which is the exception rather than the rule among city domains.
Included with Your .koeln Domain
DNS Management
Full DNS zone editor to manage A, CNAME, MX, TXT, and all record types.
Email Forwarding
Set up professional email addresses and forward to any inbox.
Auto-Renewal
Never lose your domain with automatic renewal protection.
Free 10GB Mailbox
One 10GB mailbox (POP3/IMAP) included with every domain, on any TLD.
Other Geographic Domains Extensions
Register your .koeln domain today
Secure your .koeln domain from just £30.99/yr. Free DNS management, email forwarding, and 10GB mailbox included.
