diff --git a/include/osmocom/mslookup/mdns_rfc.h b/include/osmocom/mslookup/mdns_rfc.h
index 9d6be5a2..4aaee962 100644
--- a/include/osmocom/mslookup/mdns_rfc.h
+++ b/include/osmocom/mslookup/mdns_rfc.h
@@ -99,9 +99,6 @@ struct osmo_mdns_rfc_record {
 	uint8_t *rdata;
 };
 
-char *osmo_mdns_rfc_qname_encode(void *ctx, const char *domain);
-char *osmo_mdns_rfc_qname_decode(void *ctx, const char *qname, size_t qname_len);
-
 void osmo_mdns_rfc_header_encode(struct msgb *msg, const struct osmo_mdns_rfc_header *hdr);
 int osmo_mdns_rfc_header_decode(const uint8_t *data, size_t data_len, struct osmo_mdns_rfc_header *hdr);
 
diff --git a/src/mslookup/mdns_rfc.c b/src/mslookup/mdns_rfc.c
index eddba30d..7bfd3280 100644
--- a/src/mslookup/mdns_rfc.c
+++ b/src/mslookup/mdns_rfc.c
@@ -27,91 +27,9 @@
 #include <osmocom/core/msgb.h>
 #include <osmocom/core/bitvec.h>
 #include <osmocom/core/logging.h>
+#include <osmocom/gsm/apn.h>
 #include <osmocom/mslookup/mdns_rfc.h>
 
-/*
- * Encode/decode IEs
- */
-
-/*! Encode a domain string as qname (RFC 1035 4.1.2).
- * \param[in] domain  multiple labels separated by dots, e.g. "sip.voice.1234.msisdn".
- * \returns allocated buffer with length-value pairs for each label (e.g. 0x03 "sip" 0x05 "voice" ...), NULL on error.
- */
-char *osmo_mdns_rfc_qname_encode(void *ctx, const char *domain)
-{
-	char *domain_dup;
-	char *domain_iter;
-	char buf[OSMO_MDNS_RFC_MAX_NAME_LEN + 2] = ""; /* len(qname) is len(domain) +1 */
-	struct osmo_strbuf sb = { .buf = buf, .len = sizeof(buf) };
-	char *label;
-
-	if (strlen(domain) > OSMO_MDNS_RFC_MAX_NAME_LEN)
-		return NULL;
-
-	domain_iter = domain_dup = talloc_strdup(ctx, domain);
-	while ((label = strsep(&domain_iter, "."))) {
-		size_t len = strlen(label);
-
-		/* Empty domain, dot at start, two dots in a row, or ending with a dot */
-		if (!len)
-			goto error;
-
-		OSMO_STRBUF_PRINTF(sb, "%c%s", (char)len, label);
-	}
-
-	talloc_free(domain_dup);
-	return talloc_strdup(ctx, buf);
-
-error:
-	talloc_free(domain_dup);
-	return NULL;
-}
-
-/*! Decode a domain string from a qname (RFC 1035 4.1.2).
- * \param[in] qname  buffer with length-value pairs for each label (e.g. 0x03 "sip" 0x05 "voice" ...)
- * \param[in] qname_max_len  amount of bytes that can be read at most from the memory location that qname points to.
- * \returns allocated buffer with domain string, multiple labels separated by dots (e.g. "sip.voice.1234.msisdn"),
- *	    NULL on error.
- */
-char *osmo_mdns_rfc_qname_decode(void *ctx, const char *qname, size_t qname_max_len)
-{
-	const char *next_label, *qname_end = qname + qname_max_len;
-	char buf[OSMO_MDNS_RFC_MAX_NAME_LEN + 1];
-	int i = 0;
-
-	if (qname_max_len < 1)
-		return NULL;
-
-	while (*qname) {
-		size_t len;
-
-		if (i >= qname_max_len)
-			return NULL;
-
-		len = *qname;
-		next_label = qname + len + 1;
-
-		if (next_label >= qname_end || i + len > OSMO_MDNS_RFC_MAX_NAME_LEN)
-			return NULL;
-
-		if (i) {
-			/* Two dots in a row is not allowed */
-			if (buf[i - 1] == '.')
-				return NULL;
-
-			buf[i] = '.';
-			i++;
-		}
-
-		memcpy(buf + i, qname + 1, len);
-		i += len;
-		qname = next_label;
-	}
-	buf[i] = '\0';
-
-	return talloc_strdup(ctx, buf);
-}
-
 /*
  * Encode/decode message sections
  */
@@ -153,18 +71,15 @@ int osmo_mdns_rfc_header_decode(const uint8_t *data, size_t data_len, struct osm
  */
 int osmo_mdns_rfc_question_encode(void *ctx, struct msgb *msg, const struct osmo_mdns_rfc_question *qst)
 {
-	char *qname;
-	size_t qname_len;
-	uint8_t *qname_buf;
+	uint8_t *buf;
+	size_t buf_len;
 
 	/* qname */
-	qname = osmo_mdns_rfc_qname_encode(ctx, qst->domain);
-	if (!qname)
+	buf_len = strlen(qst->domain) + 1;
+	buf = msgb_put(msg, buf_len);
+	if (osmo_apn_from_str(buf, buf_len, qst->domain) < 0)
 		return -EINVAL;
-	qname_len = strlen(qname) + 1;
-	qname_buf = msgb_put(msg, qname_len);
-	memcpy(qname_buf, qname, qname_len);
-	talloc_free(qname);
+	msgb_put_u8(msg, 0x00);
 
 	/* qtype and qclass */
 	msgb_put_u16(msg, qst->qtype);
@@ -182,21 +97,25 @@ struct osmo_mdns_rfc_question *osmo_mdns_rfc_question_decode(void *ctx, const ui
 	if (data_len < 6)
 		return NULL;
 
-	/* qname */
 	ret = talloc_zero(ctx, struct osmo_mdns_rfc_question);
 	if (!ret)
 		return NULL;
-	ret->domain = osmo_mdns_rfc_qname_decode(ret, (const char *)data, qname_len);
-	if (!ret->domain) {
-		talloc_free(ret);
-		return NULL;
-	}
+
+	/* qname */
+	ret->domain = talloc_size(ret, qname_len - 1);
+	if (!ret->domain)
+		goto error;
+	if (!osmo_apn_to_str(ret->domain, data, qname_len - 1))
+		goto error;
 
 	/* qtype and qclass */
 	ret->qtype = osmo_load16be(data + qname_len);
 	ret->qclass = osmo_load16be(data + qname_len + 2);
 
 	return ret;
+error:
+	talloc_free(ret);
+	return NULL;
 }
 
 /*
@@ -208,18 +127,15 @@ struct osmo_mdns_rfc_question *osmo_mdns_rfc_question_decode(void *ctx, const ui
  */
 int osmo_mdns_rfc_record_encode(void *ctx, struct msgb *msg, const struct osmo_mdns_rfc_record *rec)
 {
-	char *name;
-	size_t name_len;
 	uint8_t *buf;
+	size_t buf_len;
 
 	/* name */
-	name = osmo_mdns_rfc_qname_encode(ctx, rec->domain);
-	if (!name)
+	buf_len = strlen(rec->domain) + 1;
+	buf = msgb_put(msg, buf_len);
+	if (osmo_apn_from_str(buf, buf_len, rec->domain) < 0)
 		return -EINVAL;
-	name_len = strlen(name) + 1;
-	buf = msgb_put(msg, name_len);
-	memcpy(buf, name, name_len);
-	talloc_free(name);
+	msgb_put_u8(msg, 0x00);
 
 	/* type, class, ttl, rdlength */
 	msgb_put_u16(msg, rec->type);
@@ -240,16 +156,23 @@ struct osmo_mdns_rfc_record *osmo_mdns_rfc_record_decode(void *ctx, const uint8_
 	struct osmo_mdns_rfc_record *ret;
 	size_t name_len;
 
+	/* name length: represented as a series of labels, and terminated by a
+	 * label with zero length (RFC 1035 3.3). A label with zero length is a
+	 * NUL byte. */
+	name_len = strnlen((const char *)data, data_len - 10) + 1;
+	if (data[name_len])
+		return NULL;
+
+	/* allocate ret + ret->domain */
 	ret = talloc_zero(ctx, struct osmo_mdns_rfc_record);
 	if (!ret)
 		return NULL;
-
-	/* name */
-	ret->domain = osmo_mdns_rfc_qname_decode(ret, (const char *)data, data_len - 10);
+	ret->domain = talloc_size(ctx, name_len - 1);
 	if (!ret->domain)
 		goto error;
-	name_len = strlen(ret->domain) + 2;
-	if (name_len + 10 > data_len)
+
+	/* name */
+	if (!osmo_apn_to_str(ret->domain, data, name_len - 1))
 		goto error;
 
 	/* type, class, ttl, rdlength */
diff --git a/tests/mslookup/mdns_test.c b/tests/mslookup/mdns_test.c
index 7b26f0f3..3e5a2306 100644
--- a/tests/mslookup/mdns_test.c
+++ b/tests/mslookup/mdns_test.c
@@ -32,148 +32,6 @@ struct qname_enc_dec_test {
 	size_t qname_max_len; /* default: strlen(qname) + 1 */
 };
 
-static const struct qname_enc_dec_test qname_enc_dec_test_data[] = {
-	{
-		/* OK: typical mslookup domain */
-		.domain = "hlr.1234567.imsi",
-		.qname = "\x03" "hlr" "\x07" "1234567" "\x04" "imsi",
-	},
-	{
-		/* Wrong format: double dot */
-		.domain = "hlr..imsi",
-		.qname = NULL,
-	},
-	{
-		/* Wrong format: double dot */
-		.domain = "hlr",
-		.qname = "\x03hlr\0\x03imsi",
-	},
-	{
-		/* Wrong format: dot at end */
-		.domain = "hlr.",
-		.qname = NULL,
-	},
-	{
-		/* Wrong format: dot at start */
-		.domain = ".hlr",
-		.qname = NULL,
-	},
-	{
-		/* Wrong format: empty */
-		.domain = "",
-		.qname = NULL,
-	},
-	{
-		/* OK: maximum length */
-		.domain =
-			"123456789." "123456789." "123456789." "123456789." "123456789."
-			"123456789." "123456789." "123456789." "123456789." "123456789."
-			"123456789." "123456789." "123456789." "123456789." "123456789."
-			"123456789." "123456789." "123456789." "123456789." "123456789."
-			"123456789." "123456789." "123456789." "123456789." "123456789."
-			"12345"
-			,
-		.qname =
-			"\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789"
-			"\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789"
-			"\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789"
-			"\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789"
-			"\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789"
-			"\x05" "12345"
-	},
-	{
-		/* Error: too long domain */
-		.domain =
-			"123456789." "123456789." "123456789." "123456789." "123456789."
-			"123456789." "123456789." "123456789." "123456789." "123456789."
-			"123456789." "123456789." "123456789." "123456789." "123456789."
-			"123456789." "123456789." "123456789." "123456789." "123456789."
-			"123456789." "123456789." "123456789." "123456789." "123456789."
-			"12345toolong"
-			,
-		.qname = NULL,
-	},
-	{
-		/* Error: too long qname */
-		.domain = NULL,
-		.qname =
-			"\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789"
-			"\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789"
-			"\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789"
-			"\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789"
-			"\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789"
-			"\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789"
-	},
-	{
-		/* Error: wrong token length in qname */
-		.domain = NULL,
-		.qname = "\x03" "hlr" "\x07" "1234567" "\x05" "imsi",
-	},
-	{
-		/* Error: wrong token length in qname */
-		.domain = NULL,
-		.qname = "\x02" "hlr" "\x07" "1234567" "\x04" "imsi",
-	},
-	{
-		/* Wrong format: token length at end of qname */
-		.domain = NULL,
-		.qname = "\x03hlr\x03",
-	},
-	{
-		/* Error: overflow in label length */
-		.domain = NULL,
-		.qname = "\x03" "hlr" "\x07" "1234567" "\x04" "imsi",
-		.qname_max_len = 17,
-	},
-};
-
-void test_enc_dec_rfc_qname(void *ctx)
-{
-	char quote_buf[300];
-	int i;
-
-	fprintf(stderr, "-- %s --\n", __func__);
-
-	for (i = 0; i < ARRAY_SIZE(qname_enc_dec_test_data); i++) {
-		const struct qname_enc_dec_test *t = &qname_enc_dec_test_data[i];
-		char *res;
-
-		if (t->domain) {
-			fprintf(stderr, "domain: %s\n", osmo_quote_str_buf2(quote_buf, sizeof(quote_buf), t->domain, -1));
-			fprintf(stderr, "exp: %s\n", osmo_quote_str_buf2(quote_buf, sizeof(quote_buf), t->qname, -1));
-			res = osmo_mdns_rfc_qname_encode(ctx, t->domain);
-			fprintf(stderr, "res: %s\n", osmo_quote_str_buf2(quote_buf, sizeof(quote_buf), res, -1));
-			if (t->qname == res || (t->qname && res && strcmp(t->qname, res) == 0))
-				fprintf(stderr, "=> OK\n");
-			else
-				fprintf(stderr, "=> ERROR\n");
-			if (res)
-				talloc_free(res);
-			fprintf(stderr, "\n");
-		}
-
-		if (t->qname) {
-			size_t qname_max_len = t->qname_max_len;
-			if (qname_max_len)
-				fprintf(stderr, "qname_max_len: %lu\n", qname_max_len);
-			else
-				qname_max_len = strlen(t->qname) + 1;
-
-			fprintf(stderr, "qname: %s\n", osmo_quote_str_buf2(quote_buf, sizeof(quote_buf), t->qname, -1));
-			fprintf(stderr, "exp: %s\n", osmo_quote_str_buf2(quote_buf, sizeof(quote_buf), t->domain, -1));
-			res = osmo_mdns_rfc_qname_decode(ctx, t->qname, qname_max_len);
-			fprintf(stderr, "res: %s\n", osmo_quote_str_buf2(quote_buf, sizeof(quote_buf), res, -1));
-			if (t->domain == res || (t->domain && res && strcmp(t->domain, res) == 0))
-				fprintf(stderr, "=> OK\n");
-			else
-				fprintf(stderr, "=> ERROR\n");
-			if (res)
-				talloc_free(res);
-			fprintf(stderr, "\n");
-		}
-	}
-}
-
 #define PRINT_HDR(hdr, name) \
 	fprintf(stderr, "header %s:\n" \
 	       ".id = %i\n" \
@@ -589,7 +447,6 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 	log_set_print_category_hex(osmo_stderr_target, 0);
 	log_set_use_color(osmo_stderr_target, 0);
 
-	test_enc_dec_rfc_qname(ctx);
 	test_enc_dec_rfc_header();
 	test_enc_dec_rfc_header_einval();
 	test_enc_dec_rfc_question(ctx);
diff --git a/tests/mslookup/mdns_test.err b/tests/mslookup/mdns_test.err
index 51e5afe6..0d650be2 100644
--- a/tests/mslookup/mdns_test.err
+++ b/tests/mslookup/mdns_test.err
@@ -1,85 +1,3 @@
--- test_enc_dec_rfc_qname --
-domain: "hlr.1234567.imsi"
-exp: "\3hlr\a1234567\4imsi"
-res: "\3hlr\a1234567\4imsi"
-=> OK
-
-qname: "\3hlr\a1234567\4imsi"
-exp: "hlr.1234567.imsi"
-res: "hlr.1234567.imsi"
-=> OK
-
-domain: "hlr..imsi"
-exp: NULL
-res: NULL
-=> OK
-
-domain: "hlr"
-exp: "\3hlr"
-res: "\3hlr"
-=> OK
-
-qname: "\3hlr"
-exp: "hlr"
-res: "hlr"
-=> OK
-
-domain: "hlr."
-exp: NULL
-res: NULL
-=> OK
-
-domain: ".hlr"
-exp: NULL
-res: NULL
-=> OK
-
-domain: ""
-exp: NULL
-res: NULL
-=> OK
-
-domain: "123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.12345"
-exp: "\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\512345"
-res: "\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\512345"
-=> OK
-
-qname: "\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\512345"
-exp: "123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.12345"
-res: "123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.12345"
-=> OK
-
-domain: "123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.123456789.12345toolong"
-exp: NULL
-res: NULL
-=> OK
-
-qname: "\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\t123456789\
-exp: NULL
-res: NULL
-=> OK
-
-qname: "\3hlr\a1234567\5imsi"
-exp: NULL
-res: NULL
-=> OK
-
-qname: "\2hlr\a1234567\4imsi"
-exp: NULL
-res: NULL
-=> OK
-
-qname: "\3hlr\3"
-exp: NULL
-res: NULL
-=> OK
-
-qname_max_len: 17
-qname: "\3hlr\a1234567\4imsi"
-exp: NULL
-res: NULL
-=> OK
-
 -- test_enc_dec_rfc_header --
 header in:
 .id = 1337