The .FR domain name extension (a country code Top Level Domain / ccTLD) is for France and administered by AFNIC – which stands for “Association française pour le nommage Internet en coopération”. This translates in English to The French Association for Internet Naming in Cooperation.

AFNIC also operates additional France related extensions including:

• .re (for Réunion Island)
• .yt (for Mayotte)
• .tf (for French Southern and Antarctic Lands)
• .pm (for Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon)
• .wf (for Wallis-et-Futuna)

Who can register a .FR domain name?

• Individuals who reside in The European Union, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein.
• Organizations located in the European Union, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein.

Are Proxy Services Available for .FR domain names?

Yes. Many domain name registrars offer proxy services for .FR domain names. However, not all major registrars do. Some even have restrictions on transferring a .FR domain name from one registrar to another when using proxy services.

Managing ccTLD’s is complex so if you are interested in a .FR domain it’s best to speak with people who understand this product’s complexity.

Talk to NameCorp® today about acquiring a .FR domain name for your brand.

The .NL domain name extension is The Netherlands ccTLD – country code Top-Level Domain.

This extension is administered by the Dutch registry SIDN and is unrestricted – meaning anyone can register a .NL domain name.

Country specific domain extensions typically offer a level of local trust very few other extensions can compete with. According to SIDN’s website, 80% prefer to click on a .nl domain name. If you have ever been to The Netherlands this statistic is not surprising since .NL domains are advertised everywhere.

The Dutch Registry SIDN also plays a large role in giving back to the Netherlands community with the SIDN Fund. This fund provides money for projects which strengthen or innovate Internet usage. You can learn more about the SIDN fund here.

Who can register a . NL domain name?

Anyone can register a . NL domain but remember that it’s always important to read the terms and conditions of ccTLD’s. In .NL’s case, one noteworthy term is:

“An applicant based outside the Netherlands has to accept that our office address may lawfully be used for the receipt of writs and other formal documents relating to the registration or the .nl domain name served on the registrant…”

The full terms and conditions for .NL domain names can be found on SIDN’s website.

Talk to NameCorp® today about acquiring or adding a .NL domain name to your portfolio.

The Russian Federation’s .RU is a Top 10 ccTLD (country code Top Level Domain) according to Verisign’s Domain Name Industry Brief for Q3 2020.

In order to register a .RU domain name you must agree to the registry terms set by The Coordination Center for TLD RU/РФ but no local presence requirements exist. In short, almost anyone can register a .RU domain name – and millions have.

As of Q3 2020, almost 6 million .RU domain names were registered. Some of the more popular .RU sites include:

• yandex.ru
• mail.ru
• ok.ru

A good visual showing the popularity of .RU domain names is below:

The .HK extension is Hong Kong’s designated ccTLD (country code top-level domain) administered by HKIRC – the Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation.

Interested applicants in .HK domain names can choose from a variety of extensions, depending on the Registrant’s profile. Available .HK extensions include:

• .hk
• .com.hk
• .org.hk
• .net.hk
• .edu.hk
• .gov.hk
• .idv.hk

Chinese versions are also allowed including:

• .公司.hk
• .組織.hk
• .網絡.hk
• .教育.hk
• .政府.hk
• .個人.hk

Although anyone can register a .HK domain, applicants must also show documentation proving the identification details and DOB of the Registrant Owner. Commercial companies and organizations will need company verification documents.

For all domains outside of the simple .HK extension other requirements also exist. For example, if you wish to register a .org.hk you must be a Non-profit organization registered or approved by the Hong Kong Government.

Before applying for a .HK domain, talk to us today about the specific documents required to register a .HK domain name.

The .IT domain name extension (a ccTLD – country code Top Level Domain) is for Italy.

It is also one of the few ccTLD’s which corresponds with a popular acronym – IT for Information Technology.

Unfortunately, this domain name extension has registration restrictions otherwise we expect it would be used much wider for it’s relationship to Information Technology.

On the other hand, many Italian companies have been able to get their desired domain name because of such restrictions and that is very often the primary reason such restrictions exist.

Anyone interested in registering a .IT domain name must be:

• a person(s) who have citizenship, residence or a registered office in the countries of the European Economic Area (EEA), the Vatican, the Republic of San Marino, and Switzerland.

Various domain name registrars offer proxy services for .IT domain names so there is often an easy workaround to secure one.

Talk to us today about acquiring the perfect .IT domain name for your brand.

Germany’s .DE is the 3rd most popular ccTLD (country code Top Level Domain) with respect to total domains registered.

The only other ccTLD’s which have more registered domains are .CN (China) and, believe it or not, .TK – for Tokelau, a territory of New Zealand*.

The .DE domain name registry is managed by DENIC – a combination of DE for Germany and NIC for Network Information Center. NIC is a very common term in the world of domain names and a fun fact is the very first domain name registered for any extension is always nic.___

In order to register a .DE domain name you don’t necessarily need a German address but you must be able to provide an authorized contact (located in Germany) who can receive documents on your behalf if requested. And this information must be provided within 2 weeks upon request.

Where to Register a .DE domain name?

Most of the bigger domain name registrars allow registration of .DE domain names. Some even offer proxy services to act as a local contact.

Talk to us today about acquiring a .DE domain name for your brand.

* Source: The Verisign Domain Name Industry Brief Q3 2020

The European Union was founded on November 1, 1993 by Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Today, 27 countries are now members across Europe.

Most of these member countries had a ccTLD before joining the EU. Others gained a ccTLD by a change in the country’s name (such as Montenegro, resulting from a breakup of Yugoslavia) or other factor.

Discussions around a specific URL for the EU started in 1999 and, six years later (2005), the .EU extension was launched.

The .EU extension has registration restrictions (see EURID) – limiting applicants to those with connection to a European Union member country. Such registration requirements include:

• an EU citizen, independently of their place of residence;
• a natural person who is not an EU citizen and who is a resident of a Member State;
• an undertaking that is established in the EU; or
• an organization that is established in the EU, without prejudice to the application of national law.

On the surface, .EU domains sound like they should be widely used but in practice a lot less are used than many hoped for. The initial launch was even criticized by Bob Parsons (of GoDaddy fame) for an atmosphere that allowed hijacking of the .EU landrush by phantom companies.

However, the bigger issue for more widespread adoption is that maybe .EU is essentially stuck as a third place contestant in a game which often has only one winner. Most European companies already use the local ccTLD and/or .COM and most businesses really only need one primary domain.

Talk to us today about acquiring the perfect domain name for your brand.

The .US domain name extension (a ccTLD – country code Top Level Domain) is for the United States.

It also holds title of being the very first ccTLD dating back to 1985 when Jon Postel of the Information Sciences Institute (ISI) at the University of Southern California undertook administration of the domain name extension.

The history of .US is complex – some would even say it mirrors the same level of government over-regulation and red tape in the physical world.

Part of the complex history includes limiting who can register a domain and what type of domain can be registered. For example, Did you know that every state has a __.us reserved for it’s own use? If you like domain name facts then read the Wikipedia page on .US domains. Depending on your view, it can be quite entertaining.

The .US extension is still restricted today. Any applicant must meet one of the following conditions:

1. Any individual, blog or organization that is a citizen of, or licensed in, the USA including federal, state and local governments.
2. Foreign entities with a bona fide interest or presence in the United States.

However, even with it’s rich complex history and restrictions, the .US extension still has millions of domains registered.

It’s worthy to note that America is a very unique marketplace for a local extension.

By many standards .com has been adopted as the default local extension of the USA, whereas if you visit France or The United Kingdom you could likely see just as many .FR’s and .CO.UK’s on billboards. This broad use of local ccTLD’s typically corresponds with consumers trust of an extension and in many countries, these local extensions are trusted as much, or more, as a .com domain.

Finding a .US domain name on a Billboard in America can seem like hunting for a Unicorn at times – especially since Zoom acquired Zoom.com and has since removed the .US from many of its ads.

Talk to us today about acquiring the perfect domain name for your brand.

Colombia’s .CO domain name extension is likely the most popular ccTLD (country code Top Level Domain) globally. In fact, it’s one of the only ones which Google considers a generic TLD (like a .com) and ranks globally.

Below is a good video from Matt Cutts, former head of the web spam team at Google, explaining how .co is treated for SEO. About 10 years old, but still very relevant today.

The .co domain name extension is also unrestricted; meaning anyone can register one (and millions have). Some of the more famous companies using .co domains include:

• 500.co – Early stage investors with a track record of investing in great companies such as Udemy, Grab and Canva
• A.co – Amazon
• Angel.co – Angel List
• G.co – Google
• T.co – Twitter

The .co extension is also one of the few non .com extensions who have seen aftermarket values rise substantially since launch. Today, it’s not uncommon to pay $25,000 or more for a single word .co domain. Just a few recent sales include:

• CBD.co – $50,000
• Dance.co – $58,000
• Feed.co – $85,000
• HeyDay.co – $45,000
• Smart.co – $52,820

Many companies have also started on a .co (such as Mirror.co) and only end up acquiring the .com years later – as Mirror did just before they were acquired for $500 Million by Lululemon. Notably, the company’s main site today still rests on Mirror.co and the .com forwards to it.

Want to acquire a .co?

Talk to our domain name experts today about a private domain name acquisition.

Ireland’s ccTLD (country code top level domain) .ie is a very popular extension in Ireland and for brands around the world.

The .ie extension is considered a restricted extension as applicants must show a connection to Ireland.

This Connection Requirement can be proven a few different ways such as:

For Individuals:

1. Irish Passport
2. Irish/UK Driver’s License
3. Irish/North Irish Bank Statement
4. Official College ID (issued by any educational institution recognized by the Department of Education)
5. Public Services Card issued by the Department of Social Protection

For Businesses:

1. RBN number
2. CRO number
3. VAT number (company registered in Republic of Ireland / Northern Ireland)
4. Tax clearance certificate from Ireland’s Revenue Commissioners (or other correspondence from them showing your VAT number)

Before applying for a .ie domain we recommend reading the current .IE requirements directly from the .ie registry located at WeAre.ie

Talk to us today about acquiring a .ie domain name for your brand.