FAQ on
Domain Name Registration
Availability
Ownership
How can I determine whether the name I want
is available?
You
should check
the domain name you would like to register.
If the second-level domain name (YourName.com, NOT
www.YourName.com) you want is already in InterNIC'
database, your query will return a listing including
information about the organization that holds the
name. If it is not in the database the answer returned
will be: No match for ...
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Who is InterNIC?
InterNIC is the only organization that maintains
the database of information related to a domain
name under .com, .net, .org,
and .edu. Registrations, renewals, and modifications
to any of the information on the Whois database
have to be processed through them.
The name given to a project that originated under
a cooperative agreement with the National Science
Foundation (NSF). Under the current agreement with
the U.S. Government, InterNIC, Inc., as the InterNIC,
provides domain name registration services in .com,
.net, .org, and .edu.
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What does "Whois" refer to?
A searchable database maintained by InterNIC, which
contains information about networks, networking
organizations, domain names, and the contacts associated
with them for the com, org, net, edu, and ISO 3166
country code top level domains. Also, the protocol,
or set of rules, that describes the application
used to access the database. Other organizations
have implemented the Whois protocol and maintain
separate and distinct Whois databases for their
respective domains.
Who should be designated as an Administrative
Contact?
The
administrative contact/agent is an individual or
a group name under which more than one individual
is authorized to interact with InterNIC on behalf
of the domain name registrant. The administrative
contact/agent should be able to answer non-technical
questions about the domain name's registration and
the domain name registrant. It is strongly recommended
that this contact/agent be the
registrant or someone from the registrant's
organization.
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What does a Registrant refer to?
The individual or organization that registers a
specific domain name with InterNIC. This individual
or organization holds the right to use that specific
domain name for a specified period of time, provided
certain conditions are met and the registration
fees are paid. This person or organization is the
"legal entity" bound by the terms of the
Domain Name Registration Agreement.
What does it mean to have a domain name registered?
Registration involves assigning the following three
elements to a newly created domain name: (1) ownership;
(2) agents to act on behalf of the owner; and (3)
a "location" for the domain name within
the internet system so that other internet users
can find it. The owner is referred to as the "registrant"
and the agents are called "contacts",
as they represent the point of contact for resolving
administrative issues ("administrative contact"),
billing/renewal issues ("billing contact"),
and technical issues ("technical contact").
This information (and future updates) is maintained
by a record keeper, the InterNIC.
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What are the differences among "parking,"
"reserving," and "registering"
names?
Registering a domain name means that you or your
organization becomes the legal holder/owner of the
domain name, and that you designate an administrative
contact of your choice. Once registered, the
domain is typically associated with an active website.
In general, to park or to reserve is analogous to
registering a domain name. However, typically, the
domain would NOT be immediately associated with
an active website. Instead, the agent that is providing
you the service would also provide a static "under
construction page" to be associated with the
domain. We use these terms to indicate that you
would be the registrant and billing contact, while
we would be the designated administrative and technical
contacts. Thus, the domain names would be "reserved"
or "parked" with us until such a time
that you wish to activate or sell the domain. Make
sure that the service provider specifies the exact
conditions under which they would transfer full
registration to you. You should find another service
provider if you are not satisfied with their conditions.
Keep in mind that under all the above scenarios,
unless explicitly stated otherwise, you are responsible
for paying the $35 per year ($70 for first two years
is invoiced) InterNIC registration fees.
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Does "DNS not available" mean that
the domain name is not registered?
There are a number of reasons as to why you might
encounter this message: (1) The name is not registered;
(2) It is not properly set up, in that there is
no association between the domain and an Internet
server; or (3) It could be used for email or FTP
without a website being active. You need to check
Whois to determine if it is registered.
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What are the valid characters for a domain name
and how long can it be?
The only valid characters for a domain name
are letters, numbers and a hyphen. Special characters
like the underscore "_" or "&"
are NOT permitted. Domain names cannot contain spaces
or begin or end with a hyphen, "-".
A domain name can be up to 63 characters long including
the 4 characters used to identify the Top Level
Domain (.NET, .COM, .ORG, or .EDU).
Examples:
DomainMart.com is a valid domain
name (it consists of only 13 characters).
http://www.DomainMart.com is not
a domain name; it is a uniform resource locator
(URL) used by Web browsers to find documents and
resources.
www.accounting.DomainMart.com is not
a domain name; "accounting" is a
third-level domain name.
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Who "owns" a registered domain name?
Owing a domain name is analogous to owning a telephone
number. Regardless of who is the listed administrative
and technical contact, the domain name holder is
the organization. This information is revealed by
a whois
search.
How do I know that I am the holder/owner
of a domain name?
Your name or your organization's name and address
should be the Registrant information as revealed by a whois
search. If not, you should immediately
contact the company that registered it for you.
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What should I do if the name I
want to register under ".com" is already
taken?
Try to use a slight variation on that name, or think
up a new name. You should also consider registering
it under ".net" or under one of the popular
2-character extensions such as cc, nu, tv. You should
seriously consider the proposed
extensions.
If a domain name does not have a Website, does
that mean that it's not being used?
If you cannot find a website with a certain domain
name, it does not mean that name is not being used.
It could be used for email or FTP without a website
being active.
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Can you register a domain name but not use it?
Currently, anyone can register a name and sit on
it forever. However, if someone has a domain name,
and does not pay for it, InterNIC will put
that name on hold while the billing is resolved.
If they still don't pay, that name will be taken
away from them and "recycled" so that
anyone can register it. Currently, the policy is
that you must pay within 30 days of being invoiced
in order to own and keep your domain name.
What
is an "under construction page"?
InterNIC requires that a registered domain name
be associated with a website. However, if you are
not ready to have an active site, your service provider
can provide a static page that would typically say,
"This site is Under Construction." Thus,
when someone enters your site's URL, they see the
static page. If your domain were not set with an
active site or a static page, their browser would
say "DNS not available."
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FAQ