registration: definition

Registering a domain name means signing a contract that gives you the right to use a name for a set time. You arrange it through a registrar, which records the name at the registry that runs the top-level domain. It is not a purchase: the right lasts as long as the contract, and it comes with duties.

What registering a domain means

Three parties take part: the registrant asks for the name, the registrar submits it and the registry records it. In gTLD generic top-level domain A top-level domain not tied to a country, run under ICANN contracts. Full definition of gTLD, every registration must go through an ICANN-accredited registrar. Some ccTLD country code top-level domain A top-level domain for a country or territory, usually two letters long. Full definition of ccTLD differ: a .de applicant An organization that has applied to ICANN to run a new gTLD. Full definition of applicant can go through a DENIC Deutsches Network Information Center The Frankfurt-based cooperative that runs Germany's .de domain. Full definition of DENIC member or directly to DENIC.

Under the RAA Registrar Accreditation Agreement The contract between ICANN and each accredited registrar. Full definition of RAA, as of October 2026, each gTLD registrant signs a registration agreement with the registrar and must:

give accurate contact details and update them within 7 days of any change;
answer the registrar’s questions about those details within 15 days;
state that, as far as they know, neither the registration nor the use of the name infringes anyone’s legal rights.

Deliberately false details, missed updates or more than 15 days without an answer can lead to suspension or cancellation of the name.

Investors call registering a free name at the normal price a hand registration Registering a free domain at the normal price instead of buying it from someone. Full definition of hand registration, as opposed to buying one in the aftermarket The market where domain names that are already registered are bought and sold. Full definition of aftermarket.

How to register: the steps

Check that the name is free and allowed: not reserved, validly written, and open to you if the TLD top-level domain The last part of a domain name, after the final dot. Full definition of TLD has eligibility rules.
Choose a registrar that offers the TLD.
Give your contact details and accept the registration agreement.
Pay. The registrar may not activate the name until it has a reasonable assurance of payment.
The registrar creates the name at the registry, through EPP Extensible Provisioning Protocol The protocol registrars use to manage domain names at registries. Full definition of EPP, for the period you chose.
As of October 2026, in a gTLD, the registrar verifies your email address or telephone number within 15 days. Without a reply, it checks the details by hand or suspends the name.

Free names are usually allocated first come, first served The rule that the first valid request for an available domain gets it. Full definition of first come, first served: .es assigns them in the order requests arrive, and .eu gives a name to the eligible party whose request reached the registry first. In a new gTLD A generic top-level domain added to the internet through ICANN's New gTLD Program. Full definition of new gTLD this starts at general availability The phase when a TLD opens to public registration. Full definition of general availability.

How long you can register for

As of October 2026, gTLD names are registered for 1 to 10 years, in whole years. A renewal Paying to extend a domain registration for more time. Full definition of renewal adds years, but never beyond 10 years from the date of the renewal. Each registrar chooses which periods it offers.

ccTLDs set their own terms. A .de contract has no fixed end, and the holder can terminate it at any time. For other ccTLDs, ask the registrar. When a term ends, the name must be renewed or it expires.

Names you cannot register: reserved and restricted names

Registries withhold some names. As of October 2026, the Registry Agreement The contract between ICANN and a gTLD registry operator. Full definition of Registry Agreement for new gTLDs reserves:

“example”, which is never released;
two-character label One dot-separated part of a domain name, up to 63 characters long. Full definition of label;
www, rdds, whois and nic, for running the registry;
country and territory names, released only with the agreement of the government concerned, or after GAC Governmental Advisory Committee ICANN's committee of governments that advises the Board on public policy. Full definition of GAC review and ICANN Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers The nonprofit that coordinates the global DNS and gTLD policy. Full definition of ICANN approval;
names of the International Olympic Committee, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and intergovernmental organizations, from an ICANN list in effect since no later than 1 August 2020, never released to third parties.

A registry may also reserve other names at its own discretion and release them later, which is how some premium names reach the market.

Older agreements can keep older lists: the 2006 .com schedule includes ICANN and IANA Internet Assigned Numbers Authority The functions that coordinate the root zone, IP addresses and protocol numbers. Full definition of IANA names such as icann, iana and ietf. In .es, a second-level name cannot match a TLD such as .com or .uk, and the rules let Red.es The Spanish public body that manages the .es domain through its unit Dominios.es. Full definition of Red.es reserve names of state institutions and official place names.

ICANN can also authorize releases. Its general authorizations cover two-character labels that are not two letters since 1 December 2014, and two-letter labels since 13 December 2016, with measures to avoid confusion with country codes.

Eligibility rules in some TLDs

Open TLDs accept anyone; restricted TLD A TLD that only eligible people or organizations can register domains in. Full definition of restricted TLD set eligibility requirements Conditions a registrant must meet to register a domain in a restricted TLD. Full definition of eligibility requirements. As of October 2026:

.eu: citizens of the European Union (EU) wherever they live, non-EU residents of a member state, and businesses and organizations established in the EU. The registry can revoke a name if the holder stops qualifying, and a name can only be transferred to an eligible party.
.es: anyone with interests in or ties to Spain, read broadly (residents, businesses aimed at the Spanish market, cultural, historical or social ties), not checked beforehand. Some zones are narrower: .gob.es is only for Spanish public administrations.
.de: no residence requirement, but a holder not domiciled in Germany must name an agent in Germany to receive official or court documents, within two weeks if DENIC asks.

Whether a particular registrant qualifies is a question for the registry, the registrar or a lawyer.

Pre-registration and backorders: what they promise

A pre-registration A non-binding request to a registrar to try to register a name once a TLD opens. Full definition of pre-registration asks a registrar to try to register a name when a TLD opens. ICANN warns that success “cannot be guaranteed”: another registrar may get the name, trademark holders go first, premium names may be auctioned, some names are blocked, and the TLD may never launch.

As of October 2026, trademark priority is the sunrise An early phase when trademark owners can register matching names first. Full definition of sunrise: at least 30 or 60 days before general registration, depending on its type, followed by trademark claims Warnings shown when someone registers a name matching a recorded trademark. Full definition of trademark claims for at least the first 90 days of general registration.

A backorder A paid request to catch a domain name the moment it is deleted. Full definition of backorder targets a name someone already holds, in case it is deleted. It does not guarantee the name either.

A worked example: someone wants example.com but cannot have it, because “example” is reserved in .com and in new gTLDs. They pick a made-up free name, here shop.example, choose a registrar, give accurate details, pay for 2 years and confirm their email address within 15 days. After two years they renew, or the name expires.

registration