Special ccTLD Requirements

What is ccTLD?

The Country-Code Top-Level Domains (ccTLD) are an Internet top-level domains used or reserved for a country, a sovereign state or a dependent territory, for example:

.us - the ccTLD for The United States Of America;
.fr - the ccTLD for France;
.ru - the ccTLD for Russia;

ccTLDs play a crucial role in reflecting a nation's digital identity and are often used by businesses to target and engage local audiences. Managing these domains requires compliance with local rules and a strong emphasis on security. Robust security is vital to protect these domains from cyber threats, ensuring their stability and trustworthiness. This helps prevent unauthorized access and cyber attacks.

Suggest page: Safe and Secure: The ccTLD Protection Journey

Some ccTLDs have special manage and register requirements. Let’s now see what some of the central registrars require from the Customers.

Specific Requirements by Country

Finland (.fi)

Regulatory Authority: The ccTLD for Finland is managed by the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency, known as Traficom.

Management Details: 

• All .fi domains can only be registered by Traficom.
• Name servers at the domain’s registrar must match the NS records in the DNS Zone.
• You can host your .fi DNS zone with ClouDNS. Furthermore, with our DNS for TLD’s service, you can manage your ccTLD without any interruption with premium quality of the DNS hosting service!

Example:

You have NS records in the DNS zone, as follow:

yourdomain.fi 3600 IN NS ns1.yourDNShost.com

yourdomain.fi 3600 IN NS ns2.yourDNShost.com

The name servers at the domain's registrar must be pointed also to ns1.yourDNShost.com and ns2.yourDNShost.com.

Germany (.de)

Regulatory Authority: .de is managed by DENIC, the german regulatory for all of .de domains

Management Details:

• Similar to .fi, the name servers at the registrar must match the NS records in the DNS Zone.
• After expiration, .de domains are transferred to DENIC and can only be renewed through them.
• ClouDNS offers services to register/transfer .de domains.

Example:

You have NS records in the DNS zone, as follow:

yourdomain.de 3600 IN NS ns1.yourDNShost.com
yourdomain.de 3600 IN NS ns2.yourDNShost.com

The name servers at the domain's registrar must be pointed also to ns1.yourDNShost.com and ns2.yourDNShost.com.

After a .de domain is expired, it is automatically transferred to DENIC. Information regarding the transfer action should be submitted to the domain’s administrative email. The expired .de domain can be renewed only by DENIC. Once renewed, the .de domain can be transferred to ClouDNS again.

United Kingdom (.uk)

Regulatory Authority: The ccTLD for The United Kingdom is managed by Nominet

Management Details:

• With ClouDNS, you can register/transfer .uk domains.
• If you want to register a .uk domain, check if yourdomain.co.uk is free first. If it's registered, yourdomain.uk is reserved for the .co.uk owner.

Spain (.es)

Regulatory Authority: The ccTLD for Spain is managed by the Spanish Network Information Centre (Red.es), responsible for the administration of .es domain names. 

Management Details:

• The distinctive feature of the .es domains are certain rules that apply for the usage of Child name servers. Child name servers for .es domains can use only one IPv4 address and do not support IPv6.
• Child name servers once created cannot be deleted, only edited.
• With ClouDNS, you can register/transfer .es domains.

Italy (.it)

Regulatory Authority: The ccTLD for Italy is managed by IT-NIC, the italian regulatory for all of .it domains.

Management Details:

• According to IT-NIC, the name servers at the domain’s registrar must match the NS records in the DNS zone. If they do not match, the .it domain will receive a “dns / Hold” status and will be non-functional.
• With ClouDNS, you can register/transfer .it domains.

Example:

If the NS records in the DNS zone are like follow:

yourdomain.it 3600 IN NS ns1.cloudns.net
yourdomain.it 3600 IN NS ns2.cloudns.net
yourdomain.it 3600 IN NS ns3.cloudns.net
yourdomain.it 3600 IN NS ns4.cloudns.net

The name servers at the domain’s registrar must be pointed also to ns1-ns4.cloudns.net. The DNS settings for any of .it domains can be checked from here.

Belgium (.be)

Regulatory Authority: The ccTLD for Belgium, ".be", is managed by DNS Belgium. DNS Belgium is responsible for the registration and management of all .be domain names.

Management Details:

• The transfer of a .be domain results in the domain being renewed for one year from the date of transfer, with the loss of any prepaid period. So, that means, if you have a .be domain that expires in 2026 and you transfer it 2024, it will then be valid until 2025, not 2027.
• At ClouDNS you can register/transfer .be domains at affordable prices, as we are accredited registrar for .be domains! Check our .be pricing list!

Renewal Limitations for ccTLDs

Certain ccTLDs have strict renewal timelines and lack a grace period for deletion. Below are the specific days before expiration when domains must be renewed:

1 Day Before Expiration

• Domains: .ETH, .EU, .NL, .ею, .ευ

2 Days Before Expiration

• Domains: .AC.NZ, .CH, .CO.NZ, .COM.PK, .DE, .GA, .GEEK.NZ, .GEN.NZ, .LI, .MAORI.NZ, .NET.NZ, .NET.PK, .ORG.NZ, .ORG.PK, .PK

3 Days Before Expiration

• Domains: .AI, .AU, .BIZ.PL, .CM, .CO.CM, .CO.ZA, .COM.AU, .COM.CM, .COM.PL, .CX, .CZ, .EDU.PL, .FI, .INFO.PL, .LU, .LV, .NET.CM, .NET.PL, .ORG.PL, .PL, .SK, .TM

4 Days Before Expiration

• Domains: .AT, .LT, .RO, .RU, .SI, .TK

8 Days Before Expiration

• Domains: .ES

10 Days Before Expiration

• Domains: .GR

17 Days Before Expiration

• Domains: .JP

*Note that all listed domains have no grace period for deleting.