Internet domain name registration

Domain name management/registration authority

Domain name management authority:

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China is responsible for domain name management in China.

Domain name registration management authority:

Authorized by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) is the domain registration management authority, with responsibility to operate and manage China national Top Level Domains and the Chinese domain name system and maintain the central data base.

Domain name registration service agency:

Agencies certified by the CNNIC to receive and process domain name registration applications, and to file the domain names in the data base.

Domain name system

1. China’s internet domain name system can contain letters (A-Z, a-z, case-insensitive), numbers (0-9), connector (-) or Chinese characters. Domain names on different levels are connected with dots (.), while Chinese domain names can be connected with either dots or Chinese periods (。).

2. In addition to the national top-level domain “.CN” , there are a number of English and Chinese top level domain names.  Among them, “.zhengwu” and “.gongyi” are Chinese top level domain names for special use of all levels of government administration agencies and nonprofit institutions.

3. Under the national top-level domain name “.CN”, there are two types of sub-domain names, i.e., “category domain name” and “administrative area domain name”.

Nine category domain names are available, including: “zhengwu” for various levels of government administration agencies, “gongyi” for nonprofit institutions, “GOV” for governments, “ORG” for nonprofit organizations, “AC” for research institutes, “COM” for industrial, commercial, and financial entities, “EDU” for educational institutions, “MIL” for national defense, and “NET” for internet service providers.

Thirty-four administrative region domain names are provided for provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government, and special administrative regions in China. These are “BJ” for Beijing, “SH” for Shanghai, “TJ” for Tianjin, “CQ” for Chongqing, “HE” for Hebei, “SX” for Shanxi, “NM” for Inner Mongolia autonomous region, “LN” for Liaoning, “JL” for Jilin, “HL” for Heilongjiang, “JS” for Jiangsu, “ZJ” for Zhejiang, “AH” for Anhui, “FJ” for Fujian, “JX” for Jiangxi, “SD” for Shandong, “HA” for Henan, “HB” for Hebei, “HN” for Hunan, “GD” for Guangdong, “GX” for Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, “HI” for Hainan, “SC” for Sichuan, “GZ” for Guizhou, “YN” for Yunnan, “XZ” for Tibet autonomous region, “SN” for Shaanxi, “GS” for Gansu, “QH” for Qinghai, “NX” for Ningxia Hui autonomous region, “XJ” for Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, “TW” for Taiwan, “HK” for Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and “MO” for Macao Special Administrative Region.

4. A sub-domain name can be directly registered under the national top-level domain name “.CN”.

Domain name application

Domain name registration follows the principle of “earlier rights”. Applicant should contact domain name service agencies certified by the CNNIC via online registration, email or other means to file application forms and enter into domain registration agreements with the agency.

The Domain name registration form must contain the following information:

1. Domain name

2. Host name and IP address of primary name server and secondary name server

3. Relevant information of the applicant

4. Relevant information on technical contact, management contact, fee contact, and undertaker.

In the domain name registration agreement, the applicant agrees to abide by the rules for the implementation of domain name registration and the resolution of domain name disputes formulated by the CNNIC.

Review of domain name registration

The date on which the first valid registration application is received by the domain name registration management authority is the application date. Domain name registration service agencies shall notify the domain name applicant of the application date. Service agencies are responsible for accepting domain name registration applications and reviewing domain names in accordance with the China Internet Domain Name Regulations. Domain names that breach the relevant provisions of the above-mentioned administrative measures shall be deleted by the domain service agency. If a domain name applicant or holder is unsatisfied with the deletion by the service agency, he/she may request further review by the domain name authority.

Domain name change, transfer and cancellation

In case of any changes to be made to the information relevant to domain name registration, the domain name holder shall file a change request with the service agency. Registration information can be changed after review and approval by the service agency.

In case of transfer of a registered domain name, the assignor shall file a domain name transfer request with the service agency. Domain names can be transferred after review and approval by the service agency.

In case of cancellation of a registered domain name, the holder shall file a domain name cancellation request with the service agency. Domain names can be cancelled after review and approval by the service agency.

Registration domain registration operation and management fee

Pursuant to the China Internet Domain Name Regulations, the domain name registration service agency can charge annual operation and management fees for registered domain names. The annual domain name renewal deadline is the same as the application date. For renewals that are not completed by the deadline, service will be suspended for the domain names. Domain names that have not been renewed within 15 days will be cancelled.