General Information About .CN Registrations

Who can register .CN domain names?

Any business or organization, worldwide, can register a .CN name under a new liberalized policy that no longer restricts .CN registrations to Chinese entities.

Are there any specifications regulating which .CN domains can or cannot be registered?

Yes. There are certain domains names that are in the reserved list of the registry and cannot be registered. Those names include:

• Country names, three-letter and ISO3166

• Chinese Government organizations and leaders' names

• Names that are for National Security

• Province and City names

• Special telephone numbers. (001), etc.

• All gTLD's and some second-level spaces (e.g. biz.cn, kids.cn)

• Certain famous trademarks (about 350)

• Names labeled by the UN to promote world culture, heritage.

• Chinese Universities and Colleges

• News Media as approved by the National News Office

How much does registration cost?

Registration fee is $35.00 US/domain/year.

What are the registration period terms?

Minimum registration period is 1 year and a domain name can be registered up to 5 years.

How long does it take to register a domain name?

Your domain name will be registered instantly.

How much will domain name renewals cost? What are renewal conditions?

Renewals cost $35.00 US/year/domain for one year. A .CN domain can be renewed for a maximum of 5 years. You have to renew your domain before the expiration date. Unlike other domain extensions, .CN domains does not have a grace period after the expiration date and all expired .CN domains are automatically deleted.

When can I start using a registered domain?

Your registered domain name is by default assigned to our name servers. If you are ready to host this domain name, you can login to our Account Manager program to change its name servers to the name servers of the hosting service you will be using. Please note that you have to assign at least two name servers to your .CN domain name. This is a registry requirement and otherwise your domain name will not function.

How can I change the domain information?

You can use our Account Manager program to make changes to your domain record. Account Manager enables you to modify owner, admin, billing, and technical contact information, as well as changing the name servers of the domain name. Please note that you have to assign at least two name servers to your .CN domain name. This is a registry requirement and otherwise your domain name will not function.

Can I transfer a .CN domain from another registrar?

If your domain is registered with a non-China based registrar, you can transfer the domain to us using our Transfer Domain page. Domain names registered through China-based registrars cannot be transferred into non-China based registrars, and vice versa. Domain names cannot be transferred within the first 60 days of initial registration. Also, domain names scheduled to expire in fewer than 14 days will not be allowed to transfer. These rules are based on the fact that .CN does not have auto-renewal for expired names.

I have registered a domain but WHOIS doesn't show any info.

Currently both WHOIS and nameservers for successfully registered .CN names are being updated within 15-30 minutes. If it has been that long and you cannot see any information, you may want to make sure domain is successfully registered.

I get "domain taken" but WHOIS doesn't show any info.

The domain is either registered recently and its info is not updated in WHOIS yet (see question above), or it is a reserved domain name by the registry. If you were initially getting "domain available" and somehow you started getting "domain taken" after your registration attempt (but did not get a confirmation), please contact us at support@000domains.com. It could be that domain is registered for you, but not written to database properly.

When I login to Account Manager I cannot see some of my domains names.

The domain names that you cannot see must have a different Contact ID (even if you have used the same username/password). Try to login to Account Manager directly with the domain name that you cannot see. Then change its Contact ID to the same Contact ID you have for your other domain names.

What are the rules governing intellectual property (IP) disputes in the .CN domain?

CNNIC has posted a policy regarding intellectual property disputes on its website. The policy is very similar to the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) common in other Web domains. Visit http://www.cnnic.net.cn/doc/e-10.shtml to read more.

What options do trademark owners have to protect their IP rights in .CN?

Users may elect to utilize the Chinese Dispute Resolution Process to resolve disputes through CNNIC-designated arbitration providers. This process is very similar to the UDRP arbitration process. Of course, as is the case in all TLD disputes, users may also elect to pursue resolution in the courts.

Are there any restrictions on content for the .CN domain?

Please refer to the China Internet Domain Name Regulations, found online on the CNNIC website (http://www.cnnic.net.cn/doc/e-8.shtml).