Local Presence Service for Restricted ccTLDs

The table further down this page lists every extension of this site whose registry asks for a local presence of some kind, with the condition as the registry states it and the yearly price of our service where it is published; the extensions open to anyone are left out. The figures above the table are computed from the extension records and follow them. For a given extension, the answer is also on its own page, under Registration.

The requirement is never the same twice, which is why a general answer is not enough:

• A local company. For .eg, a local company is needed to benefit from the regular price; otherwise the premium price applies.
• Ties with the country. For .es, the holder must have ties with Spain. For .fr, an address in the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland is enough.
• A local administrative contact, as for .ma, where only the admin contact must be local.
• A local identification number, as for .ar, where our local presence is compulsory and free because of the registration complexity.
• A local trademark instead of a presence. A few registries accept a trademark registered in the country in place of a local address; for those, our trademark registration service is the way in.
• Rules that change with the level. .qa is open, but .com.qa and .net.qa require a local presence; .ae is open except for its sub-domains.

We have set up a network of local presences: our own branch offices in some countries, trusted local agents in others. Depending on the registry rules, we act as the local administrative contact, as the local address of the holder, or as the registrant of record. In every case a written agreement records that the domain is registered for you or your client, who keeps the use of it and the right to have it transferred.

The service is ordered with the domain: on the extension page, the local presence fee appears next to the registration price when the extension needs one. It is charged per domain and per year, and it covers the registration and each renewal.

The local presence itself adds no delay: it is ready when you order. The registration then follows the processing time of the registry, which is on each extension page. .eg takes four to seven working days, .th 48 hours, .sa two days, .com.br 24 hours, .ma a few hours.

A local presence does not replace the documents a registry asks from the holder, such as a trademark certificate or a company registration when the rules require them; we tell you which ones before the order. It does not change the rules of the registry either: some extensions remain reserved to local companies whatever the arrangement, and we say so on the extension page rather than promise a registration we cannot deliver.

Registrars connect once to our API and offer all restricted country code domains to their clients, with the local presence handled on our side. Your client sees the extension, the price and the delivery time; you see one supplier for the whole world. That is how registrars offer .eg, .sa or .ar without opening an office in each country.

The table of extensions is below. Choose an extension to see its condition, its price and its delivery time.

Each extension page states the condition under Local Presence, and the table of extensions on this page lists every extension that has one. First check whether you meet it on your own: for .fr, an address in the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland is enough.

Under Registration, the same page lists what the registry asks besides a local presence, such as a company registration number, prior rights or an application form. Where a registry accepts a local trademark instead of a local presence, our trademark registration service files the mark in that country.

Next to the registration price, the extension page shows our Local Presence Service and how to order it:

• A yearly price. The Order link opens the local presence in our client area. The table on this page shows the same price.
• “On request”. The Contact us link opens our contact form on the subject “Local presence and trustee service”. Tell us the extensions you need and we quote the fee.
• Neither. When an extension requires a local presence and shows no price and no “On request”, we do not offer the local presence for it: its cell in the table is empty.

A transfer to Domgate works the same way: if the extension requires a local presence and you have none, we add our local presence service to the transfer order. Registrars and resellers order it for their clients from their reseller account or through our API; see our solutions for registrars.

You tell us who the domain is for: you, or your client when you order for a client. The documents the registry asks from the holder are still needed, as set out under “What it does not do” above, and we list them before the order.

They vary from one registry to the next. For .eg, the application form is one power of attorney and one DNS template. For .co.th, which is reserved for companies, the domain name is based on the holder's company name or on a trademark, and the registry checks the documents that prove it before the registration. A company or trademark owner outside Thailand also signs a letter, on the registry's model, that authorises a representative in Thailand to register the name.

We take the role that the registry rules call for, among those set out under “What Domgate provides” above: local administrative contact, local address of the holder or registrant of record. We then file the registration with the registry, with the documents it requires.

For .ma, only the administrative contact must be local. Whatever the role, the written agreement described above keeps the use of the domain, and the right to have it transferred, with you or your client.

As set out under “How long it takes” above, the local presence adds no delay. The time that counts is the registry's processing time, given on each extension page under Registration: automated for .fr, one day for .no, 48 hours for .co.th.

The yearly local presence fee covers each renewal for as long as the domain stays with us. The renewal term is the registry's, given on each extension page under Renewal: one year for .eg and .no, one to ten years for .sa.

You keep the right to have the domain transferred. A change of holder follows the registry's own procedure, given on the extension page under Owner Change: a declaration form for .no, a manual change with a new company registration certificate for .sa, a deletion followed by a new registration for .eg. For .ma, .th and .co.th, the page asks you to contact us.

For a restricted extension, a new holder must meet the local rules or use our local presence service. To plan a change of holder, a transfer or the end of the service for one of your domains, contact us with its name.