Procedure for domain operations

Applying for registration

You apply on the website, in your account or via the API: choose a name, specify the domain holder and pay for the order. A name is available only when the registry says so; no zone has reservations.

Registration requires the holder’s details: for a person, the full name; for an organisation, its official name; plus a postal address, phone number and email. The details must be accurate: they identify the domain holder.

We send the application to the registry after payment. Some zones have their own conditions: for example, a second-level name in .ua is registered only to the owner of a trademark with the same spelling. The conditions of each zone are on its page and in its regulation.

Renewal

You renew a domain before it expires: automatically from your balance or manually in your account. 60 days before expiry we send an email with the date and a way to cancel automatic renewal.

After expiry

A domain does not disappear at once. In Hostmaster zones it can still be renewed for 30 days, then restored for 30 days, then it waits 5 days for deletion, after which the name becomes free. Other registries have their own periods: they are listed on each zone’s page.

Transfer to us and away from us

To transfer a domain to us, get a transfer code from your current registrar and enter it on the transfer page. You can take a domain away from us the same way: on request in your account we email the transfer code to the domain holder, and we do not obstruct a change of registrar. One limit protects against domain theft: for 72 hours after the holder’s password, email or contacts change, we do not issue the code.

Change of domain holder

The current holder changes the domain holder in their account: they choose the new holder, review the text of the application, type the domain name and sign the application with a second factor, which under the offer has the force of a written signature. The new holder consents via the link in an email to their address within 14 days (the same email means a correction of details, so no consent is needed); after consent the change takes effect in 72 hours, and all domain contacts, including the previous ones, receive an email. If the new holder does not consent or declines, the application lapses and the holder stays the same. If the zone administrator requires a written application, the current holder signs it with a qualified electronic signature (QES) or Diia.Signature; for .ua the new holder also confirms rights to a trademark with the same spelling. In mirror zones (for example, kyiv.ua and kiev.ua) the holder changes for both names at once. For gTLD domains, under ICANN rules, transfer to another registrar may be locked for 60 days after a change of holder.

Domain disputes

Disputes over domains in .ua and most public domains are handled under the UA-DRP policy, over gTLDs under the UDRP policy. A dispute can also be settled in court.

If the registrar stops operating

If the registrar’s agreement with the zone administrator ends, the domains do not disappear: the registry takes them into temporary custody and WHOIS shows “No registrar”. Such a domain’s details cannot be changed until you transfer it to another registrar. If the domain is not transferred, it is deleted when its registration period ends.

What WHOIS and RDAP show about you

WHOIS and RDAP are public registry services. They show when the domain was registered, when it expires, who the registrar is and which name servers it uses. In .UA zones, the contact details of a holder who is a person are not published by default; they can be opened on application to the registrar.

If the details are hidden, it is harder to reach you as the holder: for example, to report a problem with the domain or in a dispute.

Your personal data

We pass the holder’s details to the zone registry because registration is impossible without them. How we process them is described in the Privacy Policy.