Domain names with different suffixes are subject to different naming rules. You must comply with the naming rules to make sure that your domain name can be registered and pass domain name review. This topic describes the naming rules for Chinese domain names, English domain names, and special domain names. You can refer to this topic to plan your domain name based on your business requirements.
If a domain name for an organization contains Chinese characters such as "中国", "国家", "中华", or "全国" or English characters with the same meaning, such as "China", "chn", or "sino", an application for domain name registration must be submitted by its direct owner. Individuals or other organizations cannot register such a domain name without prior authorization. Otherwise, the domain name will be rejected in domain name review.
If you want to register a company name that starts with "中国", "国家", "中华", or "全国", you must fill in the template for domain name registration, complete real-name verification, and then submit the following documents to the ticket system:
A photo or scanned copy of the certificate of the domain name registrant, and a photo or scanned copy of the ID card of the domain name registrant's contact
An application for domain name registration that is stamped with the official seal of the domain name registrant, which must contain the following information: the domain name that you want to register, the organization name and contact information of the domain name registrant, and the purpose for registering the domain name
If a domain name contains characters that are prohibited by the Measures for the Administration of Internet Domain Names of China, the domain name cannot be registered or will be rejected in domain name review in the Chinese mainland. In this case, you need to transfer the domain name to a registrar outside the Chinese mainland.
Naming rules for Chinese domain names
A Chinese domain name must comply with the following naming rules:
The domain name must contain at least one Chinese character and can contain letters, digits, and hyphens (-). The letters are not case-sensitive.
The domain name can be registered in either simplified Chinese or traditional Chinese.
NoteMost domain name registries provide equal protection for domain names in simplified Chinese and traditional Chinese. You can register a domain name in either simplified Chinese or traditional Chinese, but not both.
If a domain name is registered in simplified Chinese, but you need to register the same domain name in traditional Chinese, you must cancel the simplified Chinese domain name before you register the traditional Chinese domain name. This is also true if you want to re-register a traditional Chinese domain name as a simplified Chinese domain name. To cancel a domain name, submit a ticket in the Support and Services console.
The domain name cannot start or end with a space or a special character such as a hyphen (-), a plus sign (+), an at sign (@), or an ampersand (&).
The domain name cannot contain only letters or digits.
The domain name cannot consist of only one hyphen (-), or start or end with a hyphen (-). Whether a domain name can contain consecutive hyphens (-) varies based on the level of the domain name.
NoteGeneric top-level domain names such as .com domain names and .net domain names cannot contain consecutive hyphens (-) at the second and third characters of the domain name prefix.
Domain names that are suffixed with ".cn", ".中国", ".公司", and ".网络" cannot contain consecutive hyphens (-).
The domain name cannot exceed 63 characters in Punycode.
Some domain names cannot contain a suffix that ends with .cn, such as ".com.cn", ".net.cn", and ".org.cn".
Naming rules for English domain names
An English domain name must comply with the following naming rules:
The domain name can contain letters, digits, and hyphens (-). The letters are not case-sensitive. The domain name cannot contain spaces or the following special characters:
! $ & ?The domain name cannot consist of only one hyphen (-), or start or end with a hyphen (-). Whether a domain name can contain consecutive hyphens (-) varies based on the level of the domain name.
NoteGeneric top-level domain names such as .com domain names and .net domain names cannot contain consecutive hyphens (-) at the second and third characters of the domain name prefix.
Domain names that are suffixed with ".cn", ".中国", ".公司", and ".网络" cannot contain consecutive hyphens (-).
The domain name cannot exceed 63 characters in length.
Some domain names cannot contain a suffix that ends with .cn, such as ".com.cn", ".net.cn", and ".org.cn".
Naming rules for domain names suffixed with ".中国", ".cn", ".公司", and ".网络"
The Notice on the Adjustments of Domain Name Audit Standards issued by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) specifies the following requirements: If a Chinese domain name for an organization is suffixed with ".中国", ".cn", ".公司", or ".网络" and contains "中国", "国家", "中华", or "全国", an application for domain name registration must be submitted by its direct owner. Individuals or other organizations cannot register such a domain name without prior authorization.
For example, to register the domain name "中国律师协会.中国", an application for domain name registration must be submitted by the All China Lawyers Association. After registration, the domain name registrant must submit the documents required for entity identity verification within five days and cannot use the domain name until the verification is passed. If the application for domain name registration is submitted by an individual or an organization that is not the direct owner of the domain name, the applicant will fail the entity identity verification by CNNIC and the domain name will be deleted.