How to Register a Name in a New Extension or TLD¶

Registration Stages for New Extensions
Registration Policy at Gandi

This page explains the process used for registering domains in a new extension, or TLD.

To know whether or not an extension is under consideration for creation by ICANN, please visit the complete list of applications made to ICANN.

This list works a bit like a search engine, and the details of each application are made available for viewing: is the extension intended for use by a particular community? Is the extension under advisory by the Governmental Advisory Committee? Has the application been withdrawn? etc.

Some extensions have been simultaneously applied for and are not yet attributed to a registry for management. Consequently, their launching will be done later, once their registry has been chosen (see the list). It is therefore not possible at present to register any domains in these extensions.

To help you understand when you can register your domain name, the sections below summarize the different steps in the launching of an extension and the specific rules and requirements that apply to each of these steps.

Registration Stages for New Extensions ¶

Sunrise ¶

The Sunrise period of all the new extensions is a priority registration period that is exclusively open to registered trademark holders (no matter in what country or organization through which they are registered: INPI, OHMI, USPTO…) and having submitted their trademark to Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH).

The objective for this registration period is to allow for the owners of trademarks to register domains that correspond to their trademarks before the general opening, in order to avoid the risk of cybersquatting.

During this period, when only the title holders of trademarks that have been registered with TMCH have the possibility of proceeding with the registration of their domains, only the trademarks in question may be registered in the form of domain names. The Registries may also set additional eligibility rules (for ex. a required local presence…).

The Sunrise period is required for the launch of each new extension according to the terms in ICANN’s Applicant Guidebook, which was established during the new gTLD project’s launch. The duration of the Sunrise period is at least 30 days, and Registries may decide to offer a longer Sunrise period, though they can not make them shorter. During the Sunrise period, domain names can be attributed:

According to the rule of “first-come, first-served”.
Or, following the Sunrise period.

In this case where domains are attributed after the sunrise period, if several requests are made for a same domain name, the domain will be attributed in a different manner, which the registry is free to decide on. Though, it is frequently done by closed auction between those who have requested the domain name. The registry will only proceed with the actual registration following the conclusion of this period. During this period, they only gather registration requests.

Other Priority Registration Periods ¶

The registries are free to establish other priority registration periods that are subject to special eligibility conditions. For example, they may have a period open to owners of trademark holders in certain countries, or via certain trademark offices, but which are not registered with TMCH.

These periods are not mandatory.

The attribution of a domain name during these periods is defined by the registry (“first-come, first-served”, auction, etc.)

Landrush ¶

The Landrush period is a period during which the registration of domain names is open to anyone, without any condition concerning the registration of trademarks or any other right to a registered term. This being said, the registry can define specific eligibility rules (ex. mandatory local presence etc.)

The organization of a Landrush period is optional and entirely up to the registry.

The attribution rules of a domain name during a Landrush period is established by the Registry (“first-come, first-served”, auction, etc.)

The prices that are applicable during this period often take into account the registration of other generic domains that have already been made (common names and other domains that do not correspond to trademarks) and the prices are often higher as a result.

General Availability ¶

The General Availability period is the registration period that is open to the general public and during which the prices established by the Registry are without additional special fees.

The attribution is made via the first-come, first-served rule. The General Availability period works according to the conventional rules that have been defined by ICANN.

This being said, it may be that the registry has defined a special project for its extension, and has added, in addition to ICANN’s mandatory rules and principles, specific rules that keep the right to register domain names in this extension limited to certain people, professions, organization types, or for a specific purpose.

For example, in addition to the rules established by ICANN, domain names registered in “.BZH” are only open to people living in Brittany, with an address in Brittany who want to create a website that covers its regional language or culture.

Registration Policy at Gandi ¶

Free Pre-registrations Made at Gandi ¶

In order to help our users better understand, visualize, and organize their future projects, Gandi has put in place a free preregistration system in order to allow them to express their interest in an extension.

As indicated during the opening of these pre-registrations, the objective is to improve the chances for a user to obtain the desired domain name if it is requested by other “potential owners”.

Gandi therefore registers pre-registrations in the order in which they have been made by the users. If more than one preregistration is made for the same domain were made at Gandi, we will process them in the order in which they were made in our system, starting from the first.

When an extension is made available for registration at Gandi, users may convert a free registration into a paying preregistration (see below). The registration waiting list is therefore kept in doing it that way.

Pre-registrations Made at Gandi ¶

When an extension is made available at Gandi, users can proceed with pre-registration, and the orders may be taken, though the domain names will not yet be registered.

Pre-registrations are registered in the order in which they have been made by the user. It’s important to note that a request which has been made first during pre-registration will be done first (under the condition that it was converted into a paying order) before any other orders are submitted for the same domain.

Sending of Orders to the Registries ¶

Generally, when you place an order on Gandi’s website (registration of a domain name, a certificate, etc.), it will be processed and, if all is in order, completed as soon as possible.

The same is almost true with pre-registrations: your order is not immediately submitted, but rather, it is only sent to the registry upon the opening of the (Sunrise, Landrush, General Availability) period that is applicable to your request.

During the launching of the registry phases (Sunrise, Landrush, General Availability), we do our best to send the requests that our users have made before anyone else to the registry, in order to increase their chances to obtain the desired domain names.

In the event where several Gandi users have made the same preregistration, we submit the request to the registry in the order that we received the requests from our users.

Registration Error ¶

If, despite our best efforts, the registration failed (the domain was already registered during a previous phase, the term is reserved, etc.), you have the possibility of being refunded in certain cases.

If the registration failed in the General Availability phase, you can obtain a refund for your order. If you make the request to our support team, they can cancel your order after it goes into error, and then the corresponding amount of your order will be credited to your prepaid account. You can then use this credit to pay for other orders on our website, or even ask for it to be refunded.

In the event that a registration failed during the Sunrise or Landrush phases, the fees are not refunded by Gandi (since we are not refunded by the registry), except for when there is a specific option do to do so by the registry of the extension you requested.