I I would like to register an .ee domain. What do I have to do?
.ee is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) reserved for Estonia and aimed at sharing information with Estonians. Search engines use a user’s location as a search parameter—for example, when a search engine sees a .ee website, it assumes the content is more relevant to Estonia than other countries, and ranks the site accordingly.
No other top-level domain targets Estonians better than the .ee domain. Click here to watch a video explaining why you should register a .ee domain.
Use the WHOIS search function to see whether the domain name you want to use is available. You can do this on the Estonian Internet Foundation website at www.internet.ee. Choose a registrar accredited by the Estonian Internet Foundation and submit an application to register the domain through them. The list of registrars is available online at
http://internet.ee/registrars/accredited-registrars.
WHOIS, or domain lookup, is a service that provides basic information about a registered domain, such as the domain owner’s name and contact information, the company with which the domain is registered (also called the Registrar), the registration and expiry dates of the domain name, and the domain’s availability status and DNSSEC signature. The WHOIS domain lookup service is available at www.interneti.ee .
A registrar is a company or agency authorised and accredited by the Estonian Internet Foundation which offers registration services to people looking to register domains. Most registrars are providers of Internet and server hosting services. Once you choose your registrar, they then provide you with all registration services, including domain renewal and data amendment. The list of authorised registrars is available online at
http://internet.ee/registrars/accredited-registrars.
A registrant is someone in whose name a domain is registered. A registrant can be an individual or a legal entity.
The registry is the record of all local domains. In Estonia the registry is the Estonian Internet Foundation.
The information you need to submit in order to register a domain name is set out in point 4.1.1 of the domain regulations. This states that you must submit to the registrar the following:
a) the domain name you are applying for;
b) the contact details of your administrative contact, their personal
identification code and the name of the country that issued it (or in the
absence of the personal identification code – the date of birth and the name of
the country of nationality), telephone number and e-mail
address;
c) the contact details of your technical contact, including the name of the technical contact, their registry code
or personal identification code and the name of the country which registered or
issued it (or in the absence of the personal identification code – the date of
birth and the name of the country of nationality), telephone
number and e-mail address, in the
case of a Registrant that is a legal person, their name, address of location,
registry code, telephone number and e-mail address;
d) in the case of a legal entity, contact details including its name, address, registry code, the name of the country
which registered it, telephone number and e-mail address;
e) in the case of a natural person, contact details including their name(s) and surname, personal identification code and the name of
the country which issued it (or in the absence of the personal identification
code – the date of birth and the name of the country of nationality), telephone number and e-mail address.
Please note: follow the instructions given by the registrar when submitting the application to register your domain name.
Please note: if the domain is being registered by a representative of the registrant (i.e. their administrative contact person), they must be authorised to do so in writing or have this right on the basis of Estonian law (e.g. as a member of a management board).
Yes, you can. The Domain Regulation does not require that registrants submit two name servers for their domain. However, if the registrant wishes to actually use the domain (create a website, use the domain as an email address, etc.), they have to provide two name servers for the domain.
.ee domains can be registered for 3, 6, 9 months and 1-10 years. The registry fee in 2018 is €1,6, €3,2, €4,8 and €6 per year, depending on the length of the registration period.
The registry fee is the fee that registrars pay to the Estonian Internet Foundation for registering or renewing a domain. The price for the end-user, i.e. the registrant, is determined by the registrars on a free market. VAT will be added to the fee.
An administrative contact (natural person) is a legal representative of the registrant and is authorised to arrange all registration services in the name of the registrant. The administrative contact must be authorised in writing to act on behalf of the registrant in all matters related to the domain. If the registrant is a legal entity, the administrative contact is the person who orders the registration services from the registrar. If the registrant is an natural person, they normally also act as the administrative contact. The administrative contact does not have the right to delegate the authorisation. The administrative contact is
responsible for the correctness and genuineness of the data and documents
submitted about him/her and the registrant.
The technical contact person has the right to amend name server data for domains with which they are associated. If the registrant is using the services of a web hosting provider, we recommend that they appoint a representative of the provider as the technical contact person for their domains. At the same time, if the registrant manages their own servers, they can appoint themselves as the technical contact person.
Yes. Point 4.1.2 of the domain regulations states that domain registration is one of the four registration services that requires the registrant or their administrative contact to sign their application. The regulations provide four ways of signing applications. They are:
a) digital signing using an Estonian ID card or the Mobile ID;b) signing in handwriting in the presence of a representative of the registrar (i.e. at the registrar’s office or a customer service location);
b) digital signing using an ID card of a foreign state accepted by EIF (complete list of accepted foreign digital IDs can be found
HERE);
c) paying the registrar for the registration service from the bank account of the registrant or their administrative contact, noting on the payment order the reference number
assigned to this application by the Registrar and the corresponding domain name
or the number of the invoice issued by the registrar that includes the relevant domain name; or
d) paying the registrar for the registration service by separate transfer from the PayPal account
registered in the name of the registrant or the administrative contact and verified by PayPal and specify in the details of
payment the relevant domain name or the number of the invoice issued by the registrar showing the relevant domain name. The Registrar has the right to
request from the registrant additional proof regarding the verification of the
PayPal account.
Yes. The domain regulations set out a number of restrictions on the format of domain names:
a) they can only contain letters, numbers (0-9) and hyphens (-);
b) the minimum length of a domain name is 2 symbols and the maximum length is 63 symbols;
c) no distinction is made in domain names between upper and lower case letters; and
d) a domain name cannot begin or end with a hyphen and cannot contain hyphens as both the third and fourth symbols.
According to the domain regulations, there are seven types of registration services, all of which can be provided by or arranged through registrars. They are:
a)registration of domain names;
b)deletion of registrations;
c)renewal of registrations;
d)transferring of domain names;
e)updating of contact details;
f)management of name server records; and
g)changing registrars.
You must choose an accredited registrar for registration services of .ee domain names. The foundation has no requirements in terms of other services (including mail servers and web hosting), which you are free to choose.
Registration of a .ee domain name uses a two-tier system in which EIS has delegated the provision of the registration service to registrars. A registrar is a domain name registration service provider that is formally accredited by EIS and has signed a registry agreement. Registrars provide.ee domain name registration services: domain name registration, renewal, amendment, deletion, etc. Unlike other service providers operating in the market, accredited registrars are subject to supervision by EIS.
Yes, it is. Due to the liberalisation of the requirements, both companies and individuals can now register an unlimited number of domains in their own names.
Yes, companies and private persons not registered in Estonia can register a .ee domain name. Rule 4.1.1 c of the Domain Regulations requires the registrant to submit the following data of the administrative contact for the domain to be registered: name, their personal
identification code and the name of the country that issued it (or in the
absence of the personal identification code – the date of birth and the name of
the country of nationality), telephone number and e-mail
address.
The cost of annual registration of a domain is determined by the registrar. The registry sets a uniform base fee for all registrars (€1,6, €3,2, €4,8 and €6 per year in 2018, depending on the length of the registration period). The final cost is influenced by competition on the market, which is why it may end up being lower than the base fee, or the same as it, or higher.
The cost of registering domain names containing letters with diacritics (õ, ä, ö, ü, š, ž) is the same as per ordinary domain names. The registry sets a uniform base fee for all registrars ( €1,6, €3,2, €4,8 and €6 per year in 2018, depending on the length of the registration period). The cost of annual registration of a domain is determined by the registrar. The registry sets a uniform base fee for all registrars. The final cost is influenced by competition on the market, which is why it may end up being lower than the base fee, or the same as it, or even higher.
As many e-mail programmes today still lack support for domain names containing letters with diacritical marks, it is not yet recommended to use such e-mail addresses. You can instead reproduce the domain with diacritics using the punycode solution (for instance, the punycode for info@täpitähtedegadomeen.ee is info@xn--tpithtedegadomeen-qqbd.ee), but in this case the domain name spelling becomes more complicated.
General domains are used to group and distinguish the domain names of individuals and institutions with similar traits. They are:
a)com.ee – companies (incorporated entities) as defined in the Commercial Code;
b)pri.ee – individuals;
c)fie.ee – self-employed people (sole proprietors) as defined in the Commercial Code; and
d)med.ee – medical/health care institutions.
Yes. The registration of all domain names under general domains is subject to a fee as per the registration of domains under the top-level .ee domain. The cost of registering general domain names is the same as when you register ordinary .ee domain names.
According to the Domain Regulations, a subdomain is a marking to the left of the top level domain .ee, separated by a period. An unlimited number of subdomains can be registered under a top level domain. For example, the FAQ of the Estonian Internet Foundation could be located at http://faq.internet.ee. Subdomains are administered by the owner of the domain in question. The owner of the domain can use subdomains for purposes such as specific subject subpages. The domain owner can also offer the opportunity to register a subdomain under their domain for a fee or free of charge. Further information can be found here.
Yes, subdomains can be registered free of charge by private persons and educational, scientific or cultural institutions. Private persons can register free subdomains under the domains era.ee and eesti.ee. Educational, scientific and cultural institutions can register domains for free through the domains edu.ee, lib.ee, org.ee and vil.ee that belong to EENet (the Estonian Education and Research Network). Further information can be found here.
II Other services related to registering domains
No, you do not need to submit or sign a separate application form to renew a domain. You simply need to inform your registrar of your wish to do so and pay the renewal fee. Most registrars send their clients reminders that they need to renew their domains.
You can renew your registration at any time by informing your registrar of your wish to do so. The Estonian Internet Foundation commences deletion proceedings in regard to any domain names that are not renewed. These proceedings last for 45 days, during which time the registrant can inform their registrar of their wish to renew their domain. Deletion proceedings comprise a number of stages. First, a note is made in the WHOIS database that the domain name has expired. During the subsequent expiry period (15 days), the website and e-mail system operating under the domain remain fully accessible. If the domain is not renewed during the expiry period, it and its name server records are blocked. This means that the domain (e.g. the website or e-mail address) is no longer available online. This status remains in force for a further 30 days and is designed to give the individual who registered the domain a final chance to contact their registrar and renew it should they wish to do so. A note of this is made in the WHOIS database, which can be viewed via the Estonian Internet Foundation website. If the registrant still has not renewed the domain by the end of the 30-day deletion period, the domain name is deleted from the registry and ‘quarantined’ for a period of up to 24 hours. After this the domain name becomes available once more and is registered in the name of the first registrant to submit a correct application (i.e. on a first come, first served basis).
If you do not want to renew your domain registration, you need to submit a signed application to your registrar to delete the domain. After this, once the registrar has forwarded the application to the registry, the 30-day period of deletion proceedings begins in regard to the domain, at the end of which and after a further period of up to 24 hours of ‘quarantine’ the domain name is deleted from the register. During the period of deletion proceedings the registrant can still reclaim their domain.
When transferring a domain name, the person to whom it is being transferred must submit an application to the registrar of the current registrant stating their wish to register the domain in question in their name. This application must include all of the information normally required to register a domain as well as signed consent from the current registrant to transfer the domain to the new person. In accordance with point 5.3.6.3 of the domain regulations, this application must be signed using one of the options described in point
4¹ i.e. it must bear a digital signature, handwritten signature given in the presence of the registrar’s representative or signed digitally using an ID card of a foreign state accepted by EIF. List of accepted foreign ID-cards can be found
HERE.
Yes, you can. Registrars must not impede their clients if they wish to change registrars. For example, they cannot bind the provision of domain registration services to the use of other services which they provide. Registrants are free to choose and change registrars at any time.
To change registrars you will need to ask your current registrar for your domain’s authorisation code. This must then be submitted to your new registrar, who will use it to amend the registry data and officially become the new registrar of your domain.
Changing name servers is one of the seven registry services that can be provided by a registrar. The person who registered the domain or the administrative or technical contact person are authorised to make such a change. (This is the only registration service that the technical contact person can independently arrange.)
The registrant’s information portal provides a comprehensive overview of all domains associated with you, regardless of the registrar with which the domain name has been registered.
NB In the portal, you will see the domain names for which you have been indicated as the administrative contact, technical contact or private registrant. In order to obtain information about the domains linked to your company through the portal, please contact your registrar to add your name to the administrative contacts for your domains. (Multiple administrative contacts may be indicated for one domain name)
IV Domain Disputes Committee
Situations can arise in registering domains in which individuals who are not acting in good faith attempt to register names. This is known as ‘domain name hijacking’. In order to prevent this unlawful activity, a domain disputes committee (hereafter referred to as the DDC) has been founded as part of the Estonian Internet Foundation. The DDC is neither a court nor a tribunal, but a specialised independent body operating as part of the foundation that is charged with the task of resolving disputes related to .ee domain names. Its activities are regulated by the rules of the DDC.
If you feel that someone has registered a domain name, without your consent, that is similar to your brand or trademark or to your name or the registered name of your company, you can lodge a complaint with the committee.
Draw up your complaint in accordance with point 5 of the DDC rules. You should provide evidence supporting your claims and also pay the committee fee. Your complaint must be signed digitally. Submit your complaint by e-mail to
vaidlus@internet.ee. A detailed description and the requirements of proceedings to resolve disputes are set out in the rules of the DDC.
DDC fees are used solely for the organisation of the work of the committee, covering the working fees of the people involved (2/3) and the work of the secretariat (1/3). The fees can be viewed online
HERE.
If the committee feels that a complaint is valid, the domain name violating your rights is either deleted or transferred to you, depending on which of the two decisions you seek from the DDC in the course of the dispute proceedings.
If parties to a dispute reach an agreement concerning a domain name or the applicant withdraws their application, 50 per cent of the DDC fee will be reimbursed to the applicant.
V General
If you encounter any problems with a domain (or service), please contact your registrar.
If you experience any problems with web hosting (or the server on which your website and/or e-mails are located), please contact your web hosting service provider.
You can find out who your registrar or web hosting service provider is by doing a WHOIS search on the website of the Estonian Internet Foundation. Web hosting service providers are not directly indicated in WHOIS, although you can normally determine the provider by looking at the names of the domain name servers.
If the owners wish to keep the domain name, a transfer of the domain name has to be carried out before the company is deleted from the Business Registry. In the course of the transfer, the receiver of the domain has to submit an application to the transferring registrant’s registrar, informing the registrar of the wish to register the domain under his/her name. The application must contain all the usual data required for a domain registration as well as the transferring registrant's signed consent to forfeit the domain in favour of the receiving registrant. When the domain name is transferred, the transferring registrant is substituted by the receiving (new) registrant.
If the owners do not wish to keep the domain name, a signed application for deleting the domain should be submitted to the registrar. After the registrar has forwarded the application to the registry, a 30-day domain delete procedure will start, followed by a quarantine period that will last for up to 24 hours; subsequently, the domain will be deleted from the registry.
Yes, the Domain Regulation provides for the possibility to inherit a domain name. In this case, the successor should submit a notarised document to the registrar confirming their rights as a successor. A will, marriage certificate, etc. will not be regarded as proof of the right of succession. Where EIS becomes aware that more than six months have elapsed since the death of a domain name owner and no right of succession has been exercised concerning the domain name, EIS will initiate the procedure for the deletion of the domain name. In this instance, the legal successor may request that the domain name be transferred within the 30-day period of the deletion procedure. If the domain name is deleted, it will become available on a “first come, first served” principle.
While a domain name is a necessary tool for creating a website, these are two separate services. While.ee domain names are registered by Eesti Interneti SA (EIS), hosting services are provided by the service providers, and the website’s owner/administrator is responsible for the content of the website. EIS only exercises supervision over .ee domain names, not the information published on websites or the activities related to websites.
We will now provide an overview of the authorities you can contact to request that a website be closed or to file a complaint.
a. If a website publishes any materials that you claim to be infringing your copyright (your creative works, etc.) or publishes false information about you, you can seek legal redress from the courts under the applicable national legislation. We recommend involving a legal professional to order to solve the problem.
b. If the false information about you concerns a serious offence, such as identity theft, publication of inappropriate images or videos, or any other malicious activity that you become aware of, we recommend you report the offence to the police.
c. If a website is found to be distributing viruses or malware, or is involved in other cyber incidents, we advise you report the website to the Estonian Information System Authority (CERT Estonia, an organisation responsible for the management of security incidents). See more here.
According to the Domain Regulation, EIS may delete a domain name in cases specifically related to the registration of the domain name. This may be done, for example, where EIS has not received an application for registration in accordance with the Domain Regulation, or the identity and/or intention of the representative of the registrant or the registrant’s representative are not verified in conformity with the Domain Regulation. This may also be the case where the email addresses provided by the registrant are not correct.
Moreover, EIS may delete a domain name on a duly substantiated request by public authorities. The relevant authority must clarify why the domain name should be deleted. EIS will assess whether the deletion is proportional with regard to the registrant.