Register a .info domain: who can, rules, price and transfer

A .info domain is the international extension for websites that share information. Anyone can register one, wherever they live: you do not need a company, a company registration number or an address in a particular country. At LJPc hosting a .info domain costs €22.94 a year excluding VAT, with DNS management included, and you order or transfer it in the customer portal.

Below you can read what .info is, when it is a good fit, which rules a .info name follows, what it costs and how to register or transfer a .info domain.

What is a .info domain?

.info stands for information. The extension has existed since 2001 and, together with .biz, was one of the first extensions added to the originals such as .com, .net and .org. Afilias launched .info; today the registry is called Identity Digital.

.info is a generic extension, like .com. Transfers, changes of holder, expiry and disputes therefore follow the global rules of ICANN, the organisation that sets the rules for generic extensions. How all these extensions came about is covered in the history of domain names.

Who can register a .info domain?

Anyone. .info has been an open extension from the start: individuals, associations, foundations and businesses can register a .info domain, wherever they are based. There is nothing to prove up front.

When you register, you do agree to the registry's ground rules:

• Correct details. The holder's name, address and email address are correct and kept up to date. If they are wrong or out of date, the registry can suspend the domain.
• Fair use. If a .info domain is used for phishing, malware, spam or other abuse, the registry can block, suspend or cancel the domain.
• Rights of others. Names are first come, first served. The registry does not check up front whether you have a right to a name; it is up to you to make sure your name does not infringe someone else's trademark or name.

When is .info the right choice?

The extension tells visitors straight away what to expect: information. That makes .info a good fit for a website that explains something, such as a product manual, a site about a project or event, local information or a campaign next to your main site. The name you want is also often still available under .info when it is already taken under .com or your country's extension.

A .info domain redirects to your main site as neatly as any other domain; see redirect a domain to another website. For a business site aimed at customers all over the world, a .com domain is the better choice for your main domain.

Google treats .info as a generic extension, like .com: the extension itself does not tie your website to a country. Whether people in a particular country find you depends on your website itself, such as the language of your content, a local address and links from other local websites. That is explained in Google's guidelines for multi-regional websites.

What rules does a .info name follow?

• Length. 1 to 63 characters, not counting the .info extension. Names of one or two characters are possible too.
• Characters. The letters a to z, the digits 0 to 9 and the hyphen. A hyphen cannot be the first or last character of the name.
• Accented letters. The registry also accepts names with letters from a number of languages, such as German, French and Spanish, for example ä, é, ñ and ü. You then choose the language when you register, and all letters in the name come from the same script. Not every email program or web form handles such characters well, so for your main domain a name without accents is the safer choice.
• Two-letter names. A two-letter name that matches a country code may not be used to suggest that you are linked to that country's government or its country extension.
• Reserved and premium names. The registry holds back some names, for example names that ICANN requires to be reserved. It offers others as premium names at a higher price.

In the order wizard in the portal you type a name using the letters a to z, digits and hyphens. For a .info domain with accented letters, open a support ticket and we will look into it with you. If the wizard shows Premium domain, contact us next to a name, you order that name through a support ticket; the button opens the ticket for you. See order a domain and hosting in the customer portal for how that works.

How much does a .info domain cost at LJPc?

A .info domain costs €22.94 a year at LJPc hosting, excluding VAT. You pay the same amount when you transfer an existing .info domain to us: a transfer adds a year to the domain's term. Prices differ from one provider to the next. The order wizard shows the price before you order, and our domain names page lists current prices for all extensions.

You choose hosting for your website and email on top. You can also take DNS management only, or redirect the domain to another website. Our plans are on the web hosting page.

How to register a .info domain at LJPc

1. Log in at portal.ljpc.nl and click Add a website on the dashboard, or open the order wizard directly. No account yet? Create one first.
2. Choose I am looking for one or want to register one and type the name with .info, for example yourdomain.info. You see straight away whether it is available and what it costs per year, with other extensions alongside.
3. Select the .info domain and then what it should do: a hosting plan, DNS management only, a redirect plan, or a server or hosting space you already have with us.
4. In the cart, check the Registration contact: the details the domain is registered under. For .info your regular contact details are enough: the cart asks for nothing extra.
5. Accept the terms and conditions and complete your order. We then handle the registration with the registry.

Every option in the order wizard is covered in register a domain and link it to your hosting. Your .info domain then appears in the portal under Services > Domain names. If the name you want is taken, domain backorders explains how to claim it for the moment it becomes available.

What LJPc takes care of for your .info domain

• Automatic renewal every year. Automatic renewal is on by default, so your .info domain keeps running as long as your subscription does. To stop, see cancel a domain or hosting.
• DNS and DNSSEC. Your domain gets our nameservers ns1.ljpc.network, ns2.ljpc.network and ns3.ljpc.network, and we switch DNSSEC on automatically. How that protection works is explained in what is DNSSEC.
• Your transfer code always at hand. On your domain's page in the portal, the transfer code is in the Authorization code block.
• The transfer lock under your control. With the Transfer lock switch you turn the transfer lock of your .info domain on or off yourself.
• Your details under your control. You update the contact details of your domain yourself in the portal, as described in manage the WHOIS data of your domain. If the domain needs to move to someone else's name, see change the owner of a domain: for .info you first approve the change through an email in your portal inbox.

Transfer your .info domain to LJPc

You transfer a .info domain with a transfer code, also called an authorization code or EPP code. Your current provider gives you this code.

1. Are your website and email moving too? Set them up with us first, because a domain transfer does not move your website and email for you. Migrate your website to LJPc explains how.
2. Ask your current provider for the transfer code and have the transfer lock on the domain turned off.
3. Open the order wizard, choose I already have one at another registrar, enter your .info domain and choose Transfer to LJPc. Enter the transfer code. The portal checks straight away whether the transfer can go ahead with that code.
4. Choose your hosting or DNS management only and complete your order. We start the transfer and you follow its status in the portal.

Under ICANN's transfer rules a .info domain moves within five days at most, as long as your current provider does not reject the transfer. That provider may block a transfer in the first 60 days after registration or after a previous transfer, and after a change of holder a 60-day transfer lock applies by default. How to follow the transfer, what to do with an approval email and what to do if it gets stuck is covered in transfer your domain to LJPc.

Transfer your .info domain from LJPc to another provider

If your .info domain is moving to another provider, you handle the transfer code and the transfer lock yourself in the portal:

1. Open the page of your .info domain in the portal.
2. In the Authorization code block, click Show to see the transfer code, or Copy to copy it.
3. In the Domain overview block, find Transfer lock and click the switch so it shows Off.
4. Give the code to your new provider, who uses it to request the transfer.

What else is involved, such as ending your subscription with us, is covered in get your transfer code and transfer your domain.

Keep your .info domain at another registrar

If you want to keep your .info domain at your current registrar and only host your website or email with us, the domain does not need to move. You connect it with our nameservers, as described in change your nameservers, or with individual DNS records, as described in point a domain at another provider to LJPc hosting. Not sure where your domain is registered? Look it up with who manages my domain.

Expired or cancelled

After its expiry date a .info domain follows the same ICANN rules as .com: first a period in which only the holder can get the domain back through their registrar, after which the name becomes available to everyone. How long each phase lasts and what the statuses in the portal mean is covered in expired domains and quarantine. If the portal shows Expired, Redemption period or Pending delete for your .info domain, open a support ticket right away.

Received an invoice or renewal email for your .info domain from a company you do not know? Hold off on paying. How to spot a fake domain invoice shows what to look for.

WHOIS and disputes

The public .info WHOIS shows which registrar manages a domain, its status and when it was registered and expires. The holder's name, address and email address are not in it: the registrar keeps those details. Anyone with a legitimate reason can request them through the registrar.

If someone claims rights to a .info name, for example because it is their trademark, that goes through ICANN's dispute policy (UDRP), the rapid suspension procedure URS, or the courts. The registry's rules, such as its policy against abuse, are on Identity Digital's policy page.

Not sure whether .info suits you, or is a transfer stuck? Open a support ticket and we will look into it with you.