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

A .org domain is the international extension for organisations. Anyone can register one: you do not have to be a nonprofit, charity or association, and you do not need a company registration number. At LJPc hosting a .org domain costs €19.99 a year excluding VAT, with DNS management included, and you order or transfer it in the customer portal.

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

What is a .org domain?

.org stands for organization. It is one of the original extensions of the internet: it has existed since 1985, like .com and .net. Since 2003 it has been run by Public Interest Registry (PIR), a nonprofit in the United States that the Internet Society set up for this purpose. According to PIR there are now more than 12 million .org domains, and more than half of the proceeds of each registration goes to the Internet Society.

.org 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 .org domain?

Anyone. PIR describes .org as an open extension with no eligibility requirements: individuals, associations, foundations, schools and businesses can all register a .org domain, wherever they are based. You do not have to prove that you are a nonprofit.

When you register, you do agree to a few ground rules:

• Correct details. The holder's name, address and email address are correct and kept up to date.
• Fair use. If a .org domain is used for phishing, malware or other abuse, the registry can suspend or delete the entire domain.
• Rights of others. Names are first come, first served. The registry does not check 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.

PIR also runs .ngo and .ong. Those extensions are reserved for genuine NGOs, which confirm at registration that they meet PIR's criteria. None of that applies to .org.

When is .org the right choice?

Many people associate .org with foundations, associations, charities and open source projects. A .org domain signals that your organisation has a mission, and that works across borders. The name you want is also often still available under .org when it is already taken under .com or your country's extension.

A .org domain redirects to your main site as neatly as any other domain; see redirect a domain to another website.

Google treats .org 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 .org name follow?

• Length. 3 to 63 characters, not counting the .org extension. The registry holds back names of one or two characters.
• 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 such as á, ç, è, ñ and ö. Not every email program or web form handles them well, so for your main domain a name without accents is the safer choice.
• Reserved names. The registry holds back some names, for example names that ICANN requires to be reserved.

In the order wizard in the portal you type a name using the letters a to z, digits and hyphens. For a .org domain with accented letters, open a support ticket and we will look into it with you.

How much does a .org domain cost at LJPc?

A .org domain costs €19.99 a year at LJPc hosting, excluding VAT. You pay the same amount when you transfer an existing .org 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 .org 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 .org, for example yourfoundation.org. You see straight away whether it is available and what it costs per year, with other extensions alongside.
3. Select the .org 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 .org 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 .org 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 .org domain

• Automatic renewal every year. Automatic renewal is on by default, so your .org 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 .org 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 .org you first approve the change through an email in your portal inbox.

Transfer your .org domain to LJPc

You transfer a .org domain with a transfer code, also called an authorization code or EPP code. Your current provider gives you this code of 6 to 16 characters.

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 .org 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.

According to PIR a .org domain moves within five days once the transfer has started. Under ICANN's transfer rules your current 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 .org domain from LJPc to another provider

If your .org 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 .org 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 .org domain at another registrar

If you want to keep your .org 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 .org 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 .org domain, open a support ticket right away.

Received an invoice or renewal email for your .org 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 .org 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: only the registrar keeps those details, not the registry. Anyone with a legitimate reason can request them through the registrar.

If someone claims rights to a .org name, for example because it is their trademark, that goes through ICANN's dispute policy (UDRP), the rapid suspension procedure URS, or the courts. More about the registry's rules is in PIR's frequently asked questions.

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