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

A .xyz domain is an international extension that is not tied to any country or industry. Anyone can register one, wherever they live: you do not need a company registration or an address in a particular country. At LJPc hosting a .xyz domain costs €17.99 a year excluding VAT, with DNS management included, and you order or transfer it in the customer portal.

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

What is a .xyz domain and what does .xyz mean?

.xyz is a generic extension, like .com, .info and .shop. It has existed since 2014 and came out of the large round of new extensions that ICANN opened in 2012. The registry is XYZ.COM LLC, based in Las Vegas; the technical side, such as the name servers and the registration database, is run by CentralNic.

The letters have no fixed meaning. The registry calls it "Generation XYZ": generations X, Y and Z together, so an extension for everyone. A well-known example is Alphabet, the parent company of Google, which uses abc.xyz as its investor website.

Because .xyz is a generic extension, the worldwide ICANN rules apply to transfers, changes of holder, expiry and disputes. ICANN is 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 .xyz domain?

Anyone. .xyz is an open extension: individuals, clubs, foundations and businesses can register a .xyz domain, wherever they are based. You do not have to prove anything up front, and names go to whoever registers them first.

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

• Accurate details. The holder's name, address and email address are correct and you keep them up to date. If they are wrong or outdated, the registry can suspend or cancel the domain.
• Fair use. Phishing, malware, spam, botnets and other abuse are prohibited. The registry's anti-abuse team actively looks for it. A suspended domain gets the status serverHold: it is taken out of the DNS, so the website and email on that domain stop working.
• Other people's rights. 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.
• Two-letter names. Do not use a two-letter name to suggest that you are linked to a government or to the country-code extension of a country.

When should you choose .xyz?

A .xyz domain is short, neutral and fits any subject. That makes .xyz a good match for a new project, an app, a community or a brand with visitors from several countries.

You can redirect a .xyz domain to another website in the same way as any other domain; how that works is explained in redirect a domain to another website.

For Google, .xyz is a generic extension, like .com: the extension itself does not link 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 websites in that country. This is described in Google's guidelines for multi-regional websites.

Is a .xyz domain trustworthy?

Technically, a .xyz domain works exactly like a .com or .nl domain: your website, your email and your SSL certificate work on it in the same way. What you control yourself: a well-kept website and email that shows it really comes from your domain.

For your email, three settings take care of that: SPF, DKIM and DMARC. If you have hosting with LJPc, we set them up for you by default, on a .xyz domain too. The registry tackles abuse with its own anti-abuse team and publishes a report on it every quarter.

Which rules does a .xyz name follow?

• Length. 1 to 63 characters, not counting the .xyz extension.
• Characters. The letters a to z, the digits 0 to 9 and the hyphen. A hyphen cannot be at the start or end of the name. Two hyphens in a row are only allowed in the technical form of a name with accented letters, which starts with xn--.
• Accented letters. The registry also accepts names with accented letters from the Latin script, such as é, ë and ü, and characters from other scripts, such as Greek, Cyrillic, Arabic, Chinese and Japanese. When you register, you choose one language or script, and all characters in the name come from it. Not every email program or web form handles such characters well, so for your main address a name without accents is the safer choice.
• Reserved and premium names. The registry holds back some names. Others it offers as premium names, at a higher price.

In the portal's order wizard you type a .xyz name using the letters a to z, digits and hyphens. If you want a .xyz 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. How that works is explained in ordering a domain and hosting in the customer portal.

How much does a .xyz domain cost at LJPc?

A .xyz domain costs €17.99 a year at LJPc hosting, excluding VAT. You pay the same amount when you transfer an existing .xyz domain to us: a transfer adds a year to the domain's term. The prices of all our extensions are on the domain names page, and the order wizard shows you the price before you order.

If you see a free or very cheap first year for a .xyz domain somewhere, also check the price for the years after that. Add hosting for your website and email, so you can also send mail from an address such as info@yourname.xyz. 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 .xyz 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 .xyz, for example yourname.xyz. You see straight away whether it is available and what it costs per year, with other extensions alongside.
3. Select the .xyz 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 under which the domain is registered in your name. For .xyz your regular contact details are enough: the cart does not ask for extra details.
5. Accept the terms and conditions and complete your order. We then take care of the registration with the registry.

All choices in the order wizard are explained in detail in register a domain and link it to your hosting. You will then find your .xyz domain in the portal under Services > Domain names.

What LJPc takes care of for your .xyz domain

• Automatic renewal every year. Automatic renewal is on by default, so your .xyz domain stays active as long as your subscription runs. If you want to stop, cancel a domain or hosting explains how.
• DNS and DNSSEC. Your domain gets our name servers ns1.ljpc.network, ns2.ljpc.network and ns3.ljpc.network, and we switch on DNSSEC 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 .xyz domain on or off yourself.
• Your details under your control. You update your domain's contact details yourself in the portal, as described in manage your domain's WHOIS data. If the domain needs to be registered to someone else, read change the owner of a domain: for .xyz you first approve the change through an email in your portal inbox.

Transfer your .xyz domain to LJPc

You transfer a .xyz domain with a transfer code, also called an authorization code or EPP code. You get this code from your current provider.

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 by itself. How to approach that is explained in migrate your website to LJPc.
2. Request the transfer code from your current provider and have the domain's transfer lock switched off.
3. Open the order wizard, choose I already have one at another registrar, enter your .xyz 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 .xyz 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 .xyz domain from LJPc to another provider

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

1. Open your .xyz domain's page 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 EPP code and transfer your domain.

Keep your .xyz domain at another registrar

If you want to keep your .xyz 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 name servers, as described in change your name servers, 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.

Expiry, quarantine and fake invoices

After its expiry date a .xyz 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 a .xyz domain you want to keep, open a support ticket right away.

Received an invoice or renewal email for your .xyz domain from a company you do not know? Hold off on paying. Spotting a fake domain invoice explains what to look out for.

WHOIS and disputes

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

If someone claims rights to a .xyz name, for example because it is their trademark, this goes through ICANN's dispute policy (UDRP), the fast suspension procedure URS, or the courts. If you believe your domain was suspended by mistake, report it to the registry's anti-abuse team. The rules and how that team works are on the XYZ abuse page.

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