Domain Registration

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What is a domain holder?

The domain holder is the bearer of all rights and liabilities regarding a domain. He can dispose of, use, rent or transfer the domain to another person etc. No domain data must be modified without the domain holder's approval. However, he also has the responisbility to pay for open domain fees (himself or via an ISP), and he is liable for legal infringements regarding the domain. The domain holder is the only one who can effectively cancel the domain or transfer it to a third party.

What are nameservers?

Domain name servers contain the information of which IP address belongs to which domain name. Each time a site is addressed on the internet, a nameserver must return the relevant IP address in order to enable the browser to establish a direct connection to the site.

nic.at requests at least two valid nameserver entries even at the registration of the domain. Please contact your ISP unless you have these entries. A list of all nic.at partner ISPs (so-called registrars) can be found here.

What is a valid domain holder?

Either an organization or a natural person must be specified as the domain holder. Organisations that are incorporated enterprises (e.g. general partnerships, limited liability companies, associations, etc.) have to be specified completely in the organisation field including the legal form (if available). If a person is specified additionally in the name field, this person merely acts as a contact and not as the domain holder. In case of organisations that are not incorporated enterprises, a natural person must be specified additionally in the name field, who is the actual holder holder of the domain. e.g.: org.: Boarding House Customer – name.: John Customer means that Mr. John customer is the domain holder unless the boarding house Customer is an incorporated enterprise. Domain holders that are natural persons must be completely specified in the name field with a full first and last name. Umlauts can not be used for the specification of the domain holder.

What are the sub-domains ".ac.at", ".gv.at" for and where can they be registered?

Domains below ".ac.at" are reserved for universities and schools and can be registered at the University of Vienna .
".gv.at" is for governmental use and can be registered via the Federal Chancellery of the Republic of Austria .

I want to take over a domain - what do I have to take into account?

As the new domain holder you take over all rights and liabilities regarding the domain. If there are any open invoices you will have to pay them. Please note that your data is specified correctly and sign the transfer confirmation personally or as an approved signatory of the company, respectively. Please contact your ISP/registrar therefore.

How am I informed about errors in domain applications?

The result of the technical application check is automatically forwarded to the applicant by e-mail. An error description includes the information about what needs to be corrected. In case of nameserver errors please contact your ISP or registrar.

Can domains be reserved?

A sole reservation of a domain name below .at is not possible. The domain must be technically operative even before the registration, i.e. there must be the required nameserver entries.

Can I register as many .at-domains as I want?

Yes, nic.at has no limit regarding the number of domains per holder.

What is a valid .at-domain name?

Valid characters in a domain name may be letters (“a-z”), numbers (“0-9), hyphens (“-“) and the characters added by IDN. Two hyphens in a row as the third and fourth characters of adomain name are not allowed. The name must not begin or end with a hyphen. Length: domain names below .co.at and .or.at: at least one character (e.g. t3.co.at and s.or.at), domain names below .at: at least three characters. Maximum length: 63 characters.

What can I do if my desired domain name is already delegatede?

Just switch from .at to .co.at or .or.at. Or register different versions of the desired domain name, like e.g.
example.at
ex-ample.at
ex-ample.co.at
e-x-a-m-p-l-e.at
bestexample.at
example-vienna.at
my-example.at
However, if you have rights to an already delegated name (e.g. trademark right, right to a name), please contact the nic.at legal department, which will inform you about the so-callt Wait-status.

How long does a domain registration take?

The registration of the domain is usually completed within a few hours. If the application contains errors, the applicant will get an error message within this period.

What are the requirements for a domain holder?

.at-domains can basically be registered by anyone, no matter whether it is a person, organisation or an association. Private persons must be of age and capable of contracting. An organisation must be specified with its full and valid legal form.

How do I know if the registration was successful?

The applicant will be informed immediately via e-mail about the successful registration, and the domain holder receives the link for the download of the domain certificate. This information is also available in the nic.at Whois-database.

What contractual relationships arise with the registration of a .at-domain?

The delegation of .at domains is based on the general terms and conditions of the registry nic.at. It doesn’t matter who registers the domain on behalf of the holder – nic.at’s contractual partner is always the domain holder. Detailed information is available here .

How is it possible that a domain was free at the time of application, but now isn't?

Domain applications are processed in the order of their receipt ("first come, first served). Thus, it is possible that another application was submitted first and that the domain has been delegated in the meantime.

What is "first come, first served" and how can it be verified?

"First come, first served" means that domain registrations are processed in the order of their receipt and that the first correct application leads to a delegation. Each electronic application gets a unique ticket number upon receipt, which makes the order clearly visible at any time.

Why is it necessary that nameservers are correctly configured before the registration?

The nic.at guidelines demand that only technically operational domains are registered, in order to avoid overloading the internet with untraceable domains. This does not mean that you have to use the domain immediately. The date of the actual launch is decided by you.

Who is responsible for the nameserver configuration?

Nameserver entries are usually made for you by internet service providers or registrars, who can also offer you further services around the internet. A list of all nic.at registrars can be found here.

Is it okay that the ISP specifies himself as the invoice recipient?

Yes, domains are usually invoiced to an ISP or registrar. So you can pay all internet services at once and benefit from possible discounts from your ISP. However, the invoice recipient has no rights to the domain. If he doesn't pay the domain fee, the domain holder will be informed automatically. The holder has the possibility to change the invoice recipient at any time.

Where can domains other than .at be registered?

A list of the global country-specific registries can be found on the homepage of IANA  (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). The generic Top Level Domains are delegated by Network Solutions  (among others). We recommend that you contact an ISP in order to register a certain domain.