Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) in collaboration with .ZADNA and ZACR now offers domain name registration for any registered company, close corporation or co-operative. In an effort to enhance the business opportunities to new companies the CIPC has decided to include domain registrations as one of the service offerings. This will allow companies to register their own domain names before-, during- or after the company registration process. Companies will also be able to defensively register domain names to protect their brand.

The CIPC currently only offers .co.za domain names at a cost of R63.25. The org.za; web.za; and net.za extensions will soon become available via the CIPC registration process. The CIPC does not offer hosting, only domain name registration.

.ZA Namespace

Purchasing a domain name is an exciting step for a new business and the opportunity will assist small businesses to get online and grow. The collaboration is also intended to grow the .ZA namespace. CIPC does not offer hosting, only domain name registration. Domains registered through the CIPC will have to be transferred to an accredited registrar within a year (365 days) to avoid de-registration. A list of accredited registrars can be accessed here.

All domain names registered through CIPC must be linked to existing companies, therefore you must have a registered company before you can start with this process. Login on eServices.cipc.co.za and click on the “TRANSACT” button at the top right of the screen. Click on the “DOMAIN NAME SERVICES” option which will open the Domain Name Services homepage

Visit the list of CIPC FAQ’s available and download a step-by-step guide.