The extension that represents New Zealand is .NZ. InternetNZ administers it, while the Domain Name Commission NZ handles dispute resolution and oversight.
Registration requirements
Domain names range from two to 63 characters, consisting of lowercase letters, digits, and hyphens. IDNs using the Maori language are available for .NZ domains as of November 2022. OpenSRS offers registrations of .NZ, .CO.NZ, .NET.NZ, and .ORG.NZ domains.
| Explicit renewal | Yes |
| Domain locking available | Yes |
| Auto-renew date | 30 days |
| Grace period | 45 days |
| Redemption period | 90 days |
| Authcode required | Yes |
| Contact Privacy | Only individuals |
| IDNs available | Yes |
| Registry premiums allowed | Group 3 |
| DNSSEC manageable in RCP | Yes |
General requirements
- Registrants do not need to be in New Zealand, nor do they need to host in New Zealand.
- Registrants must be identifiable individuals over 18 years of age or properly constituted organizations.
- The person named on the register is the legal registrant and therefore holds the license to use that domain name.
Note: Make sure to add these details to your legal contract. When DNC performs audits, the documents to support registration eligibility are required.
Contact requirements
Registrant, admin and technical contacts are required. The billing contact is optional for orders.
Second level .NZ domains
Each second level .NZ domain is for a specific type of user:
| .CO.NZ | Intended for commercial entities. |
| .NET.NZ | Intended for network infrastructures, such as Internet Service Providers. |
| .ORG.NZ | Intended for non-profit organizations |
Transfers
.NZ domains transferred before expiry have no transfer fee, and their expiration date does not change. Domains transferred after expiry, within the renewal grace period, are automatically renewed by one year and billed accordingly.
Authcodes
Authcodes for .NZ domains are 16-character codes. Generate authcodes via the RCP.
Important: Authcodes expire after 30 days.
The authcode must be 16 characters in length and consist only of:
- alphanumeric characters
- lowercase a to z
- uppercase A to Z
- numerals 0 to 9
- hyphens
As of November 2022, InternetNZ has discontinued the UDAI format and has not migrated UDAI values to the new system. New codes are to be generated as needed.
Note: Any UDAIs previously issued are invalid.
Renewals
Renew .NZ domains for one to 10 years. Domains have a 45-day renewal grace period after expiry. Redemption lasts 90 days after the grace period, followed by a two-day window for final deletion from the registry database.
Recover redeemable domains using the standard redemption process.
Privacy
Only individuals can use domain privacy. OpenSRS treats registrations as individuals when the organization field is blank. Enter data in the owner organization field to flag the registrant as an organization, displaying the contact details on a WhoIs lookup.
Additional resources
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