Canadian Domain Names

Welcome to Dot CA Domains. Here you will learn all about Canada's own domain name extension. Find information about registering domain names, registrars and their functions, CIRA, domain name servers and more.

Canada's own domain extension has been growing since its launch in 1988. At that time registrations were carried out on a voluntary basis in conjunction with the registrar at the University of British Columbia. Come the 1990's and the explosion in the growth of the Internet and thus the great demand for domain names, CIRA, or the Canadian Internet Registration Authority, was tasked with overseeing the system of domain name registration in Canada for .ca domain names.

If some of this terminology has you feeling confused don't fret, below you can find simplified explanations of everything you will come across when buying, selling and administering your .ca domain names.

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A Canadian presence is a requirement of being able to register and use a dot ca domain name. CIRA undertakes procedures to ensure that the registrant is actually entitled to us the domain name. This was undertaken to ensure the domain name space was reserved for the exclusive use of Canadians in the burgeoning online world. There are varying legal types to the Canadian Presence Requirement and they include: being a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident as defined in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act of Canada, a corporation as found under the laws of Canada, including any province or territory of Canada, and even the Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth of England. For a full list and explanation see - cira.ca/en/faq-menu-cpr.html

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A ccTLD or country code top-level domain is a domain name extension exclusively reserved for use by a particular country or dependent region. They are always two characters in length and Canada's cctld is of course - .ca. The creation and delegation of cctlds is undertaken by IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority).Canada's .ca domain name comes with a local presence requirement, as do many other cctlds such as the United States' .us domain extension. For a complete list of ccTLDs see: Country Code Domains

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CIRA or the Canadian Internet Registration Authority is the non-profit private sector organization in charge of Canada's dot ca domain space. CIRA oversees all registrars and registrants. You can find out more about the Canadian Internet Registration Authority at their website - CIRA.ca

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A domain name coupon code, or as it is sometimes also called a promotional code, is a discount code offered by domain name registrars. Nearly every domain name registrar releases coupon codes so look around the Internet or browse dot ca related websites like FYO Canadian Domains for current codes to help you save money on your next purchase.

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A domain name is the product a certified registrar offers to its customers. Also known as registered domain names, a domain name is unique identifier of a particular computer or website. There can only be one of each domain name.

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The Domain Name System (DNS) is best described as a vast phonebook of Internet addresses - websites. The domain name system connects hostnames to websites by translating the hostname into IP addresses. Remembering 69.255.12.123 for a website would be hard, but domain.ca is much easier - and that is just what the domain name system is for. As an owner of domain name when you want to create a website you will have to point your domain name to particular web server in order to host the files. To do this you will be asked to enter the web server's DNS.

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Hosting is the act of putting your website files onto a server so that people can view them over the Internet. A web host is someone who offers this service. There are various types and packages of web hosting, so be sure to ask your prospective web host for the best package for your needs.

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A registrant is the person who registers a domain name. In order to register a dot ca domain the registrant must meet CIRA's residence requirement. The registrant is assigned a particular number by CIRA and this is viewable when looking at any .ca WHOIS report.

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A registrar is a certified company that sells and administers domain names. All registrars selling .ca domains must be certified by CIRA. Before registering a dot ca domain be sure the registrar is certified by CIRA and if in doubt contact CIRA to confirm. Once registered a domain name can be administered through the registrar's domain name interface via their website. Here you can set the registrant details, change the DNS and more.

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To "register" a domain name is to purchase a domain name from a certified registrar. You register a dot ca domain by first having a registrant profile on record with CIRA and then you can purchase a domain. Registration terms for dot ca domains vary from one year to ten years. As long as the domain stays registered it belongs to the registrant. If the registrant fails to renew the domain name by the expiry it will go into a suspended state for 30 days. After that time the domain name 'drops' - becomes available for others to register.

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A domain name transfer is the movement of a domain from one owner to another - also called a registrant transfer, and/or the movement of a domain from one registrar to another. If you buy a dot ca domain from someone else you can transfer the domain to your favourite registrar and to your own registrant profile. This change adds one year of time to the domains renewal period. Registrars also charge for these services. You will also have to confirm any transfer with CIRA - as an added safety measure.

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WHOIS - pronounced like it looks 'who is', is a system that utilizes a TCP-based query/response protocol for querying an official database to determine the owner of a particular domain name. You can find information such as the registrant, registrar, registry date, expiry date, DNS information and more. You can conduct such as search yourself at CIRA - whois.cira.ca/public

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