This page explains special requirements for domains with the .ca extension.
In this guide
Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is the registry for the country-code domain (ccTLD) .ca extension that represents Canada.
Only individuals and entities that meet the Canadian Presence Requirements can apply to register .ca domain names. Individuals that meet the registration requirements include Canadian citizens, permanent residents of Canada, aboriginal people indigenous to Canada, or legal representatives of Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Non-individual registrants include all other registrant types, such as corporations or organizations.
Once you select the “Canadian presence” type and complete the registration, the registry does not allow you to change from an individual to a non-individual or vice versa.
CIRA automatically applies its privacy protection to new .ca domains if the domain is registered to an individual. This limits the personal information that is displayed in the Whois database.
However, for domains registered to organizations, privacy protection is not supported. This means that the registrant contact information is displayed in the Whois database. If you have a domain registered as “non-individual” (meaning it’s registered specifying an organization) and you want privacy protection, you must contact CIRA directly to appeal but you must demonstrate an exceptional need for privacy.
If your .ca domain expires, the following timelines apply:
- First 39 days after expiration: You can renew at the standard price.
- Day 40-69 after expiration: The domain enters the Redemption Grace Period. This means that you must pay a redemption fee in addition to the standard renewal price to redeem and renew the domain.
- Day 70 after expiration: The registry deletes the domain and makes it available to the general public. It is no longer possible at this point to renew the domain.
All newly registered .ca domains are subject to the 60-day transfer lock, just like most TLDs. This means they are not eligible for transfer for the first 60 days after a new registration. In addition, if you update the registrant contact information, .ca domains are locked for 60 days from the date of the update and can’t be transferred during this period. It is not possible to opt out of this lock.
We do not currently accept incoming domain transfers for .ca domains. Please use the Domain Connection option instead.
You may receive communications about your domain directly from CIRA. This is not spam. These notices are generally an acknowledgment of domain registration, expiry warnings, and other notices.
