This page explains special requirements for domains with the .jp extension.
There are no restrictions on individual registrations. However, we are only offering .jp at this time, and not any of its country code second-level domains (like .co.jp, .or.jp, etc).
If you list JP as the country, the field “state” becomes mandatory. A list of valid states will appear as a drop down in the registrant contact form. Your domain registration may fail if the address is not correct. A valid ZIP code is also required. The correct format is: XXX-XXXX.
You must also indicate the city district or the borough. It can be included in one of the street fields with the street number or it can be pre-fixed to the city field using this format: city district, city.
.JP only permits a small set of characters in contact information. Only the following characters are permitted for first name, last name, address, and organization:
a-zA-Z0-9.,&-
WHOIS does not update in real time. There can be a delay of up to 24 hours for changes in WHOIS to be reflected.
Privacy is not supported for .jp domains.
The registry does not allow manual/explicit renewals. So if you disable autorenew and we miss the renewal date, you can’t re-enable autorenew and renew the domain that way.
The expiration date for .jp domains is always set to the end of the corresponding month of registration. It doesn’t matter when a domain has been registered within that month. For example, if a domain is registered on May 15, 2020, the expiration date will be set at May 31, 2021.
All .jp domains renew on the 16th day before expiration. There are two ways for you to avoid renewing a .jp domain:
- Cancel the registration at least 17 days before expiration; this means you will no longer own the domain.
- Disable autorenew on your subscription at least 17 days before expiration; the domain will then expire.
If we cannot auto-renew the domain name before it reaches expiration, it must be redeemed. There might be a fee for the redemption. See Renewing a Domain in the Redemption Period for instructions on the redemption.
Once a domain expires, it goes into redemption for 20 days. However, canceled domains get a longer overall redemption period than expired domains.
If you cancel the domain, we park it for 5 days. If the domain is not restored within that time, it is canceled at the registry and goes into redemption. The redemption period covers the rest of the month in which the domain was canceled and then the domain is suspended for a month.
A REG-ID is required to transfer a .jp domain to a different registrar. An authorization code is not required. In addition to the use of a REG-ID, .jp domains have a few other key differences in transfer policy:
- There is no automatic renewal upon a completion of a transfer for .jp.
- Transfers are NOT possible if the domain is expiring within the next 30 days.
- .JP domains can be transferred within the first 60 days of registration.
- There is no transfer lock applied as a result of a contact info update
If you do not have a Japanese address and a proxy address was automatically provided for you during the registration process, you will need to update your contact info to replace the proxy address with a Japanese address. Otherwise it is not possible to transfer out.
The domain does not need to be unlocked. You must submit the transfer with the gaining registrar (the registrar to whom you are transferring). You will not need an authorization code to request a transfer.
Once we receive notice from the registry that a transfer request has been submitted, we will process your approval or disapproval for the transfer-out request.
We do not currently accept incoming domain transfers for .jp domains. Please use the Domain Connection option instead.
All transactions and status changes for .jp domains use Japan Standard Time (UTC+9), most often specifically midnight. Therefore expirations, renewals, etc all occur at midnight JST, which may result in them happening earlier than expected depending on the user’s time zone.
