Frequently Asked Questions

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About .fr Domain Names

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Last Updated: March 13, 2015 3:11 PM

The .fr country-code top-level domain name (ccTLD) is an extension that represents France. For companies that conduct business in France and individuals who want to reach the growing number of Internet users there, .fr domain names are a good investment. Registering a .fr domain name gives you regional recognition and an easy-to-manage Web presence.

Who can register .fr domain names?

Individuals and companies located in France or who use a trustee service (which we can provide) can register .fr domain names.

Domain names can be up to 63 characters, with a minimum of three characters, and can contain letters (a to z), numbers (0 to 9), and hyphens (except as the first or last characters of the domain name). You cannot register domain names with special characters such as & and #. We support French IDNs (Internationalized Domain Names).

A customer cannot register a .FR domain name if it includes the name of a city in France. For instance, coolexampleparis.fr is not allowed to be registered and will show up as not available when checking out.

To Register .fr Domain Names

  1. On our Home page, in the Domain Name Search field, enter the domain name.
  2. Select .fr from the list.
  3. Click Go, and then proceed through the screens to complete your purchase.
    • For individuals, a birthdate and country of birth are required. If your country of birth is France, you must also provide your birth city name and postal code.
    • For associations located in France, you must provide one of the following:
      • The Waldec ID
      • The organization date, publication date, announcement number, and announcement page number of the official gazette.
    • For companies, either a valid Trademark or SIREN/SIRET number is required.
    • If you do not meet the residency requirements, we automatically charge you a trustee vendor fee of $29.99 per year. The trustee helps you meet the residency requirement and is a third-party vendor. If someone contacts the trustee with an issue regarding your domain name, the trustee contacts us, and then we contact you.

NOTE: Your newly registered domain name displays in the Domain Manager with a Pending Registration status. Please allow up to 48 hours for the registration to complete and for the domain name to display as Active in your account.

Which registry controls .fr domain names?

AFNIC is the registry for .fr domain names.

For how long can I register .fr domain names?

You can register .fr domain names for one year at a time.

When do .fr domain names renew?

Your .fr domain name renews before its expiration date. The renewal date depends on whether you set the domain name to auto-renew or renew manually renew. We attempt auto-renewal on the first day of the month prior to the domain name's expiration date. If the renewal attempt fails, we re-attempt renewal on the 10th of the month and again on the 20th of the month.

If we cannot auto-renew the domain name and you do not manually renew it by the 20th of the month prior to the expiration date, you can attempt to recover it, and there might be a fee to do so. See Recovering Expired Domain Names for more information.

For example, if your .fr domain name expires on October 10 and you don't auto-renew it, you can renew it manually by September 20. For automatic renewals, we attempt to renew the domain name on September 1, September 10, and September 20.

Can I transfer .fr domain names to my account with you?

No. We do not currently support the transfer of .fr domain names to us.

How do I transfer .fr domain names from you to another registrar?

To transfer a .fr domain name to another registrar, contact our support department to request an authorization code.

Can I add privacy and protection to .fr domain names?

No. Domains By Proxy® Private Registration and Protected Registration are not available for .fr domain names.

Can I backorder .fr domain names?

No. We do not currently support the backorder of .fr domain names.

Can I move .fr domain names to another account with you?

No. We do not currently support account changes for .fr domain names.

Can I update the contact information for .fr domain names?

Contact our support department to update the following registrant contact fields for your .fr domain names:

  • First name
  • Last name
  • Organization (company name)
  • Country

You can update all other domain name contact information in the Domain Manager. See Update contact information for information.

Are there nameserver requirements for my .fr domain names?

Yes. Each .fr domain name must have two authoritative nameservers. Before you register or modify the domain name, you must list only those nameservers in its zone file.

If you want to register a .fr domain name with us and use our nameservers, we handle this process for you.

If you want to use your own nameservers, you must set them up before you register or modify the domain name. You must also ensure that they are resolving properly before you assign them to the domain name in our system.

TIP: You can use the DNS validation tool on AFNIC's website to ensure that your nameservers are resolving properly.

For example, if you want to register coolexample.com.fr and use the nameservers ns1.coolexample.fr and ns2.coolexample.fr, then you must list those nameservers in the domain name's zone file.

After you set up your nameservers and register your domain name, use the instructions in Setting Nameservers for Your Domain Names to set the nameservers in our system.

What is the refund policy for .fr domain names?

We do not support refunds upon cancellation for .fr domains at this time (registration, auto-renewal and manual renewal).