Country Code Top-Level Domains

.af domain information

The .af domain is Afghanistan's country code top-level domain (ccTLD) and is currently managed by the Afghanistan Network Information Center (AFGNIC), which is under the Afghanistan Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT).


.af domain name Introduction

The .af domain is Afghanistan's country code top-level domain (ccTLD), launched on October 16, 1997. It is managed by the Afghanistan Network Information Center (AFGNIC), under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT).

Due to its similarity to the abbreviation for "Africa" in English, it is also commonly used for targeting the African market.

There are no registration restrictions for .ae second-level domains, which are open to all individuals and organizations. Certain third-level domains require specific local entities for registration, such as .gov.af (Afghan government), .com.af (local Afghan businesses), .org.af (local Afghan non-profit organizations), .net.af (local Afghan network institutions), .edu.af (local Afghan educational institutions), .media.af (local Afghan media institutions), and .tv.af (Afghan television networks).


.af domain name Target market

Mainly targeted at individuals, businesses, or organizations within Afghanistan


.af domain name Restrictions

Second-level domains are unrestricted, while some third-level domains require local specific entities to register


.af domain name Operator/Registry

Afghanistan Network Information Center(AFGNIC)


.af domain name Introduction date

October 16, 1997


Afghanistan Ministry of Communications and Information Technology(MCIT)


.af domain name Intended use

Provide online identity identification for entities within Afghanistan.


.af domain name Geographic restrictions

No Geographic Restrictions


.af domain name Registration period

The registration period varies from 1 to 10 years.


.af domain name Renewal policy

The domain renewal and redemption grace period is 30 days; for details, please refer to the relevant agreement at https://nic.af/policies.


.af domain name Transfer policy

For details, please refer to the relevant agreements at https://nic.af/policies.


.af domain name DNSSEC Support

Yes


.af domain name Privacy protection

Supports WHOIS privacy protection services.


.af domain name Pricing

Prices vary by registrar; the nic.af website lists them at $25


.af domain name Dispute resolution policy

The .af domain has a separate dispute resolution policy, details of which can be found in the relevant agreement at https://nic.af/policies.


.af domain name Registration rules

1. The .af domain is Afghanistan's national domain. There are no restrictions to register a .af domain; individuals or companies from any country can register.
2. .af domain registration requires a minimum of 3 characters and a maximum of 63 characters. Only English letters (a-z, case-insensitive), numbers (0-9), and the hyphen "-" are allowed.
3. Spaces and special characters (such as !, $, &, ? etc.) cannot be used, and the hyphen "-" cannot be at the beginning or end of the domain.
4. There are no restrictions on second-level domains, while some third-level domains (e.g., .gov.af) require local specific entities for registration.


.af domain name IDN Support

No


.af domain name Typical users

1. Afghan Ministry of the Interior - moi.gov.af
2. Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs - mfa.gov.af
3. Afghan Ministry of Commerce and Industry - moci.gov.af


.af domain name Registry website

https://nic.af