Country extension · China
.com.cn domain name
What you need to know about .com.cn: who can register it, which details are required and how transferring works.
Specifications
The key details of .com.cn
- Country
- China
- Registry
- cnnic.cn
- Registration period
- 1 to 10 years
- Renewal period
- 1 to 10 years
- Domain name length
- 1 to 63 characters
- Time to registration
- up to 7 working days
- Renewal on transfer
- yes, transferring renews the domain
- Transfer code length
- 6 to 16 characters
- Transfer lock available
- yes
- Number of nameservers
- 1 to 13
- Quarantine after deletion
- 15 days
Features
- DNSSEC: yesYou can secure your domain name with DNSSEC.
- IPv6: yesThe nameservers for this extension can also be reached over IPv6.
- Special characters: yesDomain names with letters such as é, ü or ø (and sometimes other scripts) are possible.
- Whois privacy: no
- Trustee: no
Requirements
Who can register a .com.cn?
- Individuals and businesses outside China can register a .com.cn domain name, as can individuals and organisations in China.
- The Chinese registry CNNIC requires real-name verification: the registrant must give their real name and prove their identity when registering, transferring or changing the registrant.
- The registrant's name must match the name on the identity document or business registration certificate exactly, including the legal form, such as LTD.
- If you live outside China, your name must not contain special characters such as ä, ü, ö or é. CNNIC can't verify your passport otherwise, and the application will fail.
- Does your name contain such characters and are you registering on behalf of a business? Then you can have the domain registered by another person within the business whose name has no special characters and who is also willing to be verified.
- You must comply with CNNIC's rules and Chinese domain name law, including CNNIC's dispute policy.
- A domain name must not conflict with the Chinese constitution. It also must not harm China's national security, honour or interests.
- Domain names that spread rumours, pornography, gambling, violence or terror, incite discrimination or infringe the rights of others are also prohibited.
- If your website's web server is located in mainland China, you need a valid ICP number from the Chinese ministry MIIT. This is only possible if you have a branch in China.
- You must provide genuine, accurate and complete documents. You declare that you have read and understood CNNIC's rules and that you comply with the content rules for your website.
- You are fully responsible yourself if the domain is suspended because you broke your commitments. CNNIC and the registrar are not liable if use of the domain is interrupted.
Additional details for registration
- You state whether you're registering as an individual or as a business or organisation.
- You provide the type of identity document or registration certificate, with the corresponding number, for example a passport, a Chinese identity card or a business licence.
- If you're registering as a business or organisation, you give the real name of a responsible contact person. This person doesn't have to appear on the business document.
- If you use the domain for a website on a server in mainland China, you provide a valid ICP number.
Documents
- Individuals outside China send a scan or copy of their passport or identity card showing the registrant's name. A driving licence is not accepted.
- Businesses and organisations outside China send a scan or copy of their business licence or an extract from the trade register. A copy of the contact person's passport or identity card is also required.
- Individuals in China send a copy of their passport or Chinese identity card. If you're from mainland China, it must be the Chinese identity card.
- Organisations in China send a copy of the first page of their business certificate, preferably the business licence. A copy of the contact person's identity document is also required.
- If you're from Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan, accepted documents include the mainland travel permit, the residence permit and the permanent residence identity card for foreigners.
- For a Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan residence permit and for the permanent residence identity card, you must provide both the front and the back.
- You provide documents for a registration as a JPEG file of no more than 1 MB.
- A signed letter of commitment is no longer required.
Good to know when registering
- Every registration is checked manually by CNNIC. This stays the case even if you've been approved before.
- If the required documents haven't been received after 8 days, the registration fails.
- After registration, you can request a domain certificate. For this you need the domain name and the registrant's phone number.
Transfer
Transferring a .com.cn
- You need the correct transfer code. If it's not correct, the transfer fails.
- Make sure the domain doesn't have a transfer lock or any other lock. You can see this in the WHOIS. As the registrant, you can ask your current registrar to remove the lock.
- The domain must be older than 60 days, otherwise the transfer will be refused.
- The expiry date must be more than 15 days in the future, otherwise the transfer will be refused. So start in good time and not just before the domain expires.
- A signed request from the registrant is required for the transfer.
- Real-name verification with an identity document may also be required for a transfer.
The transfer code
- A transfer code is always required for a transfer.
- The registrant or the administrative contact requests the code from the current registrar.
Owner
Change of registrant
Change of registrant
- A change of registrant requires a copy of the new registrant's identity document or business licence.
- You provide the documents as a JPG, PNG or GIF file of no more than 1 MB.
- A change of registrant isn't processed immediately, so allow for some waiting time.
- You can move a domain that was registered in the name of a trustee service to your own registrant. Moving a domain to a trustee service isn't possible.
Renewal, cancellation and quarantine
- After an expired domain has been restored, it's inactive at first until nameservers have been set again. The domain then becomes active again automatically; the registrar takes care of this for you.
More information
Registry rules and links
- Registry website cnnic.cn
- Dispute resolution policy www1.cnnic.cn
- Registry terms and conditions www1.cnnic.cn
Compiled from the registry's rules. Registries sometimes change their rules; if in doubt, the registry's terms take precedence. Updated on 11/11/2026.