Country extension · China
.hk.cn domain name
What you need to know about .hk.cn: who can register it, which details are required and how transferring works.
Specifications
The key details of .hk.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 .hk.cn?
- Individuals, companies and organisations both inside and outside China can register a .hk.cn domain name.
- .hk.cn is subject to China's mandatory real-name verification: as the registrant, you must provide the real name of a person and prove your identity.
- The registrant's name must exactly match the name on the ID document or company document. For a company, this includes the legal form, such as LTD.
- Are you from outside China and does your name contain special characters, such as ä, ü, ö or é? Then CNNIC can't verify your passport and the registration, transfer or change of registrant will fail. In that case, use a name without such characters.
- Does the person you're listing for a company have special characters in their name? Then you can list another employee whose name has no special characters and who is willing to be verified.
- You must provide real, accurate and complete details. You also confirm that you've read and understood CNNIC's registration rules and that you comply with the rules on the content of your website.
- You may not register or use a domain name that, according to CNNIC, violates the Chinese constitution or laws, harms national security or unity, or disrupts public order.
- Domain names that spread rumours, pornography, gambling, violence or terror, incite discrimination or infringe the rights of others are also prohibited.
- Is the web server for your domain located in mainland China? Then you need a valid ICP number from the Chinese ministry MIIT. This is only possible if you, as the registrant, have a branch in China.
- You're fully responsible yourself if your domain is suspended because you don't follow the rules. CNNIC and the registrar aren't liable if use of your domain is interrupted.
Additional details for registration
- You state whether the registrant is an individual or a company or organisation.
- You provide the real, full name of a person, exactly as it appears on their ID document.
- For a company or organisation, you provide the name of a responsible person. This person doesn't need to be named on the company document.
- You state the type of ID document, for example a passport, ID card or extract from the trade register, along with its number.
- Do you want to run a website on a web server in mainland China? Then you also provide a valid ICP number from MIIT.
Documents
- Are you an individual from outside China? Then send a scan or photo of your passport or ID card showing your name. A driving licence isn't accepted.
- Are you a company or organisation from outside China? Then send a scan or copy of your business licence, company certificate or an extract from the trade register.
- As a company or organisation from outside China, you also send a copy of the passport or ID card of the contact person you've listed.
- Do you live in mainland China? Then send a copy of your Chinese ID card, not your passport.
- Companies in China send a copy of the first page of their company certificate, preferably the business licence. They also send a copy of the contact person's ID document.
- Are you from Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan? Then you can use one of the official travel or residence permits for mainland China, or a residence card for foreigners.
- Are you using a residence permit or a permanent residence card? Then send both the front and the back.
- Submit documents for a registration as a JPEG file of no more than 1 MB.
- A signed declaration is no longer required.
Good to know when registering
- CNNIC checks every registration manually, even if you've been approved before.
- If your documents haven't been received after 8 days, the registration fails.
- The domain name is only registered once your documents have been received and checked.
Transfer
Transferring a .hk.cn
- For a transfer, you need a signed request from the registrant.
- The registrant's details must be provided for a transfer. Sometimes your identity has to be verified again during the transfer.
- Your domain name must be older than 60 days, otherwise the transfer will be rejected.
- The expiry date must be more than 15 days in the future, otherwise the transfer will be rejected. So start in good time, not just before it expires.
- Your domain mustn't be locked. You can see this in the WHOIS. If there's a lock on it, you as the registrant can ask for it to be removed.
- The rules on special characters in the registrant's name also apply to a transfer.
The transfer code
- You need a transfer code to transfer a .hk.cn domain name.
- The registrant or the administrative contact requests the transfer code from the current registrar.
- Check that you have the correct transfer code before you start the transfer, otherwise the transfer will fail.
Owner
Change of registrant
Change of registrant
- For a change of registrant, you provide a copy of the new registrant's passport or ID card. If the new registrant is a company, you provide the business licence.
- Documents for a change of registrant can be a JPG, JPEG, 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 from a previous trustee service to your own registrant. Moving it to a trustee service isn't possible.
- For a change of registrant too, the new registrant's name mustn't contain special characters if they're from outside China.
Renewal, cancellation and quarantine
- After being restored from quarantine, your domain is inactive at first. As soon as nameservers have been set again, it automatically becomes active again.
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.