What do I need to do?
If you hold a .ie domain and want to sell it, you should contact your existing Registrar who will help you start the process by submitting a Registrant Transfer request. The Registrant Transfer can only be processed by your existing Registrar. They may even be able to give you tips on how to sell your domain. In general, the process will work as follows:
Step 1 – The sale
Advertise your domain for sale through Facebook, eBay or a domain auction site such as Sedo. Negotiate and agree a price with your buyer.
Step 2 – The transaction
Inform the buyer that they must meet our requirements (prove their connection to Ireland and accept the terms of the sale) in order to purchase the domain.
Step 3 – The transfer
Request your Registrar to transfer the Right to Use the domain to your prospective buyer (who must have already accepted the Registrar’s and our terms and conditions).
Registrant Transfer Process and Procedure
Buyer
The buyer needs to agree to certain legal obligations, as detailed below, and check that they are eligible to hold the .ie domain they want to buy, before exchanging funds.
To check if they are eligible, the buyer should contact the seller’s Registrar, who can submit an application to us here at the Registry. (The public WHOIS search service, accessible from our homepage, will display the seller’s Registrar information).
The buyer will need to show:
- A real connection to the island of Ireland by proving their commercial or personal identification (proof of identity).
- Once we have validated the buyer’s connection to Ireland, this acts as an effective guarantee that they’re eligible to hold the .ie domain name.
NOTE: Administrative fees apply to the processing of the buy requests. Please contact the seller’s Registrar for further information.
Seller
Once you’re ready to complete the sale, please contact your Registrar, and authorise the Registrar to submit the Registrant transfer request for your .ie domain, in order to complete the sale.
NOTE: There are no registry administrative fees associated with processing a sale request . However, the seller’s Registrar will very likely charge a fee for their services. Please contact the seller’s Registrar for further information.
If you want to read more detailed information on the Process and the Procedure, please see section 3.6 on page 20 of the Registration & Naming policy.
Legal Requirements and Terms and Conditions
Buyers
If you are buying a .ie domain that is already registered, you’ll need to agree to some terms and conditions in order to be allowed to complete the formal Registrant Transfer process:
You must comply with the .IE Registration and Naming policies.
You are strongly advised not to make any payment for the purchase of a .ie domain name until you are sure that your “connection to Ireland” has been validated by us.
We, the registry, will not be liable if you lose out financially, before establishing your connection to Ireland.
Sellers
If you are selling the right to use your .ie domain, you’ll need to comply with the Registrant Terms & Conditions of your existing contract with us, in order to be allowed to complete the Registrant Transfer process.
This means ensuring that the buyer has authenticated its connection to Ireland before the sale can be completed.
The registry will not be liable to you if the sale falls through for this reason or any other reason.
If you need to see more information on “the small print”, this is set out in section 19 of the Registrant Terms & Conditions.
FAQ
Registration works on a first come first served basis. If somebody has already registered it you can offer to buy it from them but there is no obligation on them to sell. For more information visit our Sell your domain page. If you feel that the domain was registered in bad faith by the current holder, you can use the Alternative Dispute Resolution Service which offers an easier and more affordable option for disputing a .ie domain registration. Another option is to use the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) process. Please be aware that this can cost between €1,500 and €5,000 (payable to WIPO and not to .IE). Please visit the WIPO website for further information.
Yes, however there is no obligation on them to sell the domain name if they do not wish to do so. Click here for more information about buying and selling domains that are already registered.
Yes, please click here for information about the process and how to sell your domain name.