There are six key benefits to having a .ie domain:

1. It’s unique to Ireland (The official Internet country code for Ireland is .ie and is the only online address that is Irish)
2. It’s more likely to be available
3. It lets your customers find you online (.ie addresses rank higher than .com addresses on Irish based search engines)
4. It’s trusted (Every .ie applicant’s identity is checked and validated at the point of registration)
5. It’s the preferred online address for business in Ireland
6. It protects your brand

.ie is the official ‘country code Top Level Domain’ (ccTLD) for the island of Ireland and the preferred online address for businesses in Ireland.

The domain name system (DNS) changes these numerical addresses of computers into user-friendly domain names to make it easier to find the information you are looking for on the Internet. In the same way in which “Ireland” as a postal address and the “353” phone prefix show where you are located, the Internet address of .ie lets people know that you are based in, or from, Ireland.

Domain names are unique so no two websites can have the same one.

The characters which can be used in a .ie domain name are the 26 letters (A-Z) of the Roman alphabet whether upper or lower-case, the 10 digits (0-9) and the hyphen (-).

The hyphen may not be used as the first or last character of a domain.

A domain can be just one letter or number, for example, www.g.ie or as long as 63 characters. Shorter domain names are more popular and are easier to remember.

Remember, domain names identify particular web pages. For example, in the website address www.weare.ie the domain name is weare.ie. Domain names are also used in e-mail addresses, such as firstname.lastname@weare.ie.

To register a .ie domain, there are three steps you need to follow:

1. Check if the name you want is available in the search box on the home page.
2. Choose an Accredited .ie Registrar – a company through which you register, pay for and manage your domain.
3. Complete the Registrar’s online application, send your supporting document proving your connection to Ireland and you’re done. You can find out more information here here.

To renew your domain, you need to pay the renewal fee to your registrar.

Before your domain comes up for renewal, your registrar will notify you. So make sure all the contact details you provided are correct.

You should follow your registrar’s domain name renewal process. Once the payment is made, your registrar can renew your domain. Please contact your registrar about their renewal terms and conditions.

For more information, visit here.

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 visit the WIPO website for further information.