How to register a domain in South Africa
To register a domain in South Africa, choose a short name that is easy to say and spell, pick the ending that fits your organisation (.co.za suits most businesses), check that no one else has a stronger right to the name, and register it through an accredited registrar in your business's own name, with an email address the business controls. This guide takes each step in turn, including the rules for each .za ending and what happens in the first days after registration.
Step 1: choose the name
A good domain is one people can type correctly after hearing it once. Test a shortlist against these points:
- Short and simple. Fewer words mean fewer mistakes.
- Easy to say aloud. Read it to someone over the phone. If you have to spell it out, it may be the wrong name.
- No confusing characters. Avoid hyphens unless the name reads badly without them, and avoid digits that could be heard as words.
- Letters, digits and hyphens only. Names under .co.za, .org.za, .net.za and .web.za may use the letters a to z, the digits 0 to 9 and hyphens, may not start or end with a hyphen, and cannot contain accented letters.
- Spelt right first time. A .za name cannot be edited after registration. A spelling mistake means registering a new name.
Our knowledgebase guide on choosing the right domain name has more on this.
Step 2: choose the ending
The .za space is run by the .za Domain Name Authority (ZADNA), the statutory regulator under the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act. Names are registered under a second-level domain such as co.za; you cannot register a name directly under .za. The four open to the public are run by the registry ZA Registry Consortium (ZARC):
| Ending | Intended for | Who may register |
|---|---|---|
| .co.za | General use, and by far the most common for businesses | Anyone, South African or not |
| .web.za | Any purpose | Anyone; there are no eligibility requirements |
| .org.za | Non-commercial use | South African citizens, residents and organisations, licensed foreign organisations or South African trademark holders, for non-commercial use only |
| .net.za | Network infrastructure | Internet service providers, network operators and similar bodies |
Other endings such as gov.za, ac.za and school.za are moderated, with their own rules, and are not sold by ordinary registrars.
Two further choices sit outside .za:
- .africa, a generic top-level domain for the continent, run by ZA Central Registry trading as Registry.Africa.
- .joburg, .capetown and .durban, city domains run by ZA Central Registry.
These are generic top-level domains under ICANN's rules rather than parts of .za. Many businesses register their .co.za as the main address and a city or .africa name alongside it.
Step 3: check that the name is free, and free to use
Search for the name in a registrar's domain search to see whether it is available. Our domain search shows each ending's availability with its price for a year.
Availability is not the whole question. .za names are registered first come, first served, and the registry does not decide whether an applicant has a right to the name. You do, when you register: you warrant that you are entitled to it. Before you commit:
- Search the trademark register. The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) offers a free trade mark search on its IP Online portal.
- Check company names that are close to yours.
The reason is the dispute process. Under the ADR Regulations made under the ECT Act, a registration can be challenged as abusive if it takes unfair advantage of, or is unfairly detrimental to, someone else's rights, including trademark and other commercial rights. ZADNA runs mediation first and then adjudication, and a successful complaint can end with the name transferred or cancelled. The same rules protect you: if someone registers a name that trades on your business's name, you can bring a complaint.
Step 4: register it in the business's own name
The registrant is the person or organisation the name belongs to, and the registrant email is where the registry sends its notices: renewal reminders, status changes and transfer votes. Get both right from the start:
- Registrant: the business itself, by its full legal name, not the web designer, a staff member or the hosting company.
- Registrant email: an address the business controls and reads, ideally on a mailbox that will outlast any one employee.
On the public registry lookup for a .za name, the registrant organisation, province and country are shown, while the registrant's personal name, address, phone and email are hidden in line with privacy law, including the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). Whatever you enter as the organisation will be visible.
Step 5: point it somewhere
A domain needs nameservers to work, and the .za registry checks them when the name is registered. A name whose nameservers do not answer is registered but not published. If the website and email will be hosted, the hosting provider gives you its nameservers. If not, a DNS service can hold the records until they are needed.
After you register
- The first seven days are a grace period for new .za registrations, during which a registration made in error can be cancelled with a partial refund. A name cannot be transferred to another registrar during this time.
- Renewal is yearly at most registrars. Leave automatic renewal on, and keep the registrant email current, so the name never lapses.
- If CIPC registered a .co.za with your new company, under the programme it runs with ZADNA and ZARC, that first year is covered by CIPC. Transfer the name to an accredited registrar within twelve months, or it enters deletion.
Registering with Noiz
Noiz is an accredited registrar for .co.za and the other .za names, and registers other extensions, including generic and other country domains, through an international registrar. Every name is registered with you as the registrant, and you manage its contacts, nameservers and renewal from the console, our client area. On a Noiz hosting plan, the DNS for the domain sits in the same Plesk panel as the website and mail; a name without hosting can use DNS Only. A new Legacy or Premium shared hosting order includes its first .co.za domain.
To find your name, start with our domain search, or see every extension's price on Domains at Noiz.
Sources
Checked 19 October 2026.
Regulator and registries
- IANA root database: .za, .africa, .joburg, .capetown and .durban
- ZADNA: our core mandate and .za second-level domains
- ZADNA charters for .web.za, .org.za and .net.za
- ZARC and its Published Policies and Procedures, version 12.0 (2025): sections 5.2 to 5.4, 11 and Schedule B
- ZARC: domain registrations from CIPC
- ZACR city domains and Registry.Africa
The law and disputes
Noiz
- Domain search and Domains at Noiz
- Specific Terms and Conditions, section 5
- How to Choose the Right Domain Name for Your Website
- Your Free .co.za Domain with Noiz Shared Hosting
Note: while some of this content was produced with the help of AI, the final editing has been done by a real human being.
