A .nz domain name is registered through an authorised registrar, costs a recurring fee that varies by provider, and belongs to whoever is listed as the registrant, so the single most important step is making sure that is you or your company, not your web designer. Checking availability, choosing between anyname.co.nz and anyname.nz, and switching on auto-renewal take an afternoon. Getting a domain back from a developer who has vanished can take months. This guide follows the Domain Name Commission's own guidance, with our experience from the web design side added where it helps. We do not register domains and do not earn anything from any registrar, which is exactly why we insist your domain stays in your name.
What is a .nz domain name, and who runs it?
The ".nz" at the end of a web or email address is New Zealand's country code top-level domain. The Domain Name Commission describes domain names as "the building blocks for creating websites and email addresses", and notes that holding a country code immediately shows a user your association with that country. The .nz space is administered by InternetNZ, with policy and disputes handled by its subsidiary, the Domain Name Commission. Neither of them sells domains to the public; that is done by registrars, which the Commission calls domain name providers.
One distinction the Commission makes on its first page, because it causes so much confusion: domain name registration and website hosting are two different services. The domain is your address. Hosting is the building at that address. You can buy them from the same company or from different ones, and you can move the building without changing the address.
Should you choose .co.nz, .nz or something else?
A .nz name can be registered at the third level, such as anyname.co.nz or anyname.org.nz, or directly at the second level as anyname.nz. Direct second-level registration became generally available in March 2015 after a sunrise period, so both forms have been around for a decade. The Commission's advice is that some third-level spaces better represent what you are: .org.nz for an organisation, .school.nz or .ac.nz for education. Our advice for a trading business:
- .co.nz is what most New Zealanders expect for a company, and it is what customers will guess if they type your name from memory.
- .nz is shorter and reads well on a van or a sign.
- If both are available, register both and point one at the other. The second costs a small recurring fee and stops a competitor or a squatter taking it later.
- Pick a unique name. The Commission notes that unique names help avoid disputes over who should hold them, which are handled through its Dispute Resolution Service.
One wrinkle: if anyname.co.nz and anyname.org.nz are held by two different parties, anyname.nz is a conflicted name and is blocked until the conflict is resolved. The Commission changed that process in July 2025 and now notifies eligible holders directly, so if the short version of your existing name is blocked, that page explains where you stand.
How do you register a .nz domain?
The Commission's registration guide sets out the steps. Our notes are in brackets.
- Check availability with a WHOIS lookup on the Commission's site. (Do this before you print anything or name a company.)
- Choose a domain name provider. The Commission recommends a .nz authorised registrar and, as the regulator, will not recommend one over another. (Neither will we. Look for one whose support you can actually reach; the Commission points out that some offer email only while others run 24/7 contact centres.)
- Register the name through the provider's checkout. (Register it in your own name or your company's name. This is the step people get wrong; the next section is about why.)
- Check the registration details are accurate once it is done, and consider the privacy option if you are eligible.
- Note the renewal date. In the Commission's words, one of the most common reasons for websites and emails to go offline is that people forgot to pay their domain registration fees.
How much does a .nz domain cost?
There is no fixed price. The Commission's cost guide says the price depends on what your provider charges, that most charge on a recurring basis such as yearly, and that it is worth shopping around. Two of its warnings are worth repeating: some registrars discount the first year and charge more at renewal, so check the ongoing price; and it pays to look at your cart and remove add-ons you did not ask for.
The Commission also lists what registrars may charge extra for, including transferring a domain in, changing the registrant, reinstating an expired domain, applying the privacy option, hosting, email and security features such as DNSSEC, provided the charges are covered by the terms you agreed to. And it lists what they may not charge for:
- Transferring out. Your current registrar must let you move to another registrar free of charge; there is no exit fee.
- Authorisation codes. Registrars are not allowed to charge for generating the code you need to transfer.
If a registrar charges for either, the Commission invites complaints. Beyond the domain itself, we charge nothing for domains at all: the fee is paid to your registrar, and our plans list domain registration among the things that are honestly not included.
Who should be the registrant? The mistake that loses domains
Every domain has a registrant, the party that controls it and is responsible for its details. The Commission's first tip on managing a domain is to make sure that is you: your personal name if the domain is yours, your company name if it is registered for a business. It adds that if the registrant listed is your web developer or your registrar, you need to get that transferred, and it says it receives numerous requests from parties claiming to own a domain that is actually showing a previous staff member or another provider as registrant.
We see the consequences from the other side. A business wants a new website, the domain was registered years ago by a designer who has since closed, and nobody can log in to point it anywhere. The site cannot launch until the domain is recovered, which means finding the old designer, or going through the Commission's change-of-registrant process, or in the worst case waiting for the domain to lapse and hoping nobody else registers it first. That is why our straight answers page says your domain is not included and stays in your own registrar account, and why we ask for access to change the records rather than ownership.
Two smaller tips from the same page. Keep a list of every domain you own with the registrar and a link to its control panel, because you will not remember in three years. And do not use an email address on the domain itself as the registration contact: if anyname.co.nz goes down, john@anyname.co.nz goes down with it, and so do the renewal reminders.
Should you apply the privacy option?
The Individual Registrant Privacy Option hides your physical address, telephone number and email address from the public WHOIS record; people can still reach you through a message delivery form. It is only available to domains registered to individuals, and the Commission recommends it for individuals who are not involved in significant trade. For a trading business it generally does not apply, and in our view that is fine: a business's contact details being publicly verifiable is part of what makes customers, and increasingly AI assistants, trust it. If the domain is personal, apply it through your registrar, then check the WHOIS record to confirm it worked.
How do you stop the domain lapsing?
Switch on auto-renewal. The Commission's guidance is that it is very hard to guarantee a registrar's expiry emails will reach you; they go to spam, to the wrong person, or unnoticed. When a registration term runs out, the domain enters a 90-day redemption period during which the registrant can reinstate it, often at extra cost and taking anywhere from days to weeks, while the website and email are offline. After that it becomes available to anyone. Keep the contact details on the record current too: the Commission audits registrations against them, and a domain that fails validation can be suspended.
How do you move a domain or hand it over?
To move a domain to a different registrar you need an authorisation code, sometimes called a UDAI: sixteen characters, usable once, valid for 30 days. Some registrars let you generate it from your dashboard; others want an email from the registrant address on the record and may ask for proof of identity, and they will not hand it to anyone else. If the WHOIS record shows a "client transfer prohibited" status, ask the current registrar to unset it first. The transfer out is free.
To hand a domain to a different person or company, which the Commission calls a change of registrant, the current holder agrees, their registrar processes it, and the new holder can then transfer to a registrar of their choice. If the current holder is a company that no longer exists, the Commission has a separate process and asks that you contact it directly. If the holder refuses and you believe you have rights to the name, the Dispute Resolution Service exists for that.
How does the domain connect to your website?
Your registrar holds the domain and its DNS records, which are the entries that say where the website and the email live. Launching a new site means changing those records to point at the new hosting; it does not mean changing who owns the domain. When we launch a site we ask for temporary access to the DNS, or for you to make two or three record changes we send you, and nothing else changes. Email keeps working because the mail records stay as they are. If a provider asks you to transfer the domain to them before they will build your site, ask why.
Do this today
- Look up your own domain in the Commission's WHOIS tool and check who is listed as registrant
- If it is not you or your company, contact the registrar today to start a change of registrant
- Find your registrar login and write down the registrar, the renewal date and the control panel link
- Switch on auto-renewal and check the contact email is one that does not depend on the domain itself
- If you are starting fresh, check both the .co.nz and .nz versions of your name and register the ones you can
Where we come in
We do not sell domains, and we will not register yours for you, because the Commission's guidance and our own experience point the same way: the registrant should be you. What we will do is walk you through registering it in your own name if you have never done it, tell you exactly which records to change at launch, and build the site so that the domain, the content and the email remain yours if you ever leave. That is set out plainly on our straight answers page, and the rest of the launch process is covered in our guide to how long a website takes to build. Once the domain is sorted, the next step for any NZ business is listing on Google.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a .nz domain name cost?
It depends on the registrar; the Domain Name Commission says prices vary by provider and are usually charged yearly, and warns that first-year discounts often come with higher renewal prices. Registrars may charge for extras such as transferring a domain in, changing the registrant or applying privacy, but may not charge to transfer a domain out or to issue an authorisation code.
Should I choose .co.nz or .nz?
For a trading business, .co.nz is what most New Zealanders expect and will guess, while .nz is shorter. If both are available, register both and point one at the other. Organisations and schools may be better represented by .org.nz, .school.nz or .ac.nz, which is the Commission's own guidance.
Can my web designer own my domain?
They can be listed as registrant, and it happens often, but it should not. The Domain Name Commission's guidance is to make sure you or your company are the registrant, and it says it receives numerous requests from businesses whose domains show a former staff member or another provider instead. If that is your situation, contact the registrar to arrange a change of registrant.
What happens if my .nz domain expires?
It enters a 90-day redemption period during which the registrant can reinstate it, usually for an extra fee and over days to weeks, while the website and email are offline. After that it becomes available for anyone to register. Auto-renewal and an up-to-date contact email that does not depend on the domain itself are the two things that prevent this.
Can I hide my details on a .nz domain?
Only if the domain is registered to an individual. The Individual Registrant Privacy Option withholds your address, phone number and email from the public WHOIS record and replaces them with a message delivery form. The Commission recommends it for individuals not involved in significant trade; it is not available to domains registered to companies.
The bottom line
A domain is the one part of your online presence that nobody else should hold. Register it in your own name, keep the login and renewal date where you can find them, switch on auto-renewal, and give your web provider access rather than ownership. Everything else about a website can be rebuilt; a lost domain often cannot. If you are about to build a site and want to get this part right first, talk to us and we will show you what to register and where it needs to point.