.qa

Internet country-code top level domain for Qatar .qa Qatar Domains Registry logo.png 12 June 1996 Country code top-level domain Active Qatar Domains Registry Communications Regulatory Authority Entities connected with Fairly popular in Qatar 21,612 July 2019 http://www.domains.qa/en Home Qatar Domains Registry 4 July 2019 21 September 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060032/http://www.domains.qa/en dead Registration must occur through an accredited registrar Country code top-level domain and second-level domains are available Complaints www.domains.qa/en .qa is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for State of Qatar. History The .qa country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Qatar has been managed by the Qatar Domains Registry (QDR), under the oversight of the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA). Initially, the registry held a "sunrise" period prior to public availability, which allowed trademark holders and government entities to secure their Qatar-specific domain names. Public registration of .qa domains began in September 2011, with domain names offered through a mix of local and international accredited registrars.http://www.domains.qa/en/news/qatar-domain-names-qa-now-available-public Qatar Domain Names (.QA) Now Available to the Public Qatar Domain Registry 23 August 2014 26 August 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20140826113941/http://www.domains.qa/en/news/qatar-domain-names-qa-now-available-public dead By 2014, thirteen registrars had been accredited by the QDR, including both international and local entities such as Qtel, IP Mirror, MarkMonitor, and DomainMonster.http://www.domains.qa/en/registrars/accredited-registrars Accredited Registrars Qatar Domain Registry 23 August 2014 2014-05-29 2014-08-20 https://web.archive.org/web/20140820134654/http://www.domains.qa/en/registrars/accredited-registrars dead However, a significant policy shift occurred at the end of 2024, when the CRA discontinued the renewal and issuance of registrar licenses to international companies. The regulatory framework was amended to ensure that only companies legally registered within the State of Qatar are eligible to become accredited domain registrars.https://www.cra.gov.qa/en/Services/Domains/Accredited-Registrars Accredited Registrars Communications Regulatory Authority 13 May 2025 The Qatar Domains Registry manages a variety of domain extensions under the .qa namespace, including: Publicly available through registrars: .qa, .com.qa, .net.qa, .name.qa, and the Arabic IDN .قطر (represented in Punycode as .xn--wgbl6a). Reserved and managed directly by QDR: .gov.qa, .mil.qa, .org.qa, .edu.qa, and .sch.qa. Qatar was among the first countries globally to offer domain names in the Arabic script. Second-level domains .com.qa – Commercial organisations; registered trademarks. .edu.qa – Licensed higher educational organisations in Qatar. .sch.qa – Licensed private and public schools in Qatar. .gov.qa – Governmental organisations. .mil.qa – Ministry of State for Defense Affairs and Qatar Armed Forces. .net.qa – Licensed networks of data communications. .org.qa – Nonprofit organisations. References External links IANA .qa whois information Qatar Internet Domain Names Qatar Domains Registry https://web.archive.org/web/20110527043147/http://www.domains.qa/ 2011-05-27 For the IDN version of the website. https://web.archive.org/web/20140826171348/http://xn--mgbaj3c0cva.xn--wgbl6a/ar 2014-08-26 Category:Country code top-level domains Category:Telecommunications in Qatar Category:Internet in Qatar Category:Internet properties established in 1996 sv:Toppdomän#Q