Domain Name Registration Overview

1. Registrant prepares to register new domain
2. Registrant fills out template
3. Request is automatically processed and assigned a tracking number
4. Template is automatically checked for errors
5. If errors are found: template is checked again
   • Template is placed in manual queue for staff review
   • NIC.RO works with registrant to correct and complete template
6. Template is processed - registrant is notified via email when completed
7. Information for the new domain is added to NIC.RO's database and released into the zone files
8. NIC.RO invoices registrant for the domain name
9. Registrant pays for domain name registration
10. NIC.RO sends renewal notice to registrant 30 days before the anniversary of the initial registration
    

1. REGISTRANT PREPARES TO REGISTER NEW DOMAIN

Find out if the domain name you want is available. When you start the registration process at http://www.nic.ro/register/ the software automatically checks our database to see, if your desired domain name is available. If there is a match, the name that you want is already taken and you will be given alternative choices. If there is no match, then the name is available and you can register the domain name for yourself. The database contains records for all of the domains that have been registered with NIC.RO.
You find an easy-to-use web interface to the database at http://www.nic.ro/whois.

Contact your Internet Service Provider and arrange for domain name service. The actual address of a computer on the Internet is a string of numbers - the IP (Internet Protocol) address - which can be hard to remember. Domain names offer us an alternative - an alphabetical, hierarchical, and much more logical system of Internet addresses. The problem, however, is that the network depends on the numerical address. So, in order to use domain names, we rely on machines called name servers, which "translate" domain names into their corresponding IP address. This process is called "resolution". Your Internet Service Provider most likely maintains one or more name servers, and can provide you with this "names-to-numbers" translation - this is domain name service. If you don not find an Internet Service Provider, to provide domain name service for you, you can use NIC.RO's resp. ISR's domain name servers or simply reserve the domain and add name servers later (free of charge). In fact, many Internet Service Providers offer general assistance with domain name registration and some may even handle the entire registration process for you. You should consult with your provider to determine your options.

Without domain name service, NIC.RO will process your registration request, but you will not be able to use your domain name directly, and other people will not be able to use your domain name to find you on the Internet.

Review NIC.RO's registration policies and billing procedures. These are important documents that will affect you throughout the life of your domain name. NIC.RO's policies address registrants' responsibilities concerning trademarks and can help to minimize legal disputes concerning your domain name in the future. A careful review of the billing procedures will help avoid problems with your domain name resulting from confusion over payment terms. Links to our policy statements and payment procedures are available at http://www.nic.ro/help.

 

2. REGISTRANT FILLS OUT TEMPLATE

To register a domain name, you will need to fill out the domain name registration template. This set of forms is used to gather the information needed to process your registration and add your domain to the database. It is very important that you provide complete and accurate information when filling out the form. The information you provide is the information that is released into the domain name system. Also, inaccurate information can cause you problems later - for example, an incorrect or incomplete address can prevent you from receiving the bill for your domain name - and could result in your domain being deactivated or deleted.

The template will ask you to supply information about yourself and/or your organization, as well the names and addresses of three individuals who can be contacted concerning administrative, technical, and billing issues for the domain. The person you list as your administrative, technical or billing contact should be the person best able to answer questions about that aspect of the domain. For example, the technical contact should be able to answer questions about the name servers you are planning to use for your domain. You may, of course, list the same person for more than one contact role if that is appropriate (e.g. the same person as both administrative and billing contact). Your billing contact will be the person to whom we send the invoice for your domain name registration fees. You will have the option of indicating whether you would prefer to have the invoice delivered via electronic mail or postal mail to the billing contact. A note of caution: select your contacts carefully, as they are your agents and will represent you on matters related to your domain name.

The template also asks you to list the IP addresses and domain names of the two name servers that you will be using to translate your domain name to your IP address.

NIC.RO provides the template in several different formats. Those without web access, or with a preference for single page forms, can retrieve the text version, fill out the template, and send it to NIC.RO via electronic mail. For people who like user friendly forms, we have developed a step-by-step web interface to the template which is used for 99% of all requests. It also allows you to pay for your domain name immediately upon regsitration via our secure onlie payment system. Paying immediately is rewarded with a discount.

The registration template, once it is processed by NIC.RO, becomes your agreement (contract) with NIC.RO. We recommend that you read the document carefully.

 

3. REGISTRANT EMAILS TEMPLATE TO HOSTMASTER AT NIC.RO

This chapter only applies, if you did NOT use the recommended step-by-step web interface to the template!

After completing the registration template, send it to NIC.RO at the following address:

 

hostmaster@nic.ro

 

If you used the text version of the template, simply email the form to the hostmaster. If you used the web interface, the information you entered will be used to complete the registration template. We will email you a copy of the completed template for verification. The web interface prompts you to tell us where to send the completed template; The e-mail address that you enter at this prompt is where we will send the copy of the completed template - this may or may not an address listed in the template. You will need to e-mail this template back to NIC.RO once you verify that all the information is correct. Again, the address is hostmaster@nic.ro. We recommend to use our step-by-step web interface to the template which is used for 99% of all requests and does not require any further action by email, once it is completed.

 

4. REQUEST IS AUTOMATICALLY PROCESSED AND ASSIGNED A TRACKING NUMBER

Once NIC.RO receives your registration request, we assign it a "tracking number" and send you an acknowledgement. The acknowledgement is sent via e-mail to the address from which the template was received. The subject line of the e-mail will contain the tracking number assigned to your registration request.

The tracking number has the following format: [NIC.RO-YYMMDD.####], where:

• YYMMDD represent the year, month, and date that the acknowledgement is sent, and
• #### is the unique number assigned to your particular request.

You should immediately make a note of the tracking number - you will need to include your tracking number on any correspondence you send NIC.RO, and you should have it ready if you call NIC.RO's help desk.

 

5. TEMPLATE IS AUTOMATICALLY CHECKED FOR ERRORS

Each template received by NIC.RO is "auto-parsed" to extract the information it contains. As part of this process, we check the template for errors or incomplete information which would prevent completion of the registration process. Your template is run through our auto-parser, which checks the template for errors.

Choose the step-by-step web interface to the template!We have taken many common errors into account in its foolproof design, in an effort to help you quickly register your domain with a minimum amount of hassle.

---

 

6. IF ERRORS ARE FOUND: TEMPLATE IS CHECKED AGAIN

Because of the volume of requests we process, we have been able to identify the most common errors people make when filling out the template. You will then need to correct the problems and resubmit the template.

• TEMPLATE IS PLACED IN MANUAL QUEUE FOR STAFF REVIEW

  If an error is detected, the template is placed in a queue to be reviewed by our processing staff. The staff will attempt to identify the problem. If the problem is immediately apparent and easily resolved, NIC.RO's processing staff will make the necessary corrections and process your request.

   

• NIC.RO WORKS WITH REGISTRANT TO CORRECT AND COMPLETE TEMPLATE

If the staff are unable to resolve the problem immediately, they will contact you and will work with you to correct the problems and process your request.

---

 

7. TEMPLATE IS PROCESSED - REGISTRANT IS NOTIFIED VIA EMAIL WHEN COMPLETED

Once you have submitted a complete and correctly formatted template, your registration request will be processed immediately and you will be notified via e-mail when processing is complete. This generally takes less than 24 hours - with some requests turned around in as little as 10 minutes.

 

8. INFORMATION FOR THE NEW DOMAIN IS ADDED TO NIC.RO'S DATABASE AND RELEASED INTO THE ZONE FILES

When your template has been successfully processed, the information you supplied will be used to create a record for your domain in NIC.RO's database. Also, information about your domain is placed in the "zone" files.

What are zone files? Zone files actually represent a distributed database of information about domains. Each name server holds a portion of the database. A name server keeps information, or data files, about the domains that it resolves, and is able to "ask" other name servers about the domains they resolve. This exchange of information among name servers is what enables your domain name to be resolved to your IP address from anywhere on the Internet. A name server is considered to have "authority" over the portion of the database - or zone - that it maintains.

NIC.RO has authority for the romanian generic top level zones. If you registered your domain name in the the .co.ro domain, for example, NIC.RO will release the information about your domain name into the .CO.RO zone files, which have authority for the .co.ro domain.

As you can see, once the information for your domain name has been added to the database and released into the zone files, a portion of the information provided on your domain name becomes accessible to anyone on the Internet.

 

9. NIC.RO INVOICES REGISTRANT FOR THE DOMAIN NAME

The registration fee covers the cost of your initial registration and updates to your domain name's record for a period between 1 and 10 years. Updates will cover most of the changes you may need to make to your domain name record. For example, you can change your phone number, or the name of your billing contact if someone in your accounting department quit and someone else took over. There are some changes, however, that are not covered and actually require a new registration request. These include changing the name of the organization that registered the domain name, transferring the domain name to another party, and changes to the domain name itself.

We will automatically send an invoice as Adobe Acrobat PDF attached to an email to the billing contact or a hard-copy via postal mail.

 

 

 

If you payed your domain name immediately upon regsitration a receipt will be sent to you also as Adobe Acrobat PDF.

The invoice for your domain name will include:

• your name and address
• the date payment is due
• the amount due
• the period covered by the payment
• an invoice number
• your domain name
• the tracking number that was assigned to your registration request
• brief information about payment options
• the bank addresses and account information where payment is made to
• a phone number and e-mail address you can use to contact our billing department if you have questions

You should review this information carefully to make sure it is correct.

 

10. REGISTRANT PAYS FOR DOMAIN NAME REGISTRATION

We offer as payment option : credit card, cash, bank transfer and - for Registrars and Internet Service Providers - debit accounts.

 

You can pay for your domain by simply transferring the money to Internet Service Romania, S.A. accounts.

If you are a Registrar or an Internet Service Provider and frequently register large numbers of domains with us, you may also set up an account with NIC.RO.

 

Since January 1st, 2000 we offer a Secure On-Line Payment System for Credit Card payments at https://www.nic.ro/payments

What happens if you don't pay?

Under normal conditions (i.e, when fewer than 10 names are registered and/or when there is no record of bad credit risk), if we have not received your payment by 12:00 PM (Central European Time) on the due date, we will send your administrative, technical, and billing contacts a 15 day "deactivation" notice via electronic mail. In addition, a 15 day deactivation notice can be physically generated and mailed via postal mail to the person you listed as the "registrant" (section three of the template) in your registration template.

You have 15 days from the date of this notice to send your payment to NIC.RO. If we do not receive your payment by the deactivation date, then we will deactivate your domain name - remove it from the DNS service and your domain will be returned to the pool of available domain names, and is available for any other party to register.

 

11. NIC.RO SENDS RENEWAL NOTICE TO REGISTRANT 30 DAYS BEFORE THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE INITIAL REGISTRATION

Following this initial registration period, you will be charged annually, on the anniversary of your initial registration, to renew your domain name. This fee covers the cost of processing your renewal and also includes updates to your domain name record for that year.

Your billing contact will receive an invoice for your domain name renewal, 30 days before it is due, as Adobe Acrobat PDF attached to an email. Just as with new registrations, if we have not received your payment by 12:00 PM (Central European Time) on the due date, we will send your owner, administrative, technical, and billing contacts a 15 day "deactivation" notice via electronic mail and via postal mail to the person you listed as the "registrant" (owner-c) in your registration template. If you do not pay within 15 days of the date of the deactivation notice, your domain will be deactivated, removed from the domain name system and the zone files, and returned to the pool of available names for anyone else to register.