.co.za – Openprovider

This article describes the procedures and requirements of .co.za domain names.
Click on the subject below to open the dropdown for more information.

Registration

Successful domain registration via RCP or API requires:

two or more nameservers or a nameserver group

Registration of a .co.za is realtime. If the nameservers are not configured correctly for the domain, the domain will be registered without nameservers. You can re-assign the nameservers to the domain by sending a domain update.

Note: The expiration date in whois may not match with the renewal date in Openprovider. Domain is renewed per year at the registry. This means that if a domain is renewed for multiple years, the whoIs might not reflect this. Keep in mind that the domain will expire the date we show.

Transfer

Successful domain transfer via RCP or API requires:

two or more nameservers or a nameserver group

At initiation of the transfer, the registry sends an e-mail to the registrant and to the current registrar of the domain. Action is required:

If the registrant approves the transfer, the transfer finishes immediately.
If the current registrar approves the transfer, the transfer will finish after 5 days (even if the registrant rejects the transfer).
If none of the parties approves the transfer, the transfer will fail after 5 days.

The registration period after a successful transfer will remain unchanged.

Additional notes on a .co.za transfer

After the transfer finishes, Openprovider sends new domain data to the registry. The update of the registrant may take 5 days; the registrant will receive an e-mail with an update notification.

Authorization code required	no
Method of confirmation	email
Registration period after transfer	unchanged
Average transfer time	5 days
Advanced and simple transfers available	Contact our Sales department to check if easy transfer of 100 or more .co.za domains is available.

Update

Owner change (trade)

An owner change is done via a normal domain update. Rather than a normal update, the registry starts a 5-days "pending period" after the owner change has been requested. At the start of this period, the current holder receives a notification e-mail. At the end of the period, the new holder receives a notification e-mail. During those five days, no other update can be done to the domain name. It is not required to respond to the e-mails of the registry: the change will automatically be applied.

Other update

An update is performed realtime, unless the registrant changes as well.
If you want to combine a nameserver update with an owner change, first change the nameservers (realtime) and in a second update change the domain owner (which starts a 5-days pending update period). The domain owner receives a notification e-mail.

Nameserver update: Nameservers must be configured and return an authoritative answer (resolving) before you update the domain towards the new nameservers. If the zone is not found on the new nameserver or not resolving, the registry will reject the update.

Deletion / Restore

Delete

requested via RCP or API
processed realtime
will result in a quarantine period

Restore / reactivate

restore / reactivation supported via RCP or API
quarantine period can be found under
Detailed extension information > Technical information > Quarantine period

Detailed extension information

Registry	Registry: ZACR Registry whois: whois.registry.net.za Registry web based whois: https://registry.net.za/whois/ Registry zonefile updates: Unknown
Domain lifecycle	domain lifecycle
Technical information	Available second level domains: .web.za, .org.za, .net.za DNSSEC support: yes Minimum length: 1 characters Maximum length: 30 characters Allowed characters: a-z 0-9 - IDN characters: no Registration period: 1 year Renewal date offset: 0 days The number of days before the registry's expiration date, that Openprovider requires the domain to be renewed or expired. More info. Note that the dates as shown in your Openprovider account are always leading, even if they do not match the renewal date offset mentioned here. Soft quarantine period: 45 days During this period, following after an expiration, the domain can be restored for free. This period does not apply if the domain is deleted explicitly. More info. Quarantine period: 30 days During this period, an expired or deleted domain name can be reactivated at an additional fee.
Restrictions	Local presence required? no Does Openprovider provide local presence services? n/a Local activity required? no Correct nameserver configuration required? yes The domain(s) can be registered without further limitations. Nameservers must be configured and return an authoritative answer before the domain is requested.
Policies	All policies on the registry's website Premium policy: no premiums supported
Registration agreement	The registry requires that a registration agreement is in place between the provider and the domain holder. The text of this registration agreement and any required supplements is the following: General registration agreement

Due to the regular changes in registry rules and configuration or missing information from registry side, and despite our effort to keep our knowledge base up-to-date, information in the knowledge base may be outdated or incorrect. If you encounter some issue, please report it through the "HotJar" feedback collector on the bottom right, or (if it is blocked by your browser) by clicking the "Submit a request" link below. No rights can be derived from the information in this knowledge base. If there is discrepancy between the knowledge base and the process in Openprovider, the process in Openprovider is leading.