TzNIC, the Tanzanian registry in charge of the management of .co.tz has announced the opening up of .tz to direct, second-level registrations (that is, without the .co) starting March 1, 2022. From now until June 30, 2022, you can only register a .tz domain name if you own the corresponding .co.tz domain name or the corresponding trademark.

Who can register a .tz domain name?

As opposed to .co.tz, registering a .tz domain name doesn’t have any particular restrictions:

  • no local presence is required
  • no official documentation is requested
  • no obligation to use the domain name is imposed

The release schedule for this new domain extension will go like this:

  • Limited registration phase: From March 1, 2022 through June 30, 2022. During this phase, owners of a .co.tz domain name or owners of registered trademarks have priority for registering their .tz domain name
  • General Availability: starting July 1, 2022, .tz domain name registrations will be open to everyone on a first come, first served basis

Meanwhile, .co.tz domain names will continue to work and will be under the same regulations (local presence required, official documentation requested, intention to use the domain name).

Gandi Corporate Services’ advice

The level of risk related to cybersquatting on .tz is relatively low. However, there is a real interest in this domain ending for:

  • businesses doing business in Tanzania
  • owners of .co.tz domain names, in order protect their brand on this new domain extension and avoid confusion with their current domain name. Their corresponding .tz domain names, if still available, can be registered by anyone starting July 1, 2022.

For more information, please feel free to contact your Account manager or email us at corporatecontact@gandi.net.