CA Internet Domain Name Registration (dot.ca)

CA Domain Owner Classification FAQ

.ca domains are available to all Canadian Citizens/Residents, organizations with a presence in Canada and owners of a registered Canadian Trademark.

The DOMAIN OWNER CLASSIFICATION box (top right) tells how you qualify to own a .ca domain.

When registering the domain to an incorporated company, include the legal element of the domain owner name as COMPANY / DOMAIN OWNER 4. "Limited", "Limitee", "Incorporated", "Incorpore", "Corporation", "Societe par actions de regime federal", "Ltd.", "Ltee.", "Inc.", "Corp.", "S.A.R.F.", "Bank", "Banque", "Credit Union", "Caisse Populaire" or "Company" are examples of legal elements. If your incorporation is non-profit, include "(NFP)" or "(OSBL)" in the domain owner name. Select "Incorporated Company" as the DOMAIN OWNER CLASSIFICATION.

When registering the domain to an Association, include the association element of the domain owner name as COMPANY / DOMAIN OWNER 4. "Association", "Church", "Ministry", "Group" are examples of association elements. Select "Association" as the DOMAIN OWNER CLASSIFICATION.

When registering the domain to a Government Department or Government Agency, select "Government Organization" as DOMAIN OWNER CLASSIFICATION.

When registering the domain to a Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident the domain owner must match the first and last name. For example, FIRST NAME 1 is "Gregory", LAST NAME 2 is "Smith", COMPANY / DOMAIN OWNER 4 must be "Gregory Smith". In this example, DOMAIN OWNER Greg Alan Smith will not register, neither will DOMAIN OWNER Greg Smith. DOMAIN OWNER Gregory Smith will register. Select "Canadian Citizen" or "Permanent Resident"as DOMAIN OWNER CLASSIFICATION.

When registering a domain using the Trademark classification to qualify, the domain name must match or include the Trademarked name. Coca-Cola trademark / coca-cola.ca or coca-cola-company.ca domain name. For the purposes of .ca domain registration Trademark, Trade Name and Copyright are all different. Only trademarks registered with Industry Canada qualify and in this case select "Registered Trademark" as DOMAIN OWNER CLASSIFICATION. Enter the TMA number for the trademark in TRADEMARKED DOMAIN NAME 5. Your TMA number will be added to DOMAIN OWNER automatically. You may use an address outside of Canada to register a .ca domain using the Registered Trademark classification to qualify.

In all cases except when using the Registered Trademark classification, a Canadian mailing address and phone number are required. This level of registration detail is used solely to maintain the integrity of the .ca domain as domain owners must meet Canadian presence requirements. If you meet the requirements but do not want your address and other contact information to display to the general public in a whois search, click here for instructions on appointing an agent or contact registrar@dot.ca.