How to register a domain when you need an address in a given country

Have you ever tried to register an internet domain, but the registrar did not offer it in their service? Or they offered this option, but required having an administrative address within a territory of a specific country while not offering any solutions in this regard? Have you failed to register a domain name with the desired code as a consequence of all these?

In this article, we will provide some tips on how to handle an obstacle in form of a requirement to have an administrative address in a given country.

Which domains require an address in a given country?

Of course, we are talking about national domains here. And, unfortunately, such domains are quite abundant. Examples of codes include:

.my - Malesia
.rs - Serbia
.lu - Luxembourg
.nl - Netherlands
.ee - Estonia
.de - Germany
.com.ar - Argentina
.com.br - Brasil
and until January 13, 2022, it was required by the registry of the Cypriot .cy domain.

As you can see, some of the listed countries are close neighbors and belong to the European Union. You may think that when you belong to the EU, there are no borders, even for registration purposes; however, the actual circumstances may be surprising.

Therefore, what should you do when you need to register a national domain, and a registrar in that country requires a presence within their territory?

Use services of a local intermediary – the Trustee service

trustee proxy

To register a domain that requires an administrative address within the territory of a specific country, you can use a trustee service, or in other words, a local intermediary. Such service is professionally called Trustee or Proxy and is understood as a ‘local presence’.

Under the Trustee service, the intermediate from the specific country will order service on your behalf during registration and, if necessary, sign an agreement. This a comprehensive service ensuring flexibility required for the registration of domains in a given country.

The Trustee provides a local address required for the domain registration and management. With this service, the registration of domains is possible and completely legal.

How can I use the Trustee service and how much does it cost?

To make use of the intermediate services, you should preferably find a domain registrar who offers this solution, has many partners with extensive experience and does not require additional fees for the majority of domains for which the Trustee service can be used.

We at LetsDomains.com meet these conditions. We offer the Trustee service anywhere it is possible. Furthermore, we do not charge additional fees for the most popular domains in our service and offer the Trustee service within the basic registration price for the majority of extensions.

It is we who order the domain using the intermediary’s data. We handle the entire registration, and you, as a registrant, receive a domain without any unnecessary formalities. The sole condition that you must meet in certain cases is to approve the terms and conditions of the Trustee service at the moment of the domain registration. The terms and conditions are always specified on domain sites.

In our service, the .de code is an example of a domain for which the users order the Trustee service most often. The service is activated automatically during each registration of a domain for a person or entity from outside the territory of Germany. Anybody who wants to register a domain must accept the terms and conditions of the Trustee service. If you would like to read them and learn what are the trustee’s obligations and your rights as a registrant, you can find them on a subpage for the .de domain.

What is the procedure for using the services of a local intermediary? Who is a domain subscriber?

An important aspect of this service is that the ordering party (you), and not the intermediary, remains the subscriber for many domains. However, there are individual exceptions to this rule, like .my or .com.ar, where the intermediary must remain the subscriber. However, in the case of this larger group, the trustee only makes their administrative data available and does not have most of the rights to the domain. This way the subscriber can be sure that they are the only person responsible for managing the domain.

The obvious exceptions include infringements of the rights of third parties or any other provisions of the local legislation recognized by the trustee which entitles them to remove the domain or withdraw from their role as an intermediary without previously contacting the registrant.

What is the process for a transfer of a domain using trustee services?

When the domain needs to be transferred to a different registrar while using the Trustee service, you need to specify new contact details first (by notifying them to the current registrar) to meet the registration requirements. This may concern the administrative contact and the subscriber alike. The .com.ar code is a good example here. A transfer of this domain is possible, but it is handled on an individual basis and you need to contact us in this respect.

Are there any additional formalities associated with the domain renewal?

You may encounter formalities or additional requirements only during domain registration. You can find all registration procedures (if applicable) described in detail on our pages concerning individual codes, available at: https://letsdomains.com/domain-database. This means that you do not have to worry about any formalities during the domain renewal.

domain registry

Differences between types of intermediates – Trustee vs. domain reseller

Two types of domain-related intermediation should be distinguished, i.e.:

a local intermediate registering domains of a given country, operating within the Trustee service;
or the domain registration intermediary or reseller.

A domain reseller is a person or a company selling domains. It does not have agreements signed directly with registers and operates together with accredited registrars.

Conclusion

With the Trustee service and the assistance of an intermediary, all domains requiring local presence are within your reach in our service. The majority of registrations are performed automatically, and you use the services of our long-term proven partners and, what is most important, you do not pay additionally for the registration of popular domains. It is you who is the domain subscriber, and the intermediary is there only to assist you in achieving your aim.