Domain .fr - national domain: France

How to register a .fr internet domain?

  • Registration fee
    $17,99 / year
    To the .fr domain registration, the registry requires the address located in any European Union country. In the case of natural persons, the subscriber is obligated to provide the date of birth and the country of birth.
  • Renewal fee
    $17,99 / year
  • Trade fee
    free of charge
    The domain owner change does not extend its validity.
  • Transfer fee
    $17,99
    renewal included
    The domain transfer takes up to 8 days and it is completed if the previous registrar does not reject the transfer. Domain owner change sets a new domain expiration date from the owner change date, just like for new registration.
  • Reactivation fee
    $35,99
    Additional restore fee is due on the domain renewal date (4 days before expiration date). Restore is possible only within 14 days thereafter.
  • Minimum registration and renewal period
    1 year
  • Registration time
    Realtime
  • Restrictions
    Yes
VAT may apply for EU individual customers

Register .fr domain 

The .fr extension is France's official country-code domain (ccTLD), managed by AFNIC. It's the go-to choice for French businesses, local residents, and international companies looking to establish a credible presence in the French market. And given that French is an official language in 29 countries, a .fr domain carries weight beyond France's borders — it connects your brand to one of the most widely spoken languages in global business and culture.

.fr domain restrictions

To register and hold a .fr domain, you must reside in a European Union member state or in one of the following countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, or Switzerland. This requirement applies for the entire lifetime of the domain — not just at the point of registration. Failure to meet it may result in the deletion of all your .fr domain names through AFNIC's justification procedure.

In the case of natural persons, in order to register .fr domains, they need to additionally provide their country and date of birth.

Why should you buy a .fr domain?

A .fr domain is more than a local address. Here's what it actually does for your business.

Rank higher in French search results

Search engines treat country-code domains as a relevance signal. A .fr domain tells Google that your site is intended for French users — and that works in your favour when someone searches from France. If you're producing French-language content or targeting French customers, starting with a .com and trying to compete locally puts you at a structural disadvantage from day one.

Build trust with French users 

According to AFNIC, 90% of French internet users trust websites with a .fr extension. That's not a small margin. For a French visitor comparing two similar offers, a local domain extension removes a layer of hesitation that a .com simply can't. It signals that you're here, you're committed to this market, and you're not just passing through.

Reach one of Europe's largest e-commerce markets

France's e-commerce market is growing at over 10% per year. At least 40% of all websites in France use a .fr domain, and the extension currently holds over 4 million registrations — making it one of the most established ccTLDs in Europe. Entering this market without a .fr domain means competing against businesses that already have that local credibility built in.

Protect your brand in France

Registering your .fr domain early is a straightforward brand protection measure. Cybersquatters actively target recognisable brand names under country-code extensions. Securing your .fr domain before someone else does is considerably cheaper than recovering it through a dispute procedure later.

Use French characters in your domain name

.fr supports internationalised domain names, including accented characters such as é, è, â, and ç. If your brand name or product includes French diacritics, you can register it exactly as it appears — without substitutions or workarounds.

 

Information about the .fr domain registry

.fr - country code top-level domain name (ccTLD): France

The available domain TLDs: .fr

Registry: AFNIC (NIC France) - Immeuble International

Website: http://www.nic.fr/

Public WHOIS server: whois.nic.fr

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