.qa
 | |
| Introduced | 12 June 1996 |
|---|---|
| TLD type | Country code top-level domain |
| Status | Active |
| Registry | Qatar Domains Registry |
| Sponsor | Communications Regulatory Authority |
| Intended use | Entities connected with  Qatar |
| Actual use | Fairly popular in Qatar |
| Registered domains | 21,612 (July 2019)[1] |
| Registration restrictions | Registration must occur through an accredited registrar |
| Structure | Country code top-level domain and second-level domains are available |
| Dispute policies | Complaints |
| Registry website | www |
.qa is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for State of Qatar.
History
[edit]The .qa country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Qatar has been managed by the Qatar Domains Registry (QDR), under the oversight of the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA). Initially, the registry held a “sunrise” period prior to public availability, which allowed trademark holders and government entities to secure their Qatar-specific domain names.
Public registration of .qa domains began in September 2011, with domain names offered through a mix of local and international accredited registrars.[2] By 2014, thirteen registrars had been accredited by the QDR, including both international and local entities such as Qtel, IP Mirror, MarkMonitor, and DomainMonster.[3]
However, a significant policy shift occurred at the end of 2024, when the CRA discontinued the renewal and issuance of registrar licenses to international companies. The regulatory framework was amended to ensure that only companies legally registered within the State of Qatar are eligible to become accredited domain registrars.[4]
As of 2025, the currently accredited registrars authorized to offer .qa domains include:
Unitech
Qatar Cloud – Ooredoo
Routedge
QHost
Tag Domains
Sadad
The Qatar Domains Registry manages a variety of domain extensions under the .qa namespace, including:
Publicly available through registrars: .qa, .com.qa, .net.qa, .name.qa, and the Arabic IDN .قطر (represented in Punycode as .xn--wgbl6a).
Reserved and managed directly by QDR: .gov.qa, .mil.qa, .org.qa, .edu.qa, and .sch.qa.
Qatar was among the first countries globally to offer domain names in the Arabic script, further reflecting its digital and cultural identity online.
Second-level domains
[edit]- .com.qa – Commercial organisations; registered trademarks.
- .edu.qa – Licensed Higher educational organisations in Qatar.
- .sch.qa – Licensed private and public schools in Qatar.
- .gov.qa – Governmental organisations.
- .mil.qa – Ministry of State for Defense Affairs and Qatar Armed Forces.
- .net.qa – Licensed networks of data communications.
- .org.qa – Nonprofit organisations.
Current Active Domain Registrars
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Home". Qatar Domains Registry. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
- ^ "Qatar Domain Names (.QA) Now Available to the Public". Qatar Domain Registry. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
- ^ "Accredited Registrars". Qatar Domain Registry. 2014-05-29. Archived from the original on 2014-08-20. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
- ^ "Accredited Registrars". Communications Regulatory Authority. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
External links
[edit]- IANA .qa whois information
- Qatar Internet Domain Names
- Qatar Domains Registry Archived 2011-05-27 at the Wayback Machine
- For the IDN version of the website. Archived 2014-08-26 at the Wayback Machine