Tips for .nz domain name business owners

27 February 2026

As a business owner, your .nz domain name is an important asset for your online identity and presence. If you’re registered as the .nz domain name holder, you have control over how your .nz domain name is used (e.g. for your website, email services, digital marketing).

You may have invested time and resources in building your online presence by creating engaging content, holding a long-term .nz domain name registration, and achieving strong performance, all of which significantly improve your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), helping build digital authority and ensuring better search result visibility.

We want to support that work by sharing some key tips to help you retain or navigate the renewal of your .nz domain for your business.

The different stages of ‘the lifecycle’ of a .nz domain name

There are various stages a .nz domain name can go through, and it's useful to understand these as a .nz domain name holder.

These stages include:

Available

.nz domain names are registered on a first-come, first-served basis under the .nz Rules. If it is available, you can apply to register it.

Registered

Means the .nz domain name has been registered and is no longer available.

Auto-renew period (5–45 days)

Every .nz domain name is set to auto-renew by default. However, if the registrar doesn’t receive your payment, they can cancel a .nz domain name during the auto-renew period. You should check your registrar or reseller's terms and conditions to understand when a .nz domain name may be cancelled.

Redemption period (90 days)

If your .nz domain name has been cancelled, it will go into a 90-day holding period known as the ‘redemption period’. When your .nz domain name is in the redemption period, your website and your emails associated with your .nz domain name won’t function. To renew your .nz domain name while in the redemption period, contact your registrar or reseller, who can restore it to the registered state in accordance with their terms and conditions. You can only reinstate the .nz domain name during this time if you are registered as the .nz domain name holder in the registration record [see below on how you can check this].

If no action is taken to reinstate your .nz domain name before the redemption period ends, your .nz domain name will become available to the public on a first come, first served basis.

At times, we have seen a .nz domain name quickly registered by others as soon as it becomes available, for its pre-existing value. This may be done so the new domain name holder can capitalise on the .nz domain name’s SEO rankings and existing traffic, brand recognition, to buy and resell or to create a copycat website for malicious purposes.

Caption: The image shows the lifecycle of a .nz domain name.

So what are our tips?

Use our WHOIS lookup service

If you’re looking for information about a registered .nz domain name or maybe your own .nz domain name, you can use our WHOIS lookup domain details tool on the homepage of DNC's website. This is a public tool where you can find in-depth technical and registration details.

Enter the .nz domain name you want to search, and you can view the public registration record.

Check the ‘Registrant contact details’

Make sure the details in this field are your name or your company’s name (it is recommended to have the company name where your .nz domain name is used for business purposes), not, for instance, your registrar or a web developer's name and details. It is a requirement under the .nz Rules to keep your .nz domain name contact details up to date, and that you, as the .nz domain name holder, are an identifiable individual over the age of 18 or a lawfully constituted entity.

Know who your registrar is

You can view these details in the fields "Registrar name" and "Registrar website", which is the contact information you need to reach your registrar for any questions or help.

Know the renewal date

The ‘Domain date expiration’ field shows when your .nz domain name will expire. Set a calendar reminder for renewal so you don’t miss this key step.

Look out for renewal notices from your registrar or reseller. It is important to know when you might receive the renewal notification and how you will receive it, e.g., from your registrar's specific email address.

As a business owner, what else should I consider?

Is your .nz domain name on your asset register?

We recommend if you use your .nz domain name for your business you include the .nz domain name in your asset register so it can be dealt with appropriately if the business is ever sold or wound up. For example, a shareholder may want to retain the .nz domain name when a company is de-registered as a defensive registration so that the .nz domain name does not expire and become available for someone else to register and use.

Security for your .nz domain names

How secure are your .nz domain names and your account with your registrar? We have seen accounts become compromised and .nz domain names transferred away to a third party for malicious use. You can reduce the risk of this happening by using multi-factor authentication in your registrar’s control panel if they offer it. Talk to your registrar about the options available to keep your .nz domain name secure.

What are your options if your .nz domain name is cancelled?

If you forget to renew your .nz domain name or cancel it, and it is still in the redemption period, you can contact your registrar or reseller or any .nz registrar to re-register it for you.

If the redemption period has ended, and, if no one else has registered your old .nz domain name, contact a registrar and they will be able to register it for you as long as it remains available.

Our dispute resolution service

We provide the .nz Dispute Resolution Scheme (.nz DRS) to provide .nz domain name holders a low-cost, quicker forum than the Courts to resolve .nz domain name disputes.

The New Zealand Dispute Resolution Centre (NZDRC) to administer this process on our behalf.

If you believe that someone else has registered a .nz domain name and that you have better rights to register and use that .nz domain name, or that a sub-domain attached to a .nz domain name infringes your rights, you may be able to make a claim for mediation or expert determination through the .nz DRS

Examples of claims the .nz DRS has considered include:

A newly established business has set up a website offering the same services as yours, and its domain name is virtually the same as yours. You believe you are now losing business and customers.
You failed to re-register your domain name, and now a competitor has it. You’d like to get it back.
You purchased a business and understood the .nz domain name was part of the agreement. However, this did not transfer to you.
Your business partnership has ended and you cannot access your emails as the other person is the registered holder of the .nz domain name.

How can I contact the DNC?

Take a look at our contact us page.

For more guidance, check our How do I guides