.cf

Overview

.cf is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) designated for the Central African Republic. It is administered by the Central African Society of Telecommunications (SOCATEL) and has been made widely available for registration, including free-of-charge registrations through a partnership with Freenom. The registry permits registrations directly at the second level and supports emoji domain names.

History

• Introduced (per Wikipedia infobox) on 24 April 1996; other sources note an implementation date of 24 April 1994.
• Administered by SOCATEL (Societe Centrafricaine de Telecommunications), with a partnership initiative known as Dot CF (Dot CrossFire) operated in cooperation with Freenom (formerly Freedom Registry).
• Freenom made .cf domains available for free worldwide under certain terms; paid-registration options and registration agreements also exist.
• Following a lawsuit and settlement between Freenom and Meta in 2024, Freenom announced it would be exiting the domain business, leaving future registration arrangements for .cf uncertain.

Usage and Audience

• Actual use: receives a relatively small amount of use and is used mostly outside the Central African Republic.
• Typical audience: international registrants seeking low-cost or free domains, registrars/resellers (reselling is unrestricted), hobby projects, experimental uses such as emoji domains.
• Notable capabilities: supports emoji domain names.

Registration Rules

• Registry and sponsor: SOCATEL.
• Structure: registrations are made directly at the second level (example: example.cf).
• Eligibility and restrictions:
  • Free registrations via Freenom were available to anyone worldwide, without a required connection to the Central African Republic.
  • Exceptions / "high value" reserved names for free registrations include trademarks (notably for many Fortune 500 companies), common dictionary terms, and potentially valuable names fewer than four characters.
  • Paid domains are subject to a UDRP dispute policy; UDRP applies to paid domains only.
  • Any legal entity (whether ICANN-accredited or not) can apply to become a .cf reseller, inside or outside the country.
• Policy documentation: registration agreements and content policies exist for both free and paid domains.

Notable Cases or Examples

• Partnership with Freenom made .cf broadly available for free registrations, similar to other ccTLDs offered by Freenom (for example .tk, .ml).
• Freenom's lawsuit with Meta and the subsequent 2024 settlement are significant events affecting the registry's operating arrangements; Freenom announced plans to exit the domain business following that settlement, creating uncertainty about future registration operations for .cf.

% IANA WHOIS server
% for more information on IANA, visit http://www.iana.org
% This query returned 1 object

domain:       CF

organisation: Societe Centrafricaine de Telecommunications (SOCATEL)
address:      Rue guerillot
address:      Bangui BP 939
address:      Central African Republic (the)

contact:      administrative
name:         Directeur General
organisation: Societe Centrafricaine de Telecommunications (SOCATEL)
address:      Rue guerillot
address:      Bangui BP 939
address:      Central African Republic (the)
phone:        +236 21 61 60 64
fax-no:       +236 21 61 44 72
e-mail:       dg-socatel@socatel.cf

contact:      technical
name:         Manager ICT
organisation: Centrafrique TLD B.V.
address:      Danzigerkade 23D
address:      Amsterdam NH 1013 AP
address:      Netherlands (the)
phone:        +31 20 5315726
fax-no:       +31 20 5315721
e-mail:       info@centrafriquetld.com

nserver:      A.NS.CF 185.21.168.17 2a04:1b00:4:0:0:0:0:1
nserver:      B.NS.CF 185.21.169.17 2a04:1b00:5:0:0:0:0:1
nserver:      C.NS.CF 185.21.170.17 2a04:1b00:6:0:0:0:0:1
nserver:      D.NS.CF 185.21.171.17 2a04:1b00:7:0:0:0:0:1

whois:        whois.dot.cf

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: http://www.dot.cf

created:      1996-04-24
changed:      2015-12-29
source:       IANA