.dz

Overview

• .dz is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Algeria. The letters "dz" come from the local name for Algeria, Dzayer.
• It is administered by the DZ Network Internet Center (NIC.DZ), a subdivision of CERIST (Centre de Recherche sur l'Information Scientifique et Technique).
• Intended for entities connected with Algeria; described as "fairly popular" within the country.
• As of 2024-12-14 there were 17,989 registered .dz domains.

History

• Introduced on 3 January 1994.
• Managed and operated by NIC.DZ under CERIST.
• An internationalized country code top-level domain using Arabic script, الجزائر, was registered in 2011 and is represented in DNS as .xn--lgbbat1ad8j; there were 59 registered internationalized domains as of 2024-12-14.
• Dispute policy: UDRP.

Usage and Audience

• Typical users are businesses, organizations and individuals with a connection to Algeria (presence, legal representation, or trademark/name ownership rights in Algeria).
• Registrations are available directly at the second level (example: example.dz) and at third level beneath a set of official second-level labels.
• Common second-level domains and intended users:
  • .com.dz — commercial entities
  • .gov.dz — governmental entities
  • .org.dz — non-governmental organizations
  • .edu.dz — education and training entities
  • .asso.dz — approved/registered associations
  • .pol.dz — political parties
  • .art.dz — arts and artistic professions
  • .net.dz — network providers/operators and back-end internet services
  • .tm.dz — entities abroad owning trademarks protected in Algeria without local presence documentation
  • .soc.dz — natural persons resident in Algeria who own protected trademarks but are not commercially active

Registration Rules

• Eligibility:
  • Entities established in Algeria, or having legal representation in Algeria, or possessing documentation justifying name ownership rights in Algeria.
  • Individuals residing in Algeria who possess documentation justifying name ownership rights in Algeria.
• General restrictions:
  • Registrant must have Algerian presence or legal justification for name ownership; name should be related to the company/organization name or a protected trademark.
  • Names must not be offensive, vulgar, deceptive, or contrary to morality.
  • Certain names are reserved and cannot be assigned even if other criteria are met (examples include names of regions, countries, cities, professions, generic names, and names or first names of public figures).
• Technical/name form rules (as published by NIC-DZ):
  • Minimum length: 2 characters; maximum length: 24 characters.
  • Allowed characters: lowercase a–z, digits 0–9, and the hyphen (-).
  • Domain name cannot consist only of numbers.
  • Hyphen cannot appear at the start or end of the name.
  • Names must be in lowercase (domain names are case-insensitive).
• Structure and fees:
  • Registrations allowed at second level and at specified third-level SLDs.
  • NIC.DZ charges 1000 Algerian dinars per year for a .dz domain (rate published by NIC.DZ).

Notable Cases or Examples

• Registered domain counts: 17,989 .dz domains (data dated 2024-12-14) and 59 internationalized الجزائر domains (same date), illustrating adoption levels reported by the registry.

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

domain:       DZ

organisation: CERIST
address:      Rue des Trois Freres Aissiou
address:      Ben-Aknoun Algiers 16035
address:      Algeria

contact:      administrative
name:         Administrative Manager
organisation: CERIST
address:      Rue des Trois Freres Aissiou
address:      Ben-Aknoun Algiers 16035
address:      Algeria
phone:        +213 23 25 54 08
fax-no:       +213 23 25 54 02
e-mail:       dznicman@nic.dz

contact:      technical
name:         Aouaouche El-Maouhab
organisation: CERIST
address:      Rue des Trois Freres Aissiou
address:      Ben-Aknoun Algiers 16035
address:      Algeria
phone:        +213 23 25 54 08
fax-no:       +213 23 25 54 02
e-mail:       elmaouhab@wissal.dz

nserver:      NS-DZ.AFRINIC.NET 196.216.168.36 2001:43f8:120:0:0:0:0:36
nserver:      NS1.NIC.DZ 193.194.64.242 2001:4340:1030:2:0:0:0:2
nserver:      NS2.NIC.DZ 213.179.160.66
nserver:      NS3.NIC.FR 192.134.0.49 2001:660:3006:1:0:0:1:1
nserver:      NS4.NIC.DZ 2001:500:14:6103:ad:0:0:1 204.61.216.103
nserver:      NS5.NIC.DZ 193.0.9.71 2001:67c:e0:0:0:0:0:71
ds-rdata:     17380 8 1 e624a5121244d5706c2126ae7b48ce7546db0e21
ds-rdata:     17380 8 2 71034e42fcaa30abc99190c2b1d99d4d3d9c7ce005e020699a047d2b36e28aef

whois:        whois.nic.dz

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: http://www.nic.dz

created:      1994-01-03
changed:      2019-04-19
source:       IANA