.tz

Overview

.tz is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Tanzania. It was introduced on 14 July 1995 and is used by entities connected with Tanzania. The registry is operated by the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA). DNSSEC is enabled for the zone.

History

• 14 July 1995: .tz was introduced as Tanzania's ccTLD.
• 2006: Tanzania Network Information Centre (tzNIC), a not-for-profit company, was established to administer the .tz registry.
• 29 April 2010: The .tz domain was transferred to tzNIC for management.
• 18 October 2018: tzNIC members resolved to liquidate tzNIC and transfer tzNIC functions and staff to TCRA due to financial sustainability issues.
• 14 February 2012: Additional second-level labels were added (e.g., .hotel.tz, .mobi.tz, .tv.tz, .info.tz, .me.tz).
• 1 March 2022: The Ministry began allowing registrations directly under .tz (second-level), initially for priority groups.
• 1 July 2022: Direct second-level .tz registrations were opened to the general public and the requirement for local presence was removed.

Usage and Audience

• Primary audience: businesses, government bodies, educational institutions, non-profits and other organizations with a connection to Tanzania.
• Common second-level and third-level labels historically and currently in use:
  • .co.tz — commercial entities and companies
  • .ac.tz — tertiary academic institutions
  • .go.tz — government entities (restricted)
  • .or.tz — not-for-profit organizations
  • .mil.tz — Tanzania Military (restricted)
  • .sc.tz — primary and secondary schools
  • .ne.tz — network infrastructure
  • .hotel.tz, .mobi.tz, .tv.tz, .info.tz, .me.tz — later additions for specific uses
• Second-level .tz domains are considered premium and positioned as shorter, easier-to-remember alternatives to third-level names.
• Registrations are available through TCRA-accredited registrars.

Registration Rules

• Registry/operator: Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA).
• Eligibility and restrictions:
  • Registrants must have demonstrable intent to use the name on the Internet.
  • Vanity and placemark registrations are not permitted.
  • One registration per organization (policy note from earlier rules).
  • Some labels are restricted (e.g., .go.tz, .ac.tz, .mil.tz, .sc.tz) and require appropriate accreditation or government recognition.
  • Certain names are reserved or blocked by TCRA to prevent conflicts; a reserved-names list is maintained.
  • Registrations may be subject to cancellation if the name is identical/confusingly similar to legally protected names, was registered without legitimate interest, was registered for sale or to disrupt competitors, or if registry contact information is false or misleading.
  • Registrants must indemnify the registry against trademark or other litigation related to their domain name.
• Character and format rules:
  • Allowed characters: letters (a-z), digits (0-9), and the hyphen (-).
  • Maximum length: 63 characters.
  • Names must not begin or end with a hyphen, nor contain two consecutive hyphens ("--").
• Launch and priority rules for second-level .tz:
  • Priority registration period was provided to existing third-level domain owners (registered before 1 March 2022) and to trademark owners before general public launch on 1 July 2022.

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

domain:       TZ

organisation: Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority
address:      20 Sam Nujoma Road
address:      Mawasiliano Towers
address:      P.O.Box 474
address:      Dar es Salaam 14414
address:      Tanzania, the United Republic of

contact:      administrative
name:         Manager - Communications Resources and Technology Management
organisation: Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority
address:      20 Sam Nujoma Road
address:      Mawasiliano Towers
address:      P.O.Box 474
address:      Dar es Salaam 14414
address:      Tanzania, the United Republic of
phone:        +255 22 2199760 #8
fax-no:       +255 22 2412010
e-mail:       mwesigwa.felician@tcra.go.tz

contact:      technical
name:         Principal ICT Officer
organisation: Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority
address:      20 Sam Nujoma Road
address:      Mawasiliano Towers
address:      P.O.Box 474
address:      Dar es Salaam 14414
address:      Tanzania, the United Republic of
phone:        +255 22 2199760 #8
fax-no:       +255 22 2412010
e-mail:       simon.balthazar@tcra.go.tz

nserver:      FORK.STH.DNSNODE.NET 2a01:3f0:0:306:0:0:0:53 77.72.229.254
nserver:      NS.ANYCAST.CO.TZ 2001:500:14:6015:ad:0:0:1 204.61.216.15
nserver:      NS2.TZNIC.OR.TZ 196.216.162.67 2001:43f8:e0:1:0:0:0:67
nserver:      RIP.PSG.COM 147.28.0.39 2001:418:1:0:0:0:0:39
nserver:      TZ-E.NS.NIC.CZ 185.43.134.11 2001:148f:fffd:0:0:0:0:11
ds-rdata:     30234 13 2 3d83825b9f7d66f9b28b5566ba5371798e8d3b88ef079bb88f52617811c1b9a0

whois:        whois.tznic.or.tz

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: https://karibu.tz/

created:      1995-07-14
changed:      2023-07-27
source:       IANA