Frequently Asked Questions - Kenic FAQ's

This first part of the address after www. that you enter into a web browser (e.g. kenic.or.ke) to find a web page on the internet. It is also the last part after the @ sign in an email address. Domains are useful for business and personal use, for having your own website, online shop and email address.

There is a lot you can do with a domain name, but first you need to add some services to it. For example if you want to build a website for your business or just for fun, you will need a Web Hosting package to get the website online. Contact any of our registrars to host your website and emails.

When you register a domain it is usually registered for an initial period of either 1 year or upto 5 years. Upon expiry of the initial registration period, you need to renew your domain with your registrar. The domain remains yours as long as it registered and active.

Once you have chosen and registered it usually takes up to 30 minutes for all the DNS servers across the internet to know about your new domain name. This means that while you might be able to access your domain, your next door neighbour might not if he is using a different DNS server.

If a company is paying for you to register the domain name, it should normally be registered under their name as transferring at a later stage is a time consuming process and may incur additional costs.

This is an Individual, Company or an Organization that registers a domain on behalf of the actual domain name owner or Registrant. Internet Service Providers (ISP), Web Designers and Solution Providers are the most common form of Registrars.

Those organizations interested in becoming Registrars should:

• Formally apply to KENIC. The formal application letter should be sent by post (or delivered by hand) to KENIC, attention the Chief Executive Officer. Please note that the application letter should also be accompanied by your Company's Profile detailing your company's operations, location and abilities. In particular, the company profile should include:

1) your experience in DNS and DNS server management
2) at least two(2) DNS servers that your company manages and
3) a list of domain names hosted on the nameservers and details

• The KENIC management will evaluate your application within 48 Hours and respond with an approval or Rejection.
  If approved, you will have to complete the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (in duplicate) and pay the annual membership fees of Kshs. 5,000.00. It is estimated that the process should take 7 working days.

Kindly note that the .KE Registry is still closed and thus to become an Accredited Registrar, your organization must have local presence, that is, your organization must have an office within the country (Kenya).

Click here to view the full list of registrars

The .KE Domain Name Space has been divided into several third-levels namely:

• .co.ke - for Companies
• .or.ke - for Not-for-Profit-Making Organisations or NGO's
• .ne.ke - for Network Devices
• .go.ke - for Government Entities. Requires Supporting Documents
• .ac.ke - for Institutions of Higher Educations. Requires Supporting Documents
• .sc.ke - for Lower and Middle Institutes of Learning. Requires Supporting Documents
• .me.ke - for Personal names
• .mobi.ke - for Mobile content
• .info.ke - for Information

Some of the Domain Name extensions require "Supporting Documents" inorder for them to be registered. These are:

go.ke:

This domain requires supporting documents from the Department of Government IT Services (GITS) at the Ministry of Finance. GITS should give an Authority Letter to show that the Entity is a valid Government institution or Agency and authorized to register the domain name.

ac.ke:

KENIC will require either a copy of the Certificate of Registration from the relevant Ministry, a copy of the College Charter or a copy of the Act of Parliament that was passed to establish the Institute. The documents MUST bear the name of the Entity. The document should classify the Entity as a Tertiary Institution: Polytechnic, Technical Institute, College or University.

sc.ke:

KENIC will require a copy of the Certificate of Registration from the Ministry of Education. The document MUST also bear the name of the Entity. The document should classify the Entity as a Kindergaten, Primary or Secondary School.

All domains that require supporting documents will generate a ticket that will only be closed by the KENIC Registry Services once the Supporting Documents have been received. Only when the Ticket is closed will the domain be published.

To register a Domain, a Registrar requires a "Client ID" with Domain Registration Rights. The registered "Client ID" and a password grants access to the Registrar's Profile.

Under the Registrar's profile, there is a menu with the various options; selecting "Register Domain" under Domains will give the Domain registration interface.

The following Data is Required to Register a domain:

1. Domain Name: Please enter the first part of the domain name and select the second level criteria to be registered i.e: Domains are registered on a first come first served basis.
   
   • co.ke - for Companies.
   • or.ke - Not for profit making or NGO's
   • ne.ke - Network devices.
   • go.ke - Government Entities and Agencies. Provide Supporting Documents.
   • ac.ke - Instititues of Higher Education. Provide Supporting Documents:
   • sc.ke - lower and middle institutes of learning. Provide Supporting Documents.
   • me.ke - for Personalized Emails and Sites
   • mobi.ke - for Mobile Content
   • info.ke - for Information Providers
2. Name-servers/Hosts
3. Please provide the name-servers on which the records for the domain name are hosted.

This is an organization or entity responsible for managing the Country Code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) Name Space as evidenced by their entry in the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) database. KENIC is the .KE Registry operator.

KENIC has setup an open mailing list which one can subscribe from the KENIC Discuss Mailing List . Participation in the open forum discussions influences the KENIC policy making process by consideration of the suggestions and issues raised on this forum.

• To act as a trustee for the .KE country-code-top-level-domain (.KE ccTLD)
• To administer the .KE ccTLD and its Second Level Domains
• To maintain and promote the operational stability and utility of the .KE ccTLD
• To ensure a cost-effective administration of the .KE ccTLD and its sub-domains
• To provide name service for all .KE, and ensure that the database is secure and stable
• Most importantly to Promote the development of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) in Kenya with a particular emphasis on promoting activities in Rural and Low Income Urban areas of the country

The Board of KENIC consists of the nominees of Full Members. Any group, or association which has an interest in Internet issues and can demonstrate that it is representative of a genuine stakeholder group, that is not already represented through another Full Member, is welcome to apply for Full Membership. Such applications are welcome (indeed encouraged). KENIC is constantly evolving and keen to ensure that as the users evolve so does their representation within KENIC.

Also any Individual, Organization or Company that supports the aims and objectives of KENIC may join KENIC as an Associate Member by applying to the KENIC Board.

A KENIC associate member is any Individual, Organization, or a Company that supports the aims and objectives of KENIC. Any Associate member may sit on the KENIC Board as an observer.

They are currently the founder members of the KENIC initiative and are drawn from Kenyan Internet Community Organizations namely Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) Kenya Information Society (KIS), Kenya Education Network (KENET), Telecommunication Service Providers Association Of Kenya (TESPOK), National Task Force on Electronic Commerce (NTFecom) and Directorate of Government IT Services. They form the Executive Branch of KENIC. Their role is to guide the policies and implementations therefore the operations and running of KENIC.

KENIC is a not-for-profit organization registered as a "company limited by guarantee" under the company's Act (CAP 486) of Kenya in December 2002. KENIC is the first Public/Private Sector Initiative, in the Domain Name Space Management arena, in Africa.

When creating a KENIC User ID, please ensure that the "Name" field contains at least two words, for example "John Doe". The registry system will throw an error if you put a single word in this field, for example "John".

The fees charged by Kenic shall be in line with global norms. The aim is that they should support the operations and goals of Kenic whilst being competitive enough to attract registrants who might otherwise choose to use a gTLD instead.

Level of Fees.

It is envisaged that the cost of registering a Kenyan Domain will depend on the Second Level Domain to be registered to ensure that the organization runs its operations smoothly. Note that the cost indicated below is the one charged to accredited .KE registrars by KeNIC.

• .co.ke, .or.ke, .ne.ke - Ksh. 650 +VAT
• .me.ke, .go.ke, .ac.ke, .sc.ke - Ksh. 650 + VAT
• .mobi.ke, info.ke - Ksh. 650 +VAT

Billing Cycle.

All domains will be charged annually with invoices being issued three months prior to the domains expiry date, and payable within 30 days. The annual renewal period will be on a 12-month basis from the initial domain registration date. Any domain for which payment has not been received within the 90 days will be suspended. Any domain for which payment has not been received within 90 days will be de-registered and deleted. The name will be returned to the pool and available for registration by new registrants immediately. Reminders will be sent after 30, 60, and 90 days.

New Domains.

On registration of a New Domain, the registrant will be expected to pay Registration fee according to the above costs (plus registrar's hosting charges) on registration date.

Invoicing Modalities.

Invoicing will be by E-Mail to the Billing Contact address specified in the records for that domain, (which is the responsibility of the Registrant).

VAT.

All Registration and Renewal fees are subject to VAT.

The process of transferring a domain from one registrar to another can be done by:

• Giving the receiving registrar the "Authorization key" of the domain, which will be used to pull the domain.
• Click on the "Transfer" button and select the acquiring registrar there.
• The receiving registrar can place a "Transfer Request" and the current registrar will accept the request.