Who can register a .ca domain? The CIRA rules for businesses

Who runs .ca, and why are there rules?

The .ca domain is Canada’s country-code domain. It is run by CIRA, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority. CIRA’s policy says .ca should be developed “as a key public resource for the social and economic development of all Canadians”, so only people and organizations with a connection to Canada can hold one.

When you register a .ca, you accept CIRA’s registrant agreement and choose a Canadian Presence Requirements (CPR) category that shows your connection to Canada. You register through a CIRA-certified registrar, not with CIRA directly.

Which category fits a small business?

CIRA’s policy lists eighteen categories. The ones most small businesses use are:

• Canadian citizen of the age of majority in their province or territory.
• Permanent resident who is ordinarily resident in Canada (the policy defines this as living in Canada for more than 183 days in the twelve months before registering, and in each twelve-month period after that) and of the age of majority.
• Corporation formed under the laws of Canada or of any province or territory.
• Partnership registered as a partnership under the laws of a province or territory, where more than 66.6% of the partners meet one of the categories for individuals or corporations.
• Trademark registered in Canada, for an owner who doesn’t meet any other category. In that case the .ca name must consist of or include the exact word part of the registered trademark.

There is no separate category for a sole proprietorship. A sole proprietor usually registers the domain in their own name, as a citizen or permanent resident.

Can a business from outside Canada get a .ca?

Only through one of the categories. A foreign company that owns a trademark registered in Canada can register a .ca that matches the words of that trademark. CIRA’s validation page notes that international trademarks are not accepted for this. A foreign company with a Canadian subsidiary incorporated here can use the corporation category for the subsidiary.

What happens if CIRA asks for proof?

CIRA regularly reviews registrations through a process called Registrant Information Validation, and it chooses which domains to check. If yours is picked, CIRA asks for documents that support your category, such as a Canadian birth certificate or passport for a citizen, or corporate records for a corporation.

If you don’t answer, CIRA sends reminders and then suspends the domain for up to 30 days. While it is suspended, your website and email on that domain stop working. If CIRA still has no documents at the end of the suspension, it cancels the domain and anyone can then register it.

So it is worth choosing the right category from the start and keeping the contact email on your domain up to date.

Should the domain be in my name or my business’s name?

Register it to whoever really owns the business: the corporation if you are incorporated, or yourself if you are a sole proprietor. Avoid having a web designer or an employee register it in their own name. The registrant is the legal holder of the domain, and moving it later needs their cooperation.

Should I get the .com as well?

CIRA’s rules only cover .ca. A .com has no Canadian presence rule. Many businesses register both so customers who type either one reach them, and so nobody else can take the other one. Our domain checker shows whether your name is free as a .ca, .com and .net in one search.