Croatia Announces New Administrative Procedures for Domain Names

On June 15, 2010, the Croatian Academic and Research Network (CARNet), the central registrar of .hr domain names, introduced new regulations outlining administrative procedures and technical requirements for the domain name registration.

Before June 15, 2010, the administration and registration of new domain names was handled directly by CARNet, while now all procedures, such as new registrations, renewals, deactivations and data changes, are performed by one of the nine registrars authorized by CARNet.

At the time of their renewal, all existing domain names will have to be transferred from CARNet to an authorized registrar, who will then in turn communicate with CARNet. The person who is listed as the administrative contact of the domain name will be able to communicate only with the chosen registrar and not with CARNet.

These new administrative procedures will lead to a decrease in the official fees for the registration of new and the renewal of existing domain names.

Furthermore, as from July 1, 2010, in addition to one free .hr domain name, legal entities registered in the Croatian Commercial Register can register up to nine .hr domain names. While the free .hr domain names are currently infinitely valid, the purchased. .hr domain names need to be renewed for a period of one, two or five years. CARNet is expected to issue a regulation governing the renewal dates of free .hr domain names.

Regarding the late renewal of the purchased .hr domain names, the deadlines are as follows:

• If the user of the domain name does not request a renewal within 15 days from the expiration date, the registered domain name is deactivated
• If the user of the domain name does not request a renewal within 30 days from the expiration date, the registered domain name is erased

With regards to the .com.hr domain name, an important novelty concerns the grace period for the payment of the late registration renewal fee. Namely, the old grace period of 10 days has been extended to 60 days, after which the domain name will be erased. The extension of the grace period will be applicable once the domain name is transferred to an authorized registrar.

For more information, please contact Ana Druzinec at our Croatia office.

Source: Dns.hr