FAQ

First, choose a domain name and verify its availability using the query protocol Whois.
After you have confirmed the domain name’s availability, you may contact one of the ISOC-IL Accredited Registrars and register the domain through them.
The registrar will be able to guide you through the whole processes of registering your domain name.
Please review the Guide to Domain Name Registration for detailed instructions.

There are limitations that described in the registration rules, such as:

• A Latin Domain Name must be between 3 and 63 characters long.
• A Latin Domain Name Must not begin or end with a hyphen (“-“).
• Must not contain two consecutive hyphens (“—”)
• Must not be identical to any existing Top Level Domain name in the global Internet (at the time the application is submitted) and must not be the string “www”.
• Must comply with the technical requirements of DNS in effect at the time that the application is submitted
• Domain Names containing obscene words and names incorporating foul language; names that are injurious to public order or to public sensibilities, or names that otherwise do not comply with the laws of the State of Israel.

Domain Names which have not been renewed are not revoked on the very day of their expiration, in the same way electricity is not being cut off on bill due date. A Domain Name might be related to activity that is highly valuable and essential to its holder. Deleting a Domain Name on the expiration day, without prior notice, while disconnecting its activity from the network, may cause considerable damage. For this reason, the deletion process is being done carefully, while sending in-advance notices to the holder. Of course this time period cannot be unlimited. Hence, a Domain in a status of “not renewed being revoked” is not deleted, but becomes a ‘frozen’ Domain, about to be deleted. The final deletion takes place between 30 to 120 days after the expiration date – a period of time during which the Registrar takes measures to inform the domain holder about his Domain Name registration being about to expire. A Domain Name registration may be renewed as long as the Domain Name has not been deleted. Once deletion from the registry has taken place, a whois query for this domain name will result in a statement that such a domain name does not exist; from this moment on, one may apply to register this name as a new domain name.

All applications for registration of a new Domain Name are being checked for compliance with the registration rules for the .il ccTLD prior to approval, which is not automatic. Checking procedures may take up to several days; in most cases though, approval is given within one working day. One has to bear in kind that the Domain Name registration procedure at the Israel Internet Association website is mainly a technical procedure. Any possible legal implications related to the registration of certain Domain Names and to their holding should be checked out in advance, prior to registration, by the person submitting the registration application. By submitting a registration application, the applicant warrants that the registration of the requested Domain Name does not violate the rights of third parties.

Both org.il and co.il are open Second Level Domains (“SLD”). Domain Names can be registered under them with no constraints in regard of the holder’s identity or the use being made of the Domain Name (within the boundaries of law, of course). Nevertheless, one has to bear in mind that the purpose of Domain Names is to help users find their way through the web; users would not expect a business company to operate under a SLD intended for NGOs and vice versa. Anybody doing such a thing should be aware of the fact that he/she is not tapping full potential of Domain Names as a device designed to help finding his/her site in the web.

You can use the WHOIS to check whether a domain has already been registered or whether it is still available for registration.

You can read all about the procedure on Transferring between registrars

A transfer authorization code is required to perform domain name management transfer from one Registrar to another. The  Code is generated by the Losing Registrar per the request of the Domain Name Holder to assist in identifying the applicant for transfer of management.

To become globally accessible, a newly registered domain must be included in the .il zone, the same applies to updates of name server records for domains that are already in the zone. Normally, the update is implemented 5 times a day, and afterwards the zone will include all changes that have been confirmed by ISOC – IL prior to the update.

Renewing your Domain Name is done through your registrar. If you wish to renew the domain name using a different registrar, you must first request a transfer to a new registrar and then renew your domain name registration.

You may renew your domain for up to two years.

If you want to delete your domain you should contact your registrar. For farther information please read – Deleting a domain

Transfer Authorization Code is a unique digit/number combination that serves as a confirmation code  in the event of registrar transfer.  The domain holder can request the Transfer Authorization Code from his registrar at any time. Once you have received the Authorization Code, you communicate it to your new registrar so that he can transfer your domain. Transfer Authorization Code is a code that adds a layer of security that protects the Domain Name in the process of transferring from one Registrar to another, allowing only the Domain Name Holder to initiate a transfer request. More information about Transfer Authorization Code.

To transfer your domain name to a different registrant, please contact the registrar with which the domain is registered. For farther information please read – Reassignment

It is very important to keep your contact information updated so that you receive important notifications about your domain name from your registrar or others such as the IL-DRP panelist.
These messages are usually sent via email, and if your email is not updated, you may not receive important notifications that are designed for your protection.
For example, renewal remainder, notification about modification in the domain, transfer authorization code.

Registration, almost everywhere in the world and in Israel, is based on the “first come, first served” principle, meaning that whoever submitted first a valid registration application to the Registry will have his application processed first. Domain Name registration services as provided by Registries are largely technical in nature; there is no entity who has a vested right to register a certain Domain Name or another. This said, it is the registrant’s responsibility to make sure that the registration of the requested Domain Name does not interfere with the rights of third parties. During registration, the applicant must actually sign a warranty statement that he does not violate any such rights. As part of the services offered to the users, the Internet Association operates a service for rapid resolution of disputes related to Domain Name registration, the IL-DRP. While the Internet Association is not a party to these proceedings, it agrees in advance to accept the ruling. Whoever thinks that registration of a certain Domain Name per-se (to be distinguished from the use made of this Domain Name) is violating his rights may appeal to the ILDRP.

In case of harmful contents displayed on a website, you should seek appropriate legal counsel. The Israel Internet Association cannot be held responsible for this, as it is not running the websites operating under the assigned domain names.

The IL-DRP is an alternative dispute resolution procedure intended to provide expedited resolution for disputes regarding the allocation of Domain Names under the .IL ccTLD in accordance with the Rules for Allocation of Domain Names under .IL.
For more information please read the il-drp Procedures

Accredited registrars are entities who have been accredited by the Israeli Internet Association to provide registration services. The list of Accredited Registrars is available here.

If you encounter a problem with one of the Accredited Registrars, you may report about it to the Israel Internet Association at: [email protected] with the following subject line: “Reporting a registrar”. The Israel Internet Association will examine the complaint and act accordingly.

Only companies and organizations can become ISOC-IL Accredited Registrars. Individuals can not be accredited. Companies and organizations interested in becoming accredited registrars, will go through an accreditation process, please refer to the accreditation info page.

The application form should be completed and be submitted to ISOC-IL along with all the information and documents required. The form is a proposal by the applicant to ISOC-IL to become an accredited registrar. If the applicant meets the initial criteria, ISOC-IL will sign the accreditation agreement with the applicant. Signing the agreement is not the accreditation. Only after the registrar demonstrates a client that is able to perform the entire set of registration actions against the registry server will the regsitrar receive from ISOC-IL an accreditation approval and the status of an accredited regsitrar. All the information can be found here.

The initial accreditation period is one year. However, as long as the registrar meets all the accreditation requirements set forth in the accreditation agreement, the accreditation will be automatically renewed, each time for an additional period of one year.

The accreditation agreement can be viewed at the legal info page

ISOC-IL provides a test-bed to allow registrars to test the clients they implemented for correct operation. For further information on the test-bed please refer to the technical info page.

Please refer to the technical info page.

“WHOIS” is a generic term used to describe an online directory service that allows people to look up information about Internet domain names. ISOC-IL maintains a WHOIS look-up directory which permits queries to the .IL Registry database to determine the availability of .IL domain names or to view the registration information provided by Registrants who have registered a .il domain name.

Using the whois service, the details provided in the whois service are those listed in the Registry. To query for a Domain Name, type it without the “www” string. For example, in order to search for information about the Domain Name of the Israel Internet Association type: isoc.org.il.

The purpose of the DNS (Domain Name System) is to make it easier for the web user to find his way through the web by using addresses that are more user friendly and easier to remember than numeric ones (the IP-address, by means of which each computer is identified on the web). This way the user is able to reach the Israel Internet Association’s website, for example, by entering the string www.isoc.org.il into the browser, instead of the IP address: http://192.115.211.11. The DNS system translates the familiar Domain Names to their respective IP addresses.

A Top Level Domain marks the initial division of the Internet’s global Name Space into two major types of Domain Names: Domain Names denoting a country or a territory, like “.il” for Israel, and Domain Names denoting global Name Spaces, like “.com”.
Domain Names denoting countries are called “country code Top Level Domain” or “ccTLD”. “.il” is a ccTLD.
Global Domain Names are called “generic Top Level Domain” or “gTLD”. “.com” is a gTLD.
The Top Level Domains are the rightmost label in a Domain Name.
A “Name Space” is the group of all the Domain Names registered under a particular TLD.
A “Second Level Domain” or “SLD” is the label adjacent to the TLD. In “isoc.org.il”, “org” is the SLD.

A Domain Name Registry consists of the computer infrastructure and the data base required for the management of a Top Level Domain. In Israel, the “.il” ccTLD is being managed by the Israeli Internet Association.

Domain Name Registrars are private entities accredited by the Israel Internet Association to provide Domain Name registration services to Internet users. In their provision of their registration services, the Registrars are making use of the Registry’s infrastructure. As mentioned in the answer above, while there is only one Registry per TLD, there can be many Registrars. In such way, users are provided with a large choice of different service providers.

Not necessarily. When a delegation of a Domain Name in the registry is not active (for instance, because the Domain Name is in “on hold” or because the registration was deleted), or when there is a technical problem with the resolution of the Domain Name (as for instance in case the site was redirected to servers which have not yet been configured to serve that Domain Name, or when there are errors in the delegation settings or when the servers to which the registry delegated are not functioning). What actually happens is that the website is not accessible through the Domain Name, since the resolving process of the Domain Name is not functioning properly. This has nothing to do with the website’s content though, as the content is not being controlled by DNS; if the content has not been deleted from the web server, then the content is still there. Once the problem in the DNS settings will be solved (for instance, upon re-registration of a deleted Domain Name, or renewal of a Domain Name which was ut “on hold”, or when the web server will return to action), then the website shall be accessible again also by means of the Domain Name, without need for any further actions.