.ng domain: who can register one and which ending a business should pick

A .ng domain is Nigeria’s country domain, and you cannot buy one from the registry itself. The Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) runs .ng and sells only through accredited registrars. For a company, .com.ng is the ending NiRA’s policy describes as meant for commercial entities, and the short .ng ending is open as well.

This guide to the .ng domain uses NiRA’s own site and policy documents, which we opened in October 2026, plus IANA’s record for .ng. None of those pages publish a price, so we give none. It is general information, not legal advice, and registry rules change, so read the current policy before you pay.

What a .ng domain is and who runs it

IANA’s record for .ng names the Nigeria Internet Registration Association as sponsor, lists nira.org.ng as the registry site, and shows the record last updated on 5 August 2026. NiRA’s own policy says it acts as designated manager of the .ng country domain with the authority of NITDA, Nigeria’s National Information Technology Development Agency.

NiRA describes what it calls a 3R model: Registry, Registrar, Registrant. On its register.ng page it says that a person wishing to register a .ng domain name should contact a NiRA accredited registrar, and the same page refers to 120+ accredited registrars. Each role is different:

Role	Who	What they do
Registry	NiRA	Keeps the database of .ng names and writes the rules
Registrar	A NiRA accredited company	Sells the name, takes payment, handles renewal and your account
Registrant	You or your company	Holds the right to use the name and must follow NiRA’s policies

The policy also says a registration is a licence to use the name, as long as you follow NiRA’s rules. Treat it like renting a shop front, not buying land.

.ng domain endings compared

NiRA calls an ending that needs no paperwork an open zone and one that needs documents a closed zone. Its Domain Name Policy (version 1.5, October 2021) sets out the intended use of each.

Ending	Zone	Intended use, per NiRA’s policy
.ng	Open	Listed as open. The policy gives no use rule for it
.com.ng	Open	Commercial entities and purposes
.org.ng	Open	Not-for-profit or public service enterprises, such as charities and trade unions
.net.ng	Open	Internet service and telecoms infrastructure providers, though open to other businesses and individuals
.name.ng	Open	Personal names. Registrants must be natural persons
.i.ng	Open	General use by individuals and organisations, local or international
.mobi.ng	Open	Sites meant for mobile devices
.edu.ng, .sch.ng, .gov.ng, .mil.ng	Closed	Approved tertiary institutions, schools, government bodies and the military

One detail is easy to misread. In open zones, NiRA says it states an intended class of user but takes no action against registrations that do not match, though it may ask for information about your legal identity. That is not a reason to put a shop on .org.ng. Customers read the ending, and a mismatch looks odd.

Who may register a .ng domain

For the open endings, NiRA’s policy says it imposes no restriction on your status as an applicant. It adds that .com.ng has been fully open since 5 July 2008, and that before then only entities with a Nigerian presence could register in it. The .i.ng rules say that ending is open to individuals and entities, local or international. NiRA’s register.ng page says an open zone does not require documentation, except in special cases.

So a company registered outside Nigeria can read the policy as permitting an open .com.ng or .ng registration. Your registrar may still ask for a name, address and email, and NiRA may ask about legal identity. Closed endings are different: .sch.ng is for approved primary, secondary and other non-degree schools, and .edu.ng for approved tertiary institutions, each with documents.

How to register a .com.ng name

NiRA’s page on registering .ng domains gives five steps:

1. Think of the name you want for your website or business.
2. Check that it is available on register.ng.
3. Open NiRA’s website to see the list of accredited registrars.
4. Choose a registrar and visit its website.
5. Read and sign the registrant agreement, then register the name on the registrar’s platform.

A few practical points sit between steps 4 and 5. Ask the registrar for the first-year price and the renewal price, because they can differ. Register the domain in the company’s name, not a developer’s, and give at least two people the login. NiRA’s page says fees are set by the registrars and that extra services may be attached, so compare like with like.

NiRA also keeps a list of premium names. Its premium page says names on that list, across all second-level endings, are sold by auction, with an option to skip the bidding by paying a Buy Now price. If your first-choice name turns out to be premium, ask the registrar before assuming it is taken.

Name rules for .com.ng names

These come from sections 4 and 3 of the Domain Name Policy:

• Letters a to z, digits 0 to 9 and hyphens only. No accents.
• No hyphen at the start or end, and not digits only.
• No internationalised names for now, so nothing starting xn--.
• The name part cannot be one or two characters long, apart from names offered by auction.
• The whole domain, including the ending, cannot exceed 64 characters.
• Names are not case sensitive, and the first valid application wins.
• NiRA keeps reserved lists: offensive words, restricted words that could imply government or military, geographic names, premium names, and names that violate an existing Nigerian trademark unless the owner consents.

Say the finished address aloud before you pay. If info@yourcompany.com.ng is awkward over the phone, a shorter name on plain .ng may read better, and our guide to the business email address format covers the part before the @.

What happens when a .ng domain expires

Most .ng names can be registered for 1 to 5 years, according to the NiRA domain lifecycle policy. The policy says this does not apply to .gov.ng and .mil.ng. After expiry, it describes these stages:

Time after expiry	What the policy says
Days 0 to 30	Renewal grace period. You can renew through your registrar without penalty
Days 30 to 60	Suspension. Website, email and other services stop working
After day 60	The name’s DNS is no longer available. Redemption period of 28 days, with a restoration fee
About day 88 onward	Pending delete for up to 14 days, then the name is released to the public, first come, first served

The detail that matters for a business is the middle row. A lapsed domain does more than take down a website. It stops the email addresses built on it, along with every invoice and customer thread that depends on them. Put the expiry date in two calendars, turn on auto-renewal if your registrar offers it, and use a payment card that will not expire first.

Choosing between .ng, .com.ng and .com

• .com.ng says Nigerian business and matches NiRA’s commercial ending. It is the safe default for a registered company.
• .ng gives shorter addresses. It is a good second registration to protect your name.
• .com suits companies that sell outside Nigeria. Our guide on how to choose a business domain name in Africa compares it with the country options.
• .org.ng fits charities and community bodies. .name.ng is for people, not companies.

Here is how a finished .com.ng address looks in a signature, drawn by emailfooter’s engine.

Example only. The company and person are made up.

Many firms with a .ng domain register two endings and point both at one site and one mailbox. Then follow the business email setup guide for Africa to add the mail records, and put the finished address in a shared signature. The article on a business email signature in Nigeria shows how the +234 number and company details fit together.

Frequently asked questions

Can a foreign company register a .ng domain?

For the open endings, NiRA’s policy says it imposes no restriction on your status as an applicant, and .i.ng is described as open to local or international entities. Closed endings such as .edu.ng and .sch.ng need documents. Confirm with the registrar you choose.

What is the difference between .ng and .com.ng?

Both are open. NiRA’s policy describes .com.ng as meant for commercial entities and purposes, and gives no use rule for plain .ng. A .com.ng domain signals a business, and .ng gives a shorter address.

How much does a .ng domain cost?

NiRA’s pages say registrars set the fees and may attach other services, and they publish no price. Ask two or three accredited registrars for first-year and renewal prices in naira, and check whether taxes are extra.

How long can a .ng name be registered for?

NiRA’s lifecycle policy says most .ng domains can be registered or renewed for 1 to 5 years, with an exception for .gov.ng and .mil.ng.

Does NiRA sell .ng domains directly?

No. NiRA says it does not register domains for end users. You register through an accredited registrar, and NiRA lists them on its website.