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GlossaryExtensions

Nexus requirement

A nexus requirement is a registry rule that limits who may register names in an extension to people or organizations with a real connection to a country or community, such as citizenship, residence or a local business presence.

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Also called local presence requirement · presence requirement

Nexus requirement, explained

Rules differ by extension. The .us registry accepts US citizens, permanent residents and people domiciled in the US, US-organized entities, and foreign entities with a bona fide US presence; it treats nexus as a continuing requirement and runs spot checks. The .eu extension is open to EU and EEA citizens wherever they live and to residents and organizations based in the EU or EEA. The .au extension requires an Australian presence, which a foreign company can establish through an Australian trademark, but only for the exact-match name. The .ca extension applies its own Canadian presence rules.

Nexus shrinks the buyer pool, which lowers liquidity and resale prices. Do not buy a restricted name you cannot hold yourself, and treat services that lend you a local presence with caution: the provider is usually the registrant of record, and some registries ban such arrangements; the .us registry prohibits proxy registrations. Eligibility can also vanish. After Brexit, UK registrants who no longer qualified lost their .eu names, which were suspended in 2021 and revoked from January 1, 2022.

Example. A US-based investor without EU citizenship skips an expiring .eu name at auction, because winning it would not make the investor eligible to hold it.

Go deeper How to Value and Price a Domain Name

Sources

  1. Registry Services, LLC — usTLD Nexus Requirements Policy
  2. about.us — usTLD Privacy Services Policy (updated Aug 29, 2019)
  3. auDA — .au Domain Administration Rules: Licensing (Australian presence)
  4. Wikipedia — .eu (eligibility; withdrawal of UK registrations after Brexit)

Education, not financial, legal or tax advice. Domain investing is speculative and most domain names never sell. Read the disclaimer.

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