.ae domain requirements: who can register, and how

The .ae domain is the UAE's country-code top-level domain. It is regulated by the .ae Domain Administration, known as .aeDA, which sits within the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA). The .aeDA also runs .امارات, the Arabic-script version.

The .ae Domain Name Policy splits the space into two kinds of zone. The unrestricted zone is any name registered directly under .ae, such as yourbrand.ae. The restricted zones are names under second-level domains that the .aeDA has reserved for a particular type of registrant: co.ae, net.ae, org.ae, sch.ae, ac.ae, gov.ae and mil.ae.

Two points in the policy surprise many buyers. First, you do not own a domain. You hold an exclusive licence to use it for one, two, three, four or five years. Second, names are allocated first come, first served among applicants who meet the rules.

This table follows the eligibility sections of the .ae Domain Name Policy (AEDA-POL-007, version 1.1), as published by the TDRA on 27 September 2026.

In a restricted zone, the name must match your company name, trading name or trade mark, or be an acronym, an abbreviation or closely connected to it. For co.ae and net.ae, the company must be one in which you hold 50 per cent or more, or which you control. The policy also says restricted names can only be registered through accredited registrars based in the UAE.

Every name must be 2 to 63 characters long, using a to z, 0 to 9 and hyphens. It cannot start or end with a hyphen, or have hyphens in both the third and fourth positions.

You register through a registrar accredited by the .aeDA. The TDRA's list of accredited registrars names six UAE registrars: BUZINESSWARE, du, Etisalat, AEserver, Host Arabia and Gate Hills. It also lists international registrars. Choose one, check the name is available, and follow its application steps.

• Register in your company's name. The registrant is the licence holder. If an agency or freelancer registers it in their own name, getting it back can be slow.
• Use a role address. The WHOIS policy says the registrant's email should be one you can be reached at any time. Something like domains@yourcompany.ae outlasts staff changes.
• Expect some details to be public. The WHOIS policy lists fields that may be disclosed, including the registrant's name and email, and the trade licence number used to establish eligibility.
• Tell the truth on the form. The Registrant Warranties Policy says the licence can be cancelled if any information is untrue, incomplete or misleading.

Keep your details current. Registrars must update registry records within five business days of receiving a change, and the WHOIS policy warns that failing to report changes may lead to the licence being revoked. Renewals and contact updates are part of our website maintenance care plans.

Prices are set by each registrar, not by the .aeDA. We read three registrars' own pages on 27 September 2026.

Compare the renewal price, not only the first year. You will pay it every year for as long as you keep the name.

The .امارات domain (dotEmarat) lets you register a web address written in Arabic script. Its own policy states that names registered directly under it are unrestricted, need no documentary evidence, and that there are no restricted zones under it at present.

Behind the scenes, every Arabic name also has an encoded form that starts with xn--, which is what the internet's naming system uses. The policy also covers variants: spellings with similar Arabic letters that point to the same place, with no more than five active per name.

An Arabic address is easy to say on radio and print on Arabic material. You can register one alongside your main domain and redirect it there. Test it in the browsers and email apps your customers use before you print it. Our Arabic and English website guide covers the site itself.

Google Search Central says country-code domains provide a strong signal to users and search engines that a site is explicitly intended for a certain country. It lists clear geotargeting as the benefit, and being limited to a single country as a drawback.

If you serve only the UAE, a .ae address tells Google and your buyers so. If you also sell to Saudi Arabia or further afield, a .com with a section for each country can serve all of them, with hreflang tags telling Google which version is for whom. Register your .ae either way, so nobody else takes it.

A domain on its own will not rank a site. Content, speed and links still decide that. Our SEO and performance service covers the rest.