.BY and .BEL domain names are names of Belarus country.
This is the place surrounded by land, and they have very live social lives, which made this country lately famous by culture, art, theater, and other cultural events, mapping them on the world stage not only by it’s cold, but nowadays, more of North-Eastern cultural escape from the world.
Since they do not have great beaches to offer, they decided to promote their culture and gain profit from good manufacturing, but let’s not forget domains, which, in case you don’t want just to promote your business, a .by extension is a great hack for many domain holders.

They are pretty pricey, but it’s the price regulated by their National Registry, which is Reliable Software Inc.
The history of this domain name may be a turbulent one because, in every year of their existence, there were some major changes. Worth mentioning is changes made just couple years ago so, on 17th of February 2015, additional to theirs .by Latin domain names, they made it more personal to their nation by launching .БЕЛ ( .BEL ) Cyrillic domain names. The same year, a few months later, on the October the 5th, .БЕЛ ( .BEL ) became available for registration worldwide.

Having this unusual name, for a country that far from the western world, and knowing that many of them may not even be heard about this country, from the beginning, they started off with such low price, until they noticed that many of domain names may come in handy when we count the Hack domains with a .by extension, they started to make registration fees to be higher every year that passed by.
Having been said that, we must say that now, some Registrars sell a .by domain names with prices that will spin your head around, and any of them goes as far as 100 $, which is price only few can afford for having a good domain name.
Be patient, and search a little deeper, and you will find a .by domain name for much less money.

Who can by a .by Domain Name?

Anyone in the world can buy a .by domain name, no matter if you are an individual or legal entity. When it comes to Cyrillic domain names, if you want .БЕЛ ( .BEL ) domain name, rules are the same, anyone in the world can register those domain names, too.

Can a company buy a .by domain name, and does the company needs Trademark to register this domain?

Yes, as we point earlier, this country still didn’t catch up with trends that surround us, so any company in the world can make their presence noticed by buying this domain name.
When Trademark is in question, no, you don’t need one to be able to register a domain, but unlike Finland, for example, their laws didn’t catch up with technology, so keep in mind that you will have to pay attention if someone else tries to register your company name.
By the way, your presence in this area of the world will be widely recognized, because they still are fighting to get as many domains registered as they can.

Can I transfer a .by domain name by authorization key?

The validity period of domain name registration can be extended an unlimited number of times by extending the registration agreement each time for one or two years as may be chosen by the domain administrator.
Not later than one month prior to the expiration of the validity period of the registration agreement, the registrar sends a reminder to the domain owner about the expiration of the validity period of the registration agreement and about the possibility of its extension.
The domain administrator has the right to send an application for the registration agreement extension and to pay for the extension of the validity period of domain name registration not earlier than six months prior to the expiration of the validity period of the current registration.

Are Individual .by domain registrations allowed?

Yes, it’s possible to register any .by domain name you want, but keep in mind that the prices vary from one Registrar to another, so compare prices before you choose to buy it.
Anyone can register a .by domain name, with no restrictions.

Are company or legal entities registrations allowed for .by?

Of course, it is.
Although they do not seem serious, by buying this extension you can introduce your presence where the internet is almost the most fun thing to do in Belarus.
So, with buying this domain name, you can be sure no one else will have the right to steal your idea and try and sell it with a similar domain name.

Are there requirements, documents, and information needed to register a .by domain name?

No, there is nothing special that you need to be able to register a .by domain name. You will have to watch if there is some big company who have the same name you’ll want, other than that, you’ll need a valid email address, and some basic info.
Other than that, you’re all set, just decide which domain name you want.

What is the registration term allowed for a .by domain names?

Minimum is almost always the same, one year is this minimum, and the maximum is two years, but you can arrange with your chosen registrar to renew your domain name for as much as you want.
In that case, a registrar is simply taking care for the expiration of your domain name.
You will not receive emails of expiration until the money you paid for more than 2 years is spent on your domain name.
Therefore, just by browsing a bit you’ll soon see who is reliable and can watch over your domain name for as long as you need them to do so.

How long does it take to register my new .by domain name?

Registering .by domain name should not last longer than one day, or 24 hours.
In that time frame, you can have your domain name, if all data you provided is correct.

What are the characters and their length when registering a .by domain name?

Like in other extensions, here we have the same rules. Your domain name cannot be shorter than 3 characters in length, and not longer than 63 characters, which include all the letters from A to Z and numbers from 0 to 9.
Middle hyphen ( or minus sign ) which cannot be placed on the first place in a domain name, cannot be in the third or fourth place, and empty spaces are not allowed.
Slightly smaller changes are in the Cyrillic .БЕЛ domains, where you will be limited by 30 characters, but that is more than enough when choosing the right and easy to remember domain.

Is there a trustee service when it comes to a .by domain names?

Unfortunately, trustee service is not available for this extension yet. When they allow it, you’ll be the first to know.

How do I host my new .by domain?

It must be said that, when it comes to hosting services, it goes without saying that you need hosting space to keep all information connected to your domain name.
Registrars can offer you packages from the smallest to biggest ones, from corporate company sites to the blogs, you can host your site with all other features.
From them, you will choose what you need, and the rarest ones are those that can change your package in the middle of the year or whenever you may need changes.

Can I hide my registration information? ( meaning of Private WHOIS )?

Unfortunately, no. This is one of the countries in the zone that do not allow hiding your information. Luckily, there is not much information you’ll need to leave to begin with, so it’s up to you, but keep in mind that it’s a great extension to have with Hack domain names, so stick.by and try and find a good domain name.

Do I have any grace period, after the expiration of mine .by domain name?

On this one, the answer is also no, because of all of the Registrars that have the right to sell .by domain names have to send notice to clients at least 30 days before the domain expires.
The date of expiry is a date you will lose your domain name, so act in advance.
After this time, there is no grace period, and after the date of the invoice, you’ll get a notification.
If you do not want to renew your domain name, or you do, but don’t have any money, at least contact your Registrar, or you will lose your .by domain name.

Which registry manages a .by domain names?

Registry in charge of yours .by or .бел domain name is Reliable Software, Inc.
They will resolve any disputes over a domain name, and give you reasons why ( if they refuse to register a domain name you want ) you won’t be able to get the domain you wanted.

MORE FAQ’S ABOUT A .BY DOMAIN NAMES