Are there any restrictions or rules on the domain name I can choose to register?

Domains can be formed using only use letters and numbers from the ASCII set of characters e.g. (a-z) (A-Z) (0-9). Hyphens are also allowed but must be surrounded by characters, therefore not at the beginning or end of the domain. You're not allowed to use special characters (like '#*%') and spaces cannot be used.

General Rules

• Your domain must be unique, i.e. a domain name that is not already in use.
• .com .net .org and .info domain names cannot exceed 67 characters.
• .info and .biz must have at least 3 characters not including .info and .biz
• Other domain names cannot exceed 22 characters not including the extension.
• Domain names are not case sensitive.
• 2 letter domains are not allowed.

Common Extensions

• .com - used for commercial or personal sites
• .net - recommended for companies involved in internet infrastructure
• .org - recommended for not-for-profit organisations
• .info - used for commercial or personal sites
• .biz - restricted to commercial and business purposes
• .mobi - implies the website is designed for mobile usage

Common Country-Specific Extensions

• .ca - websites with a Canadian presence as defined by CIRA (Canadian Internet Registration Authority).
• .cc - Cocos (Keeling) Islands, to be used for commercial or personal sites
• .co.uk - United Kingdom for commerical or personal sites
• .de - Germany, to be used for commerical or personal sites
• .eu - websites with a presence in the European Union
• .org.uk - United Kingdom for charities and not-for-profit organisations
• .jp - Japan, to be used for commercial or personal sites
• .us - United States, to be used for commercial or personal sites