Frequently asked question

A domain name is a mnemonic way to identify an Internet site. The extension of the domain name can also help locate the "geographic region" to which the domain name belongs. For example, for the .gr domain name space the actual mnemonic term will be "onoma.gr" and we may visit the website using a web browser and typing in the address http://www.onoma.gr.

A natural or legal person that can receive registration declarations from parties interested in the assignment of a .gr or .ελ domain name, as well as any declarations with respect to .gr or .ελ domain names regarding renewal, data modifications etc.

The domain name registrant is the natural or legal person to which a domain name has been assigned.

The Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission (EETT) is an Independent Administrative Authority, responsible for .gr and .ελ domain name registrations.

Contact details:

Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission

60 Kifissias Avenue

151 25 Maroussi

Tel.: +30 210 6151000 (09:00-14:30 EET)

Fax: +30 210 6105049

url: www.eett.gr

Email: info@eett.gr

It is a database containing all the assigned .gr and .ελ domain names and applications / declarations. From this database, the zone files for .gr and .ελ are created daily and loaded in the primary and secondary nameservers.

A nameserver is an Internet host running software capable of processing DNS requests.

The authorization code of a domain name is a combination of characters which secures the authentication for the domain name registrant and allows for the domain name administration.

Homograph names are those domain names whose variable field is consisted of alpharithmetic characters which VISUALLY match the lower or upper case, punctuated or unpunctuated form, and their non-variable field is the same. For example, let's consider the names eett.gr and εεττ.gr whose capital form is visually the same (EETT.gr and ΕΕΤΤ.gr)

In order for a .gr or .ελ domain name to be assigned the registrant must submit a registration declaration via one of the registrars. A list of them is available at EETT's website along with the Regulation on Management and Assignment of .gr and .ελ domain names in which the conditions and the process for the assignment are described.

For the better organization of the .gr domain name space, the following sub-domains have been created:

• com.gr for those engaging in commercial activities.
• edu.gr for educational organizations.
• net.gr for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and network providers.
• org.gr for non-profit organizations.
• gov.gr exclusively for governmental organizations.

The Registry of .gr and .ελ domain names is in charge of the operation and technical coordination of the gr and .ελ top-level domain name spaces. The Registry does not operate as a registrar and does not accept directly registration declarations or renewals from the registrant. These services are provided exclusively by registrars.

You can check the availability of a .gr or .ελ domain name through our WHOIS service available from our website. The availability check returns information about the domain name (if it’s already registered, if it’s a restricted name etc.).

The available information for a domain name can be retrieved via Web Whois. For more information please contact with your registrar or/and EETT.

The EETT's Regulation on Management and Assignment of .gr and .ελ domain names does not provide a procedure for reserving a domain name.

There is no waiting list for an assigned domain name. The First Come - First Serve rule is the primary rule for the assignment declarations for an available .gr or .ελ domain name.

The .gr and .ελ domain names are assigned and recorded in the Registry’s system as such. The Registry maintains and operates the database of the assigned domain names .gr and .ελ and ensures the uniqueness of each domain name.

However, the same variable field can be registered under a different extension (e.g. the domain name name.gr does not exclude the registration of the domain names name.ελ, name.com.gr, name.com or name.de etc.).

A .gov.gr domain name assignment prohibits the later assignment of the same variable field under .gr or other subdomain .gr or .ελ to a different registrant. For example, the domain name assignment of name.gov.gr prohibits the assignment of the domain names name.gr or name.com.gr or name.ελ to a different registrant, ensuring the exclusive right of the registrant of the domain name name.gov.gr.

The assignment of .gr and .ελ domain names is possible for domestic or foreign natural and legal persons irrespective of their establishment in Greece or elsewhere.

The variable field of a .gr or .ελ domain name includes no less than two (2) characters and it can include up to sixty three (63) characters. The above limits do not include the .gr characters, the .gr subdomains (e.g. .com.gr) or the .ελ characters. In the case of domain names including Greek alphanumeric characters, the sixty tree-character length pertains to the length of the PUNYCODE format of the domain name, which however, shall not be necessarily equal to the number of characters in the Greek version of the domain name.

A domain name is just a record if it has not been connected to a website containing actual content or to some IPs. In order to create this connection, at least two (2) nameservers must be stated for your domain name. The nameservers are responsible for "guiding" visitors to your website. Nameserver information is provided to you by your chosen domain name hosting provider.

The right acquired by the assignment of a .gr or .ελ domain name shall remain valid for two (2) years form the date when the relevant assignment declaration is submitted to the Registry. An activated reserved form of a domain name (homograph names) shall remain valid for two (2) years from the date when the initial domain name was assigned and not from the date when the reserved form was activated.

For the period between the submission of the assignment declaration to the Registry and the final assignment of a .gr or .ελ domain name, the domain name is temporarily activated. The domain name will be (temporarily) activated within a maximum timeframe of three (3) hours from the moment the assignment declaration has been submitted by the registrar to the Registry.

The domain name is not temporarily activated if there are previous declarations submitted for the assignment of the same domain name. Also, domain names under the .gov.gr level or second level domain names included in EETT’s list of geographical terms are not temporarily activated.

Assignment declarations which are considered void according to the Article 8 of the Regulation on Management and Assignment of .gr and .ελ domain names are automatically rejected by the Registry’s system.

The assignment declarations for domain names under the .gov.gr level or second level domain names included in EETT’s list of geographical terms are examined by EETT and they are rejected if not complying with the registration conditions as described in the Regulation.

For information regarding the rejection of an assignment declaration please contact your registrar or EETT .

Any natural or legal person can submit a .gr or .ελ domain name assignment declaration as long as the domain is available and state that they are knowingly not infringing on any third party rights by registering the domain name. The First Come - First Serve rule is the primary rule in the registration of the domain names.

According to the Regulation on Management and Assignment of .gr and .ελ domain names there is no limit on the number of domain names that can be assigned to a natural or a legal person.

The variable field of a .gr or .ελ domain name may be consisted either of latin or of Greek characters and alternative punctuations (including perispomeni, dasia, ypogegrammeni, etc). With the submission of the domain name's punctuated form by the user, the equivalent unpunctuated lower case name is also activated (main form of the registered domain name) without any additional cost. If the requested domain name contains the Greek letter [ς] the unpunctuated lower case name with the Greek letter [σ] in the corresponding position is also activated without any additional charge. In case the submitted declaration is for an unpunctuated domain name the user does not have the right to a cost-free activation of a punctuated domain name. (Acceptable Greek Characters)

All registry applications operate on UTC (Universal Coordinated Time) time.

The registrant of the domain name must contact the registrar or the Internet Service Provider of the domain name.

A change of registrar is possible and does not affect the duration of the assignment of the domain name. In order to transfer a domain name to a new registrar, the registrant of the domain name should contact the new registrar providing the domain name’s authorization code. The change of registrar process is described in the Regulation on Management and Assignment of .gr and .ελ Domain Names.

You should ask your registrar to perform the necessary changes to your domain name data.

Typically, a single nameserver will be configured as the primary nameserver for a domain name. For backup purposes, a number of other nameservers may be configured as secondary nameservers. From the standpoint of DNS, there is no difference between primary and secondary nameservers. Typically, the primary nameserver is listed first, followed by the secondaries, but this is not a requirement. The order in which the nameservers are declared to the Registry or appear in the web whois does not affect the domain name operation.

To reset the domain's authorization code, the registrant should contact the domain name's registrar. If for any reason this is not possible, there are two other options available:

• any registrar can generate the email that includes the reset token for the domains’s authorization code. The email is only sent to the contact email address stated for the registrant of the domain name.
• the registrant can contact the EETT (URL: www.eett.gr , email: info@eett.gr, Tel. +30 210 6151000) in case a change of contact email of the registrant has taken place.

Domain names in Greek characters are inserted in the .gr or .ελ zone file on their non-punctuated form in Punycode (e.g. ονομα.gr -> xn--mxavchb.gr, ονομα.ελ -> xn--mxavchb.xn--qxam). The punctuated form is associated with the non-punctuated with the use of DNAME.

An activated reserved form of a domain name can be part of the .gr or .ελ zone file in one of the following two ways:

As a DNAME:

The activated name is inserted in the zone file as a DNAME of the non-punctuated form of the initial domain name. In this case the activated name is operational immediately if the non-punctuated form is operational.

As a normal domain name:

The activated name is inserted in the zone file as a usual domain name but with the same nameservers with the initial domain name. For the activated name to be operational, a zone file for this specific domain name in Punycode must be set up in the nameservers.

The reload hours of the .gr and .ελ zone files in UTC/GMT are:

01:00, 04:00, 07:00, 10:00, 13:00, 16:00, 19:00, 22:00.

A domain name registrant change is possible as described on the Regulation on Management and Assignment of .gr and .ελ domain names. Please contact your registrar in order to receive the necessary domain name transfer documents. Domain name registrant change is a chargeable action. Registrant change declarations for domain names under the .gov.gr level or second level domain names included in EETT’s list of geographical terms must be forwarded to the Registry no later than thirty (30) days prior to the expiration of the domain name.

Modifications on a domain name details (e.g. DNS, registrant name, contact details etc.) are possible through the registrar of the domain name. Registrant name change is a chargeable action.

A domain name can be deleted through its registrar upon registrant’s request.

A domain name can be renewed through its registrar. Domain name renewal is a chargeable action. With the renewal of the domain name all the activated reserved forms are renewed and charged accordingly. In case the registrant does not wish to renew one of the activated reserved forms of the domain name, he/she has to deactivate the reserved form before renewing.

After the expiration of the domain name and for a fifteen (15) days period, the domain name can be renewed by its registrant. In order to submit the renewal declaration the registrant should contact his/her registrar or any other registrar of his/her choice, providing the domain's authorization code. After the expiration of the fifteen (15) days period the domain name is available for registration by any interested party.

The maximum fees for the assignment and use of .gr and .ελ domain names are specified in the Regulation on Management and Assignment of .gr and .ελ domain names as follows:

Chargeable Action	Maximum Fees
Assignment of a domain name.	44 Euros
Activation of a reserved domain name	44 Euros
Transfer of an assigned or activated reserved domain name	44 Euros
Change of the corporate name / name of a Holder of an assigned or activated reserved domain name	44 Euros
Renewal of an assigned or activated reserved domain name	30 Euros
Registry Lock Service (RLS) Initial Activation	350 Euros
Registry Lock Service (RLS) Renewal	350 Euros

Chargeable Actions involving two (2) character domain names	Maximum Fees
Assignment of a two (2) character domain name	550 Euros
Activation of a two (2) character reserved domain name	550 Euros
Renewal of an assigned or activated two (2) character reserved domain name	550 Euros

The registration fee differs from one registrar to the next and is set by the registrar itself. The maximum fees are defined in the Regulation on Management and Assignment of .gr and .ελ domain names.

The application is performing a series of checks, e.g. if the domain name is included in the ISO 3166-1 list or a homograph name is already assigned etc. and as a result returns an informational message with information about all these checks. There are cases where a domain name can be conditionally available. E.g. a domain name which is included in the EETT’s list of geographical terms is available only to the corresponding local government organisation. The Article 8 of the Regulation on Management and Assignment of .gr and .ελ domain names specifies the cases in which a registration declaration shall be considered void.

The Web WHOIS service provides information for the requested domain name and for each domain name’s homograph name even if the domain name that was checked does not exist.

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