Domain Name FAQ
The Big Brain   
45 Forest Street   
Parry Sound, Ontario P2A 2R2   
Canada   
Phone: (705) 746-7374   
Toll Free: (866) 283-7578   
i n f o @ t h e b i g b r a i n . c a   

Frequently Asked Questions For Domains

General Domain Questions

  • What characters can domain names be composed of?
  • What is a domain name?
  • What is the Domain Name System (DNS)?
  • What is a top-level domain?

    • .CA Domain Questions
  • How does .ca differ from .com?
  • What is CIRA Membership?
  • Who can register .CA domains?
  • How many .ca Domain Names can an organization or individual register?
  • What about province-level domains?
  • What provincial-level domains are available?
  • What is a registrant?

    • .US Domain Questions
  • How does .us differ from .com?
  • What is special about .us and why do I need it?
  • Who can register .US domains?
  • How many .us Domain Names can an organization or individual register?
  • What about locality and state-level domains?
  • What is a registrant?


    • General Domain Questions

    What characters can domain names be composed of?
    Domain names have a few basic rules:
  • They must consist only of letters "A-Z", numbers "0-9" and hyphens "-".
  • They are case-insensitive ("REG" is the same as "reG")
  • .CA can only be from 2-50 characters long.
  • .COM, .NET, .ORG can only be from 2-67 characters long
  • .WS/.INFO/.BIZ can only be from 3-63 characters long
  • (You can obtain 1-3 letter .WS which cost more and must be registered manually - email thinking@thebigbrain.ca for details)


    • What is a domain name?
    Domain names are the familiar and easy to remember names used in lieu of the difficult to remember Internet Protocol (IP) address numbers. IP addresses are used to locate computers on the Internet.

    What is the Domain Name System (DNS)?
    The Internet Domain Name System consists of an organized, hierarchical directory of all domain names and their corresponding computers.

    What is a top-level domain?
    A top-level domain is used to designate the type of organization or the country of origin. Generic top-level designators are commonly three letter suffixes like .com, .net, .org, .edu. Country code top-level domains are commonly two letter suffixes like .ca, .us, .uk, etc., as assigned by the United Nations.

    .CA Domain Questions

    How does .ca differ from .com?
    .ca is the country code Top Level domain (ccTLD) designating Canada. The .com is the generic Top Level domain (gTLD) designating commercial activities. The policies and administration of the .ca domain name will be set by CIRA and governed by Canadian law. The gTLDs are managed in the United States under American law.

    What is CIRA Membership?
    CIRA Membership costs nothing, and allows you to participate in CIRA decisions. All that is required is for you to have a .CA domain. Simply leave the checkbox at "yes" when you register your domain.

    Who can register .CA domains?
    The .CA is restricted for Canadian-only use. Any canadian citizen, organisation, or entity, or any foreign agency possessing a valid Canadian Trademark may register a .CA. There is no restriction on the number of domains a Canadian entity may register.

    How many .ca Domain Names can an organization or individual register?
    Under the new rules, any qualifying individual or organization will be able to register an unlimited number of .ca Domain Names.

    What about province-level domains?
    You may also register province-level domains such as domain.bc.ca. However, you cannot register a province-level domain if someone else has already registered the root domain (domain.ca) without the written permission of the domain holder. Likewise, you cannot register the root domain (domain.ca) if anyone else has already registered a province-level domain (ie: domain.bc.ca), without written permission from the domain holder. If YOU own the conflicting, simply search for the domain you would like to register, and follow the instructions.

    What provincial-level domains are available?
    The following province codes are in effect: AB - Alberta, BC -British Columbia, MB - Manitoba, NB - New Brunswick, NF - Newfoundland, NS - Nova Scotia, NT -Northwest Territories, NU - Nunavut, ON - Ontario, PE -Prince Edward Island QC - Quebec, SK - Saskatchewan, YK - Yukon.
    For instance: mydomain.bc.ca

    What is a registrant?
    A registrant is the person in whose name a .ca domain is registered.
    With CIRA each domain registered with the same registrant shares the same administrative and technical contact information. Each seperate registrant must approve the CIRA agreement (If you add a domain to an existing registrant, you do NOT have to re-approve the CIRA agreement).
    For multiple domains belonging to the same organisation you probably want to use the same registrant.
    If the domains belong (or may soon belong) to separate organisations or individuals, you probably want to use to create them using different registrants.

    .US Domain Questions
    How does .us differ from a .com?
    It is the official country code top-level domain for the United States. Country codes are two-letter domain extensions designated by the International Organization for Standardization for each country. For example, Canada is .ca, Ireland is .ie, and the United Kingdom is .uk. What is special about .us and why do I need it? .US is the only way to establish a distinctly American address on the Internet. It allows U.S. residents, government entities, public service organizations and businesses to register a short, memorable domain name, such as www.janesmith.us, www.publicservice.us, or www.mycompany.us. Individuals can use .us domains for e-mail or personal web sites. Government and public interest organizations can use .us addresses to serve the needs of Americans. Businesses can use .us domain names to promote themselves as American companies and encourage consumers to "buy American."

    Who can register a .us domain name?
     Any U.S. citizen or resident, as well as any business or organization, including federal, state and local government with a bona fide presence in the U.S. can register a .us domain name. All registrants must meet the U.S. Nexus Requirements itemized below. U.S. Nexus Requirements All registrants for the .us domain must be either: * A natural person (i) who is a citizen or permanent resident of the United States of America or any of its possessions or territories or (ii) whose primary place of domicile is in the United States of America or any of its possessions, or * Any entity or organization that is incorporated within one of the fifty (50) U.S. states, the District of Columbia, or any of the United States possessions or territories or (ii) organized or otherwise constituted under the laws of a state of the United States of America, the District of Columbia, or any of its possessions or territories, or * An entity or organization (including federal, state, or local government of the United States, or a political subdivision thereof) that has a bona fide presence in the United States. See Section B.3.1 of the NeuStar (the .us registry) proposal to the Department of Commerce for details concerning what constitutes a "bona fide presence." * See complete Nexus Requirement Document as a PDF at
    http://www.neustar.us/policies/docs/ustld_nexus_requirements.pdf

    How many .us Domain Names can an organization or individual register?
    Any qualifying individual or organization will be able to register an unlimited number of .us Domain Names.

    What about locality and state-level domains?
    Most existing locality-based domain names are managed by Delegated Managers.
    These existing registrations will continue to operate as normal.
    Name registrations for names that are not currently managed by a Delegated Manager will be handled by NeuStar directly. If you wish to register a name in an existing locality or make a change to an existing registration, complete the ".US Domain Template" and email your request directly to the contact for the manager of the locality for the name (see the contact list of Delegated Subdomains and their Contacts), or send the completed template to support.us@neustar.us and it will be forwarded to the appropriate Delegated Manager.
    American Domain Registry is accredited by Neustar (http://www.neustar.us) to offer .us domain registration.

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