In addition to domain names such as "com.tr" and "org.tr", which are already being allocated in Türkiye, allocation of domain names in the structure of "a.tr" has also become possible as of September 14, 2023. Domain names in the structure of "a.tr" do not include extensions such as ".com", ".net", ".org", etc. but have a direct country code extension of ".tr".
Domain names in the structure of "a.tr", which have their legal basis in Provisional Article 3 of the Regulation on the Internet Domain Names ("Regulation")1 and Articles 27 and 29 of the Communiqué on the Internet Domain Names ("Communiqué")2, are open to everyone and the initial allocation of these domain names is carried out by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority within the TRABIS system under three categories on the basis of the sunrise period in order to prioritize the earlier right holders.
In the initial allocation procedures, priority was given respectively to public institutions and organizations, organizations with more than half of their capital belonging to the public, professional organizations having the characteristics of public institutions, public benefit associations and foundations, and professional organizations of workers and employers. In this context, in accordance with Article 27 of the Communiqué, the first phase was completed by allocating "a.gov.tr", "a.edu.tr", "a.tsk.tr", "a.bel.tr", "a.pol.tr" and "a.k12.tr" addresses free of charge to the allocation holders before the initial allocation of domain names in the structure of "a.tr", namely as of September 14, 2023.
In the second phase, for domain names with the extension "a.tr" to be allocated under the second category, priority is given to professional organizations with the status of public institutions, public benefit associations and foundations granted with a tax exemption, and professional organizations of workers and employers that have domain names with the extension "org.tr" allocated as of August 25, 2023. Documented applications were accepted in between November 14, 2023 and December 14, 2023, and the evaluation process will be completed on February 14, 2024.
In the third phase, extension-based domain name ownership priority is planned to be applied and priority will be given to the domain names with the extensions "kep.tr", "av.tr", "dr.tr", "com.tr", "org.tr", "net.tr", "gen.tr", "web.tr", "name.tr", "info.tr", "tv.tr", "bbs.tr", "tel.tr", respectively, which are allocated as of August 25, 2023. For the third category applications, it is aimed to collect the requests from February 14, 2024 to May 14, 2024, and to carry out the allocation procedure until June 14, 2024.
Right holders wishing to benefit from the priority under the third category must request an application code from the registrar where the existing domain name is located and apply under the third category through the registrar of their choice using the application code obtained.
After the completion of these three priority categories, as of June 14, 2024, domain names in the "a.tr" structure will continue to be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis as in the current system.
Therefore, we recommend that domain name holders who may benefit from the upcoming third category prioritization (especially holders of the domain name with the extensions such as "com.tr", "net.tr", "gen.tr", etc., which are in widespread use) as well as the right holders who wish to allocate domain names in the structure of "a.tr" even if they do not fall under any priority category, to be prepared for February 14, 2024 and June 14, 2024, respectively.
We would like to take this opportunity to underline a few points to emphasize:
- In the allocation of domain names with the structure of "a.tr", the "a" part must be at least four characters long. In other words, domain names of which "a" part consists of one, two or three characters cannot be allocated in the structure of "a.tr".
- The duration of the first allocations in the structure of "a.tr" will be limited to one year, after which a five-year extension will be possible.
- As with other domain names with ".tr" extension, the sale of domain names in the structure of "a.tr" is prohibited until September 14, 2025 in accordance with the relevant legislation.
- Dispute resolution will take place through authorized dispute resolution service providers in accordance with the principles set forth in the Communiqué on Dispute Resolution Mechanism for Internet Domain Names3, as is the case of other domain names with ".tr" extension.
Considering that the allocation of domain names with the structure of "a.tr" has also become possible in addition to domain names with extensions such as "com.tr" and "org.tr", which were already allocated in Türkiye, we recommend that right holders wishing to allocate domain names in the structure of "a.tr", whether they can benefit from the three priority categories or not, to follow the process and be prepared for swift action for allocation.
Footnotes
2. https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/File/GeneratePdf?mevzuatNo=18752&mevzuatTur=Teblig&mevzuatTertip=5
3. https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/File/GeneratePdf?mevzuatNo=18750&mevzuatTur=Teblig&mevzuatTertip=5
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
