.qa

---

title: ".qa" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["country-code-top-level-domains", "telecommunications-in-qatar", "internet-in-qatar", "internet-properties-established-in-1996"] description: "Internet country-code top level domain for Qatar" topic_path: "engineering" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.qa" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Internet country-code top level domain for Qatar ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox Top level domain"]

Field	Value
name	.qa
image	Qatar Domains Registry logo.png
introduced	12 June 1996
type	Country code top-level domain
status	Active
registry	Qatar Domains Registry
sponsor	Communications Regulatory Authority
intendeduse	Entities connected with
actualuse	Fairly popular in Qatar
registereddomains	21,612
dateregistereddomains	July 2019
refregistereddomains
restrictions	Registration must occur through an accredited registrar
structure	Country code top-level domain and second-level domains are available
disputepolicy	Complaints
website
::

| name = .qa | image = Qatar Domains Registry logo.png | introduced = 12 June 1996 | type = Country code top-level domain | status = Active | registry = Qatar Domains Registry | sponsor =Communications Regulatory Authority | intendeduse = Entities connected with | actualuse = Fairly popular in Qatar | registereddomains = 21,612 | dateregistereddomains = July 2019 | refregistereddomains = | restrictions = Registration must occur through an accredited registrar | structure = Country code top-level domain and second-level domains are available | disputepolicy = Complaints | website = .qa is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for State of Qatar.

History

The .qa country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Qatar has been managed by the Qatar Domains Registry (QDR), under the oversight of the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA). Initially, the registry held a "sunrise" period prior to public availability, which allowed trademark holders and government entities to secure their Qatar-specific domain names.

Public registration of .qa domains began in September 2011, with domain names offered through a mix of local and international accredited registrars. By 2014, thirteen registrars had been accredited by the QDR, including both international and local entities such as Qtel, IP Mirror, MarkMonitor, and DomainMonster.

However, a significant policy shift occurred at the end of 2024, when the CRA discontinued the renewal and issuance of registrar licenses to international companies. The regulatory framework was amended to ensure that only companies legally registered within the State of Qatar are eligible to become accredited domain registrars.

The Qatar Domains Registry manages a variety of domain extensions under the .qa namespace, including:

• Publicly available through registrars: .qa, .com.qa, .net.qa, .name.qa, and the Arabic IDN .قطر (represented in Punycode as .xn--wgbl6a).
• Reserved and managed directly by QDR: .gov.qa, .mil.qa, .org.qa, .edu.qa, and .sch.qa.

Qatar was among the first countries globally to offer domain names in the Arabic script.

Second-level domains

• .com.qa – Commercial organisations; registered trademarks.
• .edu.qa – Licensed higher educational organisations in Qatar.
• .sch.qa – Licensed private and public schools in Qatar.
• .gov.qa – Governmental organisations.
• .mil.qa – Ministry of State for Defense Affairs and Qatar Armed Forces.
• .net.qa – Licensed networks of data communications.
• .org.qa – Nonprofit organisations.

References

References

1. "Home". Qatar Domains Registry.
2. "Qatar Domain Names (.QA) Now Available to the Public". Qatar Domain Registry.
3. (2014-05-29). "Accredited Registrars". Qatar Domain Registry.
4. "Accredited Registrars". Communications Regulatory Authority.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::