The .tr domain guide: TRABİS, .com.tr and the rules

From 1991, .tr was run by nic.tr at Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ). The Internet Domain Names Regulation (2010) gave the authority to BTK, and TRABİS went live on 14 September 2022.

Today the TRABİS website names the Cyber Security Presidency (Siber Güvenlik Başkanlığı) as its operator; a law that took effect in July 2026 moved some of BTK's duties there. The rules themselves are still set by the Internet Domain Names Regulation and Communiqué.

Not at TRABİS directly but through an accredited registrar (kayıt kuruluşu, KK). Registrars handle applications, renewals, transfers, waivers and ownership changes, and you pay them. See the accredited registrars guide for the current list.

Domains are allocated in two ways. Allocation without documents is first come, first served; what counts is the moment the application reaches TRABİS.

Since TRABİS opened on 14 September 2022, .com.tr, .net.tr and .org.tr need no documents. Before, a .com.tr required a trade registry or trademark document.

Some extensions still require documents, for example gov.tr for public bodies or edu.tr for educational institutions. The current list of document-based subdomains is published as the regulation requires; a domain can be cancelled if its documents stop being valid.

• A domain is allocated for at least 1 and at most 5 years at a time; after a renewal the total still cannot exceed 5 years.
• Your registrar e-mails you at least three months before expiry; renewal is requested within those three months.
• You can waive a domain. It then stops working for two months, during which you can still renew it; otherwise it opens for allocation again.
• Domains cannot be reserved.

• You can move to another registrar: get the authorization code from the current one and start the transfer at the new one.
• A change of holder (devir) uses the registrar's form and the documents the rules require.
• A frozen (dondurulmuş) domain can be renewed, but its data cannot change and it cannot be sold, handed over, waived or moved to another registrar.
• Domain sales were planned to start three years after TRABİS opened. As of 9 October 2026, TRABİS has not announced that sales are open.

• Under Article 34 of the Electronic Communications Law No. 5809, domain names cannot be seized.
• TAKAL (names closed to allocation): names never allocated for reasons such as public order or morality.
• TAKIL (restricted names): place names, famous names and words that could be used to impersonate, such as "bank" or "ministry"; only the rightful holder can get them.
• False information, a TAKAL listing, a dispute decision, a court order or, for document-based domains, invalid documents are grounds for cancellation.

You can file with a Dispute Resolution Service Provider (UÇM) instead of going to court. All three conditions must be claimed: the domain is identical or confusingly similar to your trademark or trade name, the holder has no right to it, and it was registered or is used in bad faith. A UÇM case is shorter and usually cheaper than court, and you can still go to court at any time.

You can check whether a .tr domain is taken and when it expires on whoistool. TRABİS also has its own whois page. For names directly under .tr (example.tr), see the a.tr guide.