We looked for a service that holds a .ae or .co.ae for a buyer who does not qualify, and found none. Plain .ae needs no help, and the registry's rules leave a trustee little to sell on the restricted zones.
No provider we checked sells a trustee or local-presence service for .ae or .co.ae, and 101domain says so on its own pages. Plain .ae is open to any applicant, so you can register it yourself. For .co.ae the way in is a UAE licence or a UAE trademark.
There is no trustee to pick, so there is no trustee rating. Our scoring covers trustee agreements: terms, exit, the holding entity. The methodology has the criteria, and none can be applied to a product that is not sold. What we can do is tell you which registrar to ask first, and why.
Ask 101domain. It is on TDRA's accredited list, publishes the documents it will accept for .co.ae, and states that its trustee service does not cover .ae. For a plain .ae at the lowest published price, AEserver, a UAE-based registrar on TDRA's list, shows AED 125 in year one and AED 145 on renewal, excluding VAT. Netim lists €42 a year but is not on TDRA's list, so it presumably resells through an accredited registrar, which its pages do not name.
The eleven services compared
| Service | Trustee for .ae or .co.ae | .ae a year | .co.ae a year | Moving away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101domain | Not available, stated on both pages | $62.99, then $71.99 | $69.99, then $78.99 | Domain password from the .aeDA tool, or on request |
| Netim | Not on its trustee list | €42, renews at €42 | €80, renews at €80 | Authorisation code; transfer protection must be off |
| AEserver | Not mentioned | AED 125 first year, then AED 145 | Not seen | Not published |
| EuroDNS | Not mentioned | €75.99 first year, then €97 | Not listed | Not published |
| EuropeID | No local presence service shown for .ae | €277, renews at €277 | Not listed | Not published |
| Web Solutions | UAE absent from its local presence list | Not listed | Not listed | No exit process published |
| Openprovider | Not mentioned | Not published | Not covered | Authorisation code; both registrars verify, up to a week |
| CentralNic Reseller | Not mentioned | Wholesale, via a reseller | Wholesale, via a reseller | Registrant confirms by email; approved after 48 hours |
| InterNetX | Not on its trustee list | In AutoDNS only | Not covered | Not published |
| Domgate | No .ae or .co.ae local presence listed | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Com Laude | Not mentioned | On request | On request | Not published |
Prices are each provider's published rates, excluding VAT where the page says so, read in October 2026. They are for the domain only, since there is no trustee fee to add. The methodology explains where figures come from. EuropeID and Web Solutions appear to share an operator.
0 of 11
Providers selling a .ae or .co.ae trustee
AED 125
Lowest first-year .ae price, at AEserver, excluding VAT
€277
Highest .ae price, at EuropeID
28
Registrars on TDRA's accredited list, August 2025
Why nobody sells one
Plain .ae needs no trustee because the policy asks for nothing: section 10 of the .ae Domain Name Policy requires no documents. On the restricted zones, three clauses leave a trustee little to sell.
- The name must follow the registrant. A restricted name has to match the registrant's own company name, trading name or trademark (sections 8.4 and 11.2). A trustee's licence supports a name that matches the trustee, not your brand.
- The registrar cannot be the registrant contact. Section 7.1 of the WHOIS policy bars the registrar of record and its reseller from that role, which rules out the common holding model.
- Restricted names move in eight cases only. Section 5.1 of the Change of Registrant policy lists them, and the new registrant must qualify (section 5.5).
Note
The one agent clause
Section 5.1.5 of that policy lets a restricted name move where an agent registered it for a client, such as a lawyer or marketing company, under an agreement to transfer afterwards. It bridges the gap until you qualify, and no provider we checked sells it as a product. The eligibility page has the clause in context.
What you would be buying
Not ownership. Nobody owns a .ae: the registrant holds a licence for a period (section 4.1), and the Registry-Registrar Agreement forbids purporting to transfer a proprietary right in it or encumbering it (Schedule 3, section 6.3). If someone else qualified on your behalf, they would be the registrant, their name and eligibility number would be in the public lookup (WHOIS policy, section 5.2), and they would warrant eligibility every day of the term (Registrant Warranties Policy, sections 3 and 4.2). Your claim would be contractual. The guide on ownership under a trustee covers why that matters.
The services in detail
101domain
On TDRA's list. .ae is $62.99 to register and $71.99 to renew, and .co.ae $69.99 and $78.99, on pages it dates June 2026. The .co.ae page lists the documents it accepts: a UAE licence, a free-zone licence, or a UAE trademark certificate or application receipt. It says trustee and private registration are both unavailable. Weakness: it says both contacts need a UAE address matching the document, which the policy does not, and says a trademark is required while accepting licences. Full profile.
Netim
.ae is €42 and .co.ae €80, registration and renewal alike, excluding VAT. Its .co.ae page lists the three ways in, a UAE licence, a free-zone licence or a UAE trademark, and neither extension is on its trustee list. Moving a .ae out needs the authorisation code, and a change of owner is €6. Weakness: it does not say which accredited registrar it uses, and the .co.ae page is silent on UAE addresses and documents. Full profile.
EuropeID
.ae is €277, renewal the same, the highest published price here, with no local presence service shown and no .co.ae listing. Its UAE page says no local company or administrative contact is needed. Weakness: the same page lists .org.ae and .ac.ae as unrestricted, which sections 13 and 14 of the policy contradict, and says registration can take up to 14 days. Full profile.
The other eight
- AEserver is a UAE-based registrar on TDRA's list. Its support page says .ae is open worldwide without local presence, and it says nothing about restricted zones or a trustee.
- EuroDNS lists .ae at €75.99 in year one and €97 after, open to anyone, and says nothing about a trustee.
- Web Solutions leaves the UAE off its local presence list and points other countries to support.
- Openprovider says no UAE residency is needed for .ae and publishes no price.
- CentralNic Reseller lists no restrictions on .ae or .co.ae and sorts .co.ae applicants by trade licence, trademark or commercial entity.
- InterNetX says .ae can be registered without restrictions and leaves it off its trustee list.
- Domgate lists no .ae or .co.ae local presence. It files UAE trademarks, which open .co.ae and .net.ae, but publishes no price.
- Com Laude acts as agent for .aeDA under its mandatory terms and publishes no eligibility guidance or price.
We could not load Marcaria's or Safenames' .ae pages in October 2026, so we make no statement about either.
What to do instead
- For a plain .ae, register it yourself. Any accredited registrar will do, and you stay the registrant.
- For .co.ae, qualify in your own right. File a UAE trademark for the name, or hold a UAE or free-zone licence. The eligibility page sets out both routes against the policy text.
- Ask a UAE-based accredited registrar before you file anything, and ask whether it requires a UAE address, since the policy does not.
- Distrust anyone who offers to hold a .co.ae for you. Ask for the contract, who the registrant of record would be, and how the name would reach you.
Keep reading on .ae
Frequently asked questions
Does the trustee own my .ae domain?
Nobody owns a .ae. The registrant holds a licence (section 4.1 of the .ae Domain Name Policy). We found no trustee product to quote a contract from, but if someone qualified on your behalf they would be the registrant, with their name and eligibility number in the public lookup. Your claim would be contractual.
Can I move a .ae domain away from a trustee later?
A plain .ae can go to any eligible party on a signed written request. A restricted name can move only in the eight cases in section 5.1 of the Change of Registrant policy, and the new registrant must qualify. One of the eight is the agent arrangement in section 5.1.5, which is meant for this situation.
What if the provider goes out of business?
If your registrar loses its accreditation, the mandatory registrant terms (Registry-Registrar Agreement, Schedule 3, section 4.2) make you responsible for moving the name to a new registrar within 30 days of notice from .aeDA, free of charge if the registrar's agreement was terminated. That is a registrar failing. A holder failing is a different problem, because the name is theirs on the record.
Notes
Prices were read in October 2026 from each provider's own pages. 101domain lists .ae at $62.99 and $71.99 and .co.ae at $69.99 and $78.99 on pages dated June 2026. Netim lists €42 and €80, EuropeID €277, and EuroDNS €75.99 for the first year and €97 on renewal. AEserver shows AED 125 in year one and AED 145 on renewal, excluding 5% VAT. We did not price Openprovider, CentralNic Reseller, InterNetX, Domgate or Com Laude, whose rates are not public.
Section numbers come from the .ae Domain Name Policy (AEDA-POL-007, version 1.1), the Change of Registrant policy (AEDA-POL-011) and WHOIS policy (AEDA-POL-005), both version 1.1, the Registrant Warranties Policy (AEDA-POL-008, version 1.0) and the Registry-Registrar Agreement (AEDA-AGR-001, version 1.1), all read on TDRA's site in October 2026 and dated 2008 to 2010. Provider statements are quoted or summarised from their published pages. This page describes how .ae registration works and how these providers present themselves. It is not legal advice.
Sources
- .ae Domain Name Policy (AEDA-POL-007)Version 1.1, September 2010. Sections 4.1, 5, 8.4, 10 and 11.2 are cited above.
- Domain Name Transfer, Change of Registrant (AEDA-POL-011)Version 1.1, September 2010. Sections 5.1 and 5.5.
- WHOIS Data Collection and Display Policy (AEDA-POL-005)Version 1.1, September 2010. Sections 5.2 and 7.1.
- Registrant Warranties Policy (AEDA-POL-008)Version 1.0, April 2008. Sections 3 and 4.2.
- Registry-Registrar Agreement (AEDA-AGR-001)Version 1.1. Schedule 3, sections 4.2 and 6.3.
- TDRA, accredited registrarsPage dated August 2025.
- 101domain, .co.ae registration
- 101domain, .ae registration
- Netim, .ae domain
- Netim, .co.ae domain
- Netim, trustee serviceThe list does not include .ae or .co.ae.
- EuroDNS, .ae registration
- EuropeID, .ae registration
- Web Solutions, local presence service terms
- Openprovider, .ae documentation
- CentralNic Reseller, .co.ae knowledge base
- InterNetX, .ae domain
- Domgate, trademark-based eligibilityChecked by Domgate against the policy in October 2026.
- Com Laude, .ae terms
- AEserver, .ae domains
Last updated October 2026. Prices and terms change, and several of these providers publish pages that disagree with the registry. If you spot something wrong, email info@trusteeindex.com.