Four of the 20 restricted domains we track are open to a company established only in the United States without a condition, and seven more are open with one. The other nine need a trustee or an entity in the country.
Every restricted domain, for a US company
| Domain | For a company based in the United States | Why | Trustees |
|---|---|---|---|
 .de | Directly, with a condition | Open worldwide. A holder abroad must name an authorised recipient in Germany if DENIC asks. | Compare |
 .eu | Trustee or local entity | Needs an EU or EEA establishment. An EU citizen can hold one personally. | Compare |
 .fr | Trustee or local entity | Needs residence or an establishment in the EEA or Switzerland. | Compare |
 .no | Trustee or local entity | Needs a Norwegian organisation number or national ID. No exceptions. | Compare |
 .it | Trustee or local entity | Needs citizenship, residence or a registered office in the EEA, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City or the UK. | Compare |
 .ca | Trustee or local entity | Needs Canadian presence. A registered Canadian trade mark gets you the matching name only. | Compare |
 .au | Trustee or local entity | Needs Australian presence: an ARBN or ABN, or an Australian trade mark for the exact-match name only. | Compare |
 .br | Trustee or local entity | Provisional only: a Brazilian legal representative, and a commitment to establish in Brazil within 12 months. | Compare |
 .cn | Directly, with a condition | Open to foreign applicants with real-name verification. Hosting in China needs an ICP filing. | Compare |
 .jp | Trustee or local entity | Needs a permanent postal address in Japan. | Compare |
 .sg | Directly, with a condition | Open to all, but a foreign applicant must appoint a local agent in Singapore as administrative contact. | Compare |
 .hu | Directly, with a condition | Open to applicants from any country that carry on an activity justifying the name. | Compare |
 .us | Register directly | A company formed in any US state qualifies outright under Nexus Category 2. | Not needed |
 .ie | Directly, with a condition | Open to any company or sole trader that can evidence sales, or a serious plan to sell, to customers on the island of Ireland. A non-resident individual cannot hold one. | Compare |
 .ae | Directly, with a condition | Plain .ae is open to any applicant. .co.ae needs a UAE trade licence, free-zone licence or UAE trade mark, and no trustee service exists. | Compare |
 .kr | Trustee or local entity | The registrant needs a Korean address, with no exception for EEA addresses or trade marks. A Korean branch or a trustee that becomes the registrant fills it. | Compare |
 .dk | Register directly | Open to any person or company. Punktum dk verifies identity and may ask for documents; no local presence needed. | Not needed |
 .hk | Directly, with a condition | Plain .hk is open to anyone. .com.hk needs a Hong Kong business registration or a registered overseas company. | Compare |
 .tw | Register directly | Plain .tw is open to anyone, and .com.tw accepts foreign companies registered under their home-country law. | Not needed |
 .tr | Register directly | Open to any applicant. .com.tr, .net.tr and .org.tr need no documents or Turkish entity; only nine zones such as .gov.tr and .av.tr need documents. | Not needed |
The seven that are open with a condition
.de is open worldwide. A holder outside Germany must name an authorised recipient in Germany, but only if DENIC asks, which happens in a dispute. .hu admits applicants from any country that carry on an activity justifying the name. .sg accepts foreign applicants that appoint a local agent in Singapore as administrative contact. .cn is open to foreign applicants who pass real-name verification, though hosting a site in mainland China needs a separate ICP filing. .ie accepts a company that can evidence sales, or a serious plan to sell, to customers on the island of Ireland; see the .ie page. .ae is open to anyone, but .co.ae needs a UAE trade licence, a free-zone licence or a UAE trade mark; see the .ae page. .hk is open to anyone, but .com.hk needs a Hong Kong business registration or a registered overseas company; see the .hk page.
The four that need no condition: .us accepts a company formed in any US state outright. .tw and .tr are open to anyone. So is .dk, though Punktum dk checks identity and may ask for documents. By contrast, .kr needs a Korean address, so a US company needs a Korean branch or a trustee.
In each case the company stays the holder of record. Where you pay for a service, it is for a contact point, not for someone to hold the domain, and that is the cheaper and safer product. The comparisons for .de and .sg separate the two.
A US trade mark does not help
Three registries on this list accept a trade mark in place of local presence, and each wants its own. CIRA accepts a trade mark registered in Canada, and only for a .ca name containing the mark. auDA accepts an Australian trade mark, pending or registered, and only for the exact match. The .ae registry accepts a UAE trade mark for .co.ae. A US registration counts for none of them. Among .eu, .fr, .it, .no and .hu, only .hu mentions trade marks, and only ones protected in Hungary.
Note
A foreign branch can count
Your options for the rest
- A trustee, compared per extension, for example .eu, .fr, .no, .ca and .kr.
- One entity in the EEA covers .eu, .fr and .it together, which is often cheaper than three trustees. See the .eu company page.
- An EU-citizen founder can hold a .eu personally, which works but ties the domain to one person.
A Norwegian AS is harder from the United States, because its general manager and half its board must live in the EEA, the UK or Switzerland. A Norwegian branch of your US company, a NUF, has no such rule; see the .no company page.
Related
Common questions
Can a US company register a .eu domain?
No. A .eu holder must be established in the EU or EEA, be resident there, or be a citizen of an EU or EEA state. A US company needs an EEA entity or a trustee.
Can a US company register a .de domain?
Yes. DENIC accepts holders from any country. If DENIC asks, which happens in a dispute, you must name an authorised recipient in Germany within two weeks.
Does a US trademark let me register a .ca or .au domain?
No. CIRA only accepts a trade mark registered in Canada, and auDA only an Australian one, each for the matching name.
Sources
- EURid, rules for .eu domains
- DENIC, domain terms and conditions, section 3(4)
- CIRA, Canadian Presence Requirements for Registrants, paragraph 2(q)
- auDA, .au Licensing Rules, June 2026Definition of Australian presence.
- SGNIC, Rules of Registration, paragraph 8.1
- .hu registry, domain registration rules
- Brønnøysund Register Centre, roles in a limited company
Last updated October 2026. Registry rules change. If you spot something out of date, email info@trusteeindex.com.