.fr · France
Who can register a .fr domain?
A .fr domain must be held by a natural person resident in the European Economic Area, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, or by a legal entity with an effective establishment in that same area. A company based entirely outside it cannot hold one directly.
- Registry
- Afnic
- EEA address enough
- Yes
- Trustee route
- Available
- Policy version
- May 2025
If you live in the EEA, or your company has a real establishment there, you qualify and no trustee is needed. Switzerland counts too. A business incorporated only outside that area does not qualify and needs an eligible party or a trustee to hold the domain.
The rules below are drawn from the Afnic Naming Policy, in the version dated May 2025, and from the French Post and Electronic Communications Code (CPCE) articles that sit behind it.
The shortcut
See which providers hold a .fr domain for a non-EEA company
Open the provider directoryWho can hold a .fr domain
Eligibility is territorial, not national. You do not have to be French or to register a French company. What Afnic checks is a genuine connection to the eligible territory.
Natural persons
A natural person qualifies if they can show effective residence in a Member State of the European Union, or in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland. Afnic states that a mailbox or an accommodation address is not enough, and it can ask for evidence that the residence is real. The registrant must also be reachable at the address on file.
Legal entities
A company qualifies through an effective establishment in the eligible area: a registered office, a branch, a subsidiary or a permanent establishment. A brass-plate address with no activity behind it is the arrangement Afnic is trying to exclude.
Switzerland is in, the rest of the world is out
The numbers that bound it
EEA + CH
Territory where a registrant must be resident or established
Any time
When Afnic may verify eligibility and request documents
7 days
Typical window to answer a verification request before suspension
30 days
Redemption period after deletion to recover a name
Side by side
What the policy says about trustees
Nothing by name. The Afnic policy does not mention trustee or local-presence services. What it does instead is define the registrant as the party that must meet the eligibility test and carry the obligations, which is what shapes the arrangement.
The registrant is the responsible party
The policy places responsibility for the domain, for the accuracy of the data, and for any infringement of third-party rights on the registrant of record. Under a trustee arrangement that registrant is the trustee, not you.
Eligibility is a continuing condition
Afnic can verify eligibility at any point in the life of the domain, not only at registration, and can suspend or delete a domain where the holder no longer meets the criteria or does not answer a check. A trustee that stays established in the EEA keeps the domain compliant; your own location does not enter into it.
Data accuracy is enforced
Since the tightening that accompanied the NIS2 transposition, Afnic treats incomplete or inaccurate registrant data as a ground for suspension after notice. The identifying details on file must belong to the real holder.
Where a trustee's substance matters
Transfer and exit
A .fr domain moves between holders by a change of registrant, which Afnic processes through the registrar with confirmation from both sides. The incoming holder must meet the eligibility rules at the point of transfer.
- You must have become eligible yourself, or line up another eligible holder.
- The outgoing holder, the trustee, has to authorise the change.
- The domain must not be locked or within a dispute.
Point two is the catch
How registration works
You apply through a registrar
Applications go through an Afnic-accredited registrar. You cannot contract with Afnic directly. Registration is first come, first served, with no assessment of your right to a particular string at the point of registration.
Identification data
A legal entity is identified by its registration number, such as a SIREN for a French company or the equivalent national identifier elsewhere in the EEA. A natural person gives name, postal address and contact details. Afnic runs post-registration checks on a sample of registrations and on any that are flagged.
Name format
A .fr label is 1 to 63 characters using letters, digits and hyphens, with internationalised characters from a defined French and European repertoire permitted. A short list of terms tied to French public bodies and to categories such as government and local authorities is reserved or subject to prior review.
What the public lookup shows
Afnic's public Whois restricts the data shown for natural persons by default, in line with the CPCE and data-protection rules: a private individual's identity is not published, though it is disclosed to parties who show a legitimate interest through Afnic's procedure. Legal entities are shown. Under a trustee arrangement the trustee's details appear, which is a side effect of the trustee being the registrant rather than a privacy product.
If you are not in the EEA: two routes
Set up an EEA establishment
A subsidiary or a branch anywhere in the EEA, with real activity behind it, makes you directly eligible not just for .fr but for .eu, .it and other EEA-wide domains. It is the clean route if you are trading in Europe anyway.
Use a trustee
Faster and cheaper up front. The trustee becomes the registrant of record and you hold contractual rights against them. Compare providers that cover .fr.
Before you pay anyone
Check a provider's contract and exit terms before you hand over a .fr domain
Open the provider directoryKeep reading
Frequently asked questions
Can a US or UK company register a .fr domain?
Not directly. The registrant must be resident or established in the EEA, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland. A US or post-Brexit UK company needs an EEA establishment or a trustee to hold the name.
Is a French trademark enough to register .fr?
No. Unlike some registries, Afnic does not accept a trademark as a substitute for residence or establishment. The trademark matters for dispute resolution, not for eligibility.
Does Afnic check eligibility after registration?
Yes. Afnic runs checks on a sample of registrations and on flagged ones, can request proof of residence or an establishment extract, and will suspend then delete a domain where the holder does not respond or does not qualify.
Can I move a .fr domain out of a trustee's name later?
Yes, if the trustee agrees and the incoming holder is eligible. It is processed as a change of registrant through the registrar. The constraint is contractual, not a registry one.
Sources
- Afnic, Naming Policy for .fr and French overseas domainsVersion dated May 2025. English translation; the French text prevails.
- Afnic, eligibility and territoriality criteria for .fr
- French Post and Electronic Communications Code (CPCE), articles L.45 and following
Last updated September 2026. Registry policies change. If you spot something out of date, email [email protected].