For most foreign buyers, plain .hk needs no trustee: HKIRC opens it to anyone. These services exist only for the company second level, .com.hk, where the registry tests the registrant, so the provider has to be the registrant.
The short answer is that you probably do not need one. Plain .hk is open to any individual or organisation worldwide, so a trustee only comes into it if you want .com.hk and have no Hong Kong business registration. For that, the pick is 101domain: it is the only service here that publishes both the fee and the way out. That is $103.49 a year on top of the domain, and a $99 ownership update before the name can leave. If prices hold, the first year is $140.48 and five years come to about $726.40.
The seven services compared
| Service | Country | Model | Annual cost | Leaving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101domain★★★★★ | Ireland | Registrant, by implication | $103.49, plus domain from $36.99 | Update ownership first, $99 |
| Gandi★★★★★ | France | Not stated | Corporate customers only, not priced | Not published |
| INWX★★★★★ | Germany | Not stated | Listed as a fee, amount not shown | Not published |
| EuropeID★★★★★ | Denmark | Provider is registrant | €277 domain, €138 proxy fee listed | Not published |
| Web Solutions★★★★★ | Denmark | Not stated | $300, agent fee $150 listed | Prepaid fees kept, ownership may be moved |
| Domgate★★★★★ | France | Not stated | €50 listed, sold to resellers | Not published |
| MarcariaNot rated | United States | Provider is registrant | At checkout | Not published |
Ratings weigh a published fee, a published exit and a stated holding structure ahead of price. HKIRC does not licence, approve or supervise trustee arrangements; it accredits registrars, which is a different thing. Each service links to its profile in the provider directory, and the methodology explains where figures come from. EuropeID and Web Solutions appear to share an operator.
What you are buying
Clause 3.6 of HKIRC's Registration Policies (version 1.4) limits .com.hk to commercial entities registered in Hong Kong, and the test falls on the registrant. A provider that only lends a Hong Kong contact cannot satisfy it, so any arrangement that works has to put the provider's Hong Kong company in the registrant field. You hold a contract; the company holds the name.
Watch out
The exposure sits with the trustee's company
The services in detail
101domain ★★★★★
The Irish specialist publishes the fee, $103.49 a year with no application fee, against a $36.99 domain and $42.99 renewal. It states that a trustee domain cannot be transferred out directly: ownership must first be updated to an eligible holder, at $99. It says no private registration is available. Weakness: it never names the Hong Kong entity, no trustee contract is published, and the exit costs nearly a year of the service. Full profile.
Gandi ★★★★★
Gandi's documentation lists .com.hk under a Corporate Trustee tier, offered only to customers on its corporate services. Its public page sells plain .hk at £66.14 to register and £119.98 to renew, and says .com.hk is reserved to companies registered in Hong Kong. Weakness: the tier has no published price, registrant role or exit. Full profile.
INWX ★★★★★
The German registrar marks a trustee as available on its .com.hk page, charged yearly, but shows no amount where we looked, and its local presence price list did not include .com.hk. It describes the generic service as registering the domain in your name with its data or a partner's, which cannot fit a registry that tests the registrant. Weakness: ask what goes in the registrant field before paying. Full profile.
EuropeID ★★★★★
Charges €277 to register and renew .com.hk, with a €138 proxy fee listed beside it and a separate mention of a USD 150 local agent fee, so the total is unclear. It says the company, its branch or a representative becomes legal holder and administrative contact, and bars trading in domains. Weakness: the figures do not reconcile and no exit is published. Full profile.
Web Solutions ★★★★★
The same operation as EuropeID in dollars: $300 to register and renew .com.hk, with an agent fee of $150 listed and no statement on whether it is added. Its terms keep prepaid fees, require it to remain the maintaining registrar and let it move ownership between its agents without telling you. Weakness: the agent is never named. Full profile.
Domgate ★★★★★
Lists Hong Kong among its local presence countries at €50, with the registry condition given as "Yes for com.hk". It sells to resellers rather than to you. Weakness: the period of the €50, whether a branch or agent acts, whether it is registrant and how you leave are all absent. Full profile.
Marcaria Not rated
Marcaria's help centre, as excerpted by search engines, says that without the Hong Kong business registration it will register the domain in its local representatives' names and make it available to you at extra cost. We could not open its pages directly, so the fee, which appears at checkout, and the terms are unchecked. Full profile.
Who does not sell one
Netim publishes a priced trustee list of forty extensions and .hk and .com.hk are not on it. Openprovider states it provides no local presence for .hk. CentralNic Reseller, InterNetX and EuroDNS describe the requirement without offering a trustee. We found no confirmed service from Safenames, Com Laude or Alibaba Cloud.
How to choose
- Ask whether plain .hk will do. It needs nothing and costs less.
- Ask whose name goes in the registrant field. It must be the provider's Hong Kong company.
- Ask for the entity's name and business registration number. None of these services publishes it.
- Price the exit. Moving the name needs a change of registrant under clause 20.1, and an eligible party to receive it.
- Do not plan to resell. Several terms bar trading.
Alternatives
Plain .hk. Open to all, with 101domain at $36.99 to register and $43.99 to renew, and Gandi at £66.14 and £119.98. See the eligibility rules.
Your own Hong Kong registration. A company already trading there qualifies directly; the Companies Registry fee for an overseas company is HK$1,545 by electronic filing. See trustee or local company.
Keep reading on .hk
Frequently asked questions
Does the trustee own my .com.hk domain?
The trustee's Hong Kong company is the registrant of record, because clause 3.6 tests the registrant, and you hold a contract. Even then nobody owns the name outright: clause 10.2 says registration is not evidence of ownership.
Can I move a .com.hk away from a trustee later?
Yes, once the registrant is changed to an eligible party (clause 20.1). 101domain says a trustee domain cannot be transferred out directly and charges $99 for the ownership update. You need your own Hong Kong registration first.
What if the trustee goes out of business?
Clause 15.2(k) allows cancellation when a company registrant is dissolved or struck off, and clause 20.2 lets only a liquidator transfer the name. A provider that has stopped answering is a provider that cannot authorise the change.
Notes
Prices checked October 2026 as published by each provider, in the currency each uses. INWX shows no amount, and Marcaria is unchecked. Clause numbers are from HKIRC's Registration Policies, version 1.4, effective October 2026. The model column is our reading of clause 3.6, not a statement by the providers. This page is not legal advice.
Sources
- HKIRC, Domain Name Registration Policies, Procedures and GuidelinesVersion 1.4, effective October 2026. Clauses 3.6, 10.2, 15.2, 20.1 and 20.2 are cited above.
- 101domain, .com.hk
- 101domain, .hk
- Gandi, trustee service documentation
- Gandi, .hk domain
- INWX, .com.hk domain
- EuropeID, .com.hk registration
- Web Solutions, local presence service terms
- Domgate, local presence countries
- Marcaria, .HK registration requirements
- Netim, trustee service
- Companies Registry, registered non-Hong Kong companies
Last updated October 2026. Prices and terms change, and several of these providers publish out-of-date pages. If you spot something wrong, email info@trusteeindex.com.