A business anywhere can hold a .ie in its own name by evidencing sales to Ireland, and a private individual abroad cannot hold one at all. That leaves a trustee useful to very few buyers, and the three services that sell one say little about how it works.
Key point
Check whether you need one at all
Under section 3.1.3.1(E) of the .ie policy, a company, partnership or sole trader outside Ireland qualifies by showing sales invoices, or a letter from an independent accountant or solicitor confirming sales or a serious intention to sell to customers on the island. No Irish address, company or director is required. The .ie eligibility rules set out the evidence. A trustee is for the buyer with no Irish trade and no plan for any.
If you do want one, the pick is Domgate. It is the only seller that publishes a .ie price (€30 a year per domain) and writes down how you leave: a change of registrant under the registry's rules, after which the service ends. It is aimed at registrars and resellers, and does not say which role it takes on a .ie. For the direct route, which is the one most buyers should take, Gandi publishes the price and describes the requirement without selling a trustee, though its renewal is roughly double its first year.
The three services compared
| Service | Country | Annual cost | Sold as | Leaving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domgate★★★★★ | France and Ireland | €30 a year per domain, plus the domain | Local presence, role set by the registry; not stated for .ie | Change of registrant under registry rules |
| EuropeID★★★★★ | Denmark | €230 a year all in; agent fee not published | Document drafting, local representation on enquiry | Not published |
| Intername★★★★★ | Not disclosed | £41 agent fee on a £41 domain (£49 renewal) | A Local Agent, role not stated | Not published |
Ratings are per domain and weigh a stated mechanism, a named counterparty and a published exit ahead of price. The registry does not licence or supervise trustee arrangements. Each name links to its profile in the provider directory, and the methodology explains where the figures come from.
What you are buying
The registry tests the registrant. Appendix 1 of the policy says the administrative contact represents the registrant, not a service provider, and section 3.1.2.1(iv) says contact details must relate to the registrant. The administrative-contact arrangement sold on .sg does not fit, so a real .ie trustee has to be the registrant, with a connection of its own.
3
Services found that sell something for .ie
0
That say what they put on the registry record
1
That publishes how you leave (Domgate)
Section 3.6
The rule that makes you qualify before any transfer out
That leaves the blunt part. Moving a .ie out of a trustee is a change of registrant, and the new registrant must show the connection and identity the registry asks of anyone (section 3.6). If you could not qualify to buy the domain, you cannot qualify to take it back, so a trustee is a permanent dependency. If you could qualify, you did not need one. The lookup shows a company registrant by name, so the trustee's name appears, not yours.
The services in detail
Domgate ★★★★★
Lists .ie at €30 a year per domain, charged at registration and each renewal, and describes the registry condition as an Irish base or sales to customers there. Its terms say a written agreement records that the domain is registered for you, that the trustee will not transfer, abandon or sell it without your written consent, and that taking it into your name is a change of registrant, after which the service ends. Non-payment means the domain is not renewed. It names Boos Sarl in Grasse and Coquelicot Ltd in Dublin. Weakness: the terms say the trustee may be admin contact, address or registrant of record depending on the registry and never say which for .ie, the domain price is not published and the product is aimed at registrars and resellers. Full profile.
EuropeID ★★★★★
Its .ie page describes the requirement correctly: a non-Irish company must show business in or with Ireland, and no local administrative contact is necessary. EuropeID offers to help draft the documents. The price is €230 a year for registration and renewal, several times the registrar prices below. It offers local representation in Ireland on enquiry, with an agent fee column left blank. EuropeID and Web Solutions appear to share one operator, and Web Solutions does not list Ireland on its local presence page. Weakness: nothing is published on who would hold the name, the agent fee or leaving, and the page says internationalised names are not supported, which rules out fadas. Full profile.
Intername ★★★★★
Sells a Local Agent for £41 a year on top of a £41 registration and £49 renewal, and says it allows registration by entities that do not meet the registry's requirements. The same page asks foreign companies for registration documents, a letter of intent and sales invoices to Ireland, and a FAQ says you must have a local company in Ireland, so the page disagrees with itself on whether the agent is needed. Weakness: no operating company, address or company number appears on the page, so you would be asking an unidentified party to hold a domain, and nothing is said about the registrant or leaving. Full profile.
Registrars that say you do not need one
101domain states that its trustee service is not available for .ie. It lists .ie at $32.99 to register and $59.49 to renew, and for a foreign company asks for a business registration plus an invoice showing Irish trade, an EU trade mark or a letter from a solicitor, accountant or bank. Gandi lists £28.90 to register and £59.96 to renew, mentions no trustee, and warns that the registry may ask for documents within 27 days. INWX marks the trustee as unavailable for .ie. The Netim and CentralNic Reseller trustee lists, and the InterNetX one, do not include .ie.
How to choose
- Collect the evidence first. Sales invoices, a screenshot of your shop offering delivery in Ireland, or an accountant's letter, plus your company number.
- Register in your own name through a registrar that takes the evidence at checkout.
- If you truly have no connection, ask who will be the registrant, what connection that party shows the registry, and how you would qualify to take the domain back.
- Ask for the Irish entity's name and CRO number, then look the domain up after registration: a company registrant is shown by name.
Keep reading on .ie
Frequently asked questions
Does the trustee own my .ie domain?
Nobody owns a .ie domain: the registrant holds the right to use it (section 2). If a trustee is the registrant, it holds that right and you hold a contract. None of the three services says which role it takes for .ie, so ask in writing. The administrative contact can also request changes and deletion (sections 3.3.1 and 3.4.1.3), so ask who fills that role too.
Can I move a .ie domain away from a trustee later?
Only to a holder who qualifies. Section 3.6 and clause 19 of the Registrant Terms require the new registrant to show a connection to Ireland and its identity, through the registrar, and the validation fee is not refundable. A registrar transfer (section 3.5) does not change the registrant. If you could not qualify when you bought, you could only move it to another trustee.
What if the trustee goes out of business?
Under clause 3(i) the agreement ends for a registrant that is not an individual if it ceases to trade or goes into liquidation. Section 3.6 provides for a liquidator to take the domain, and section 3.6.2(vi) for a party that bought a dissolved company's business assets. A trustee's customer fits neither obviously, so keep a signed agreement that says the domain is held for you.
Notes
Prices checked October 2026 as published by each provider. Policy citations are to the .ie Registration and Naming policy, version 4, December 2023, and the Registrant Terms of the same date. We could not read the .ie pages of Marcaria or Safenames, which blocked our requests, so neither is rated. A domain-forum post in May 2026 promotes a trustee service for .ie from a company named Secura, and we found no page of that company confirming it. Com Laude publishes nothing on .ie that we could find. This page is not legal advice, and a trustee arrangement is a contract worth having a lawyer read if the domain matters.
Sources
- IE Domain Registry, Registration and Naming in the .IE NamespaceVersion 4, December 2023. Sections 2, 3.1.3.1, 3.3, 3.5, 3.6 and Appendix 1 are cited above.
- IE Domain Registry, Registrant Terms and ConditionsEffective December 2023. Clauses 3(i), 6(d) and 19 are cited above.
- Domgate, local presence countries
- Domgate, local presence service terms
- EuropeID, .ie domain registration
- Intername, .ie domain
- 101domain, .ie domain registration
- Gandi, .ie domain
- INWX, .ie domain
- CentralNic Reseller, trustee-enabled extensions
- Netim, trustee service
- InterNetX, domain trustee service
- Web Solutions, local presence service
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.