For most foreign buyers, plain .tw needs no trustee, and neither does .com.tw for a company. We checked ten providers in October 2026 and none sells a trustee for Taiwan, which matches a registry that lets foreign companies in directly.
There is no pick, because there is nothing to pick. TWNIC lets anyone hold a plain .tw and lets a foreign company hold .com.tw on its home-country registration (Part Two of the eligibility rules), so you register directly through an accredited registrar. Of the ones we checked, Gandi publishes plain .tw at £25.82 to register and £27.00 to renew, and 101domain publishes .com.tw at $31.49 and $41.99.
The ten providers checked
| Service | Country | What it says about Taiwan | Price checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| 101domain | Ireland | Sells .com.tw, and states a trustee service is not available for it | $31.49, then $41.99 |
| Gandi | France | Sells .tw, open to anyone; .com.tw reserved to companies. No trustee listed | £25.82, then £27.00 |
| EuroDNS | Luxembourg | Sells .com.tw to anyone, and mentions no local presence requirement | €40, then €40 |
| EuropeID | Denmark | Sells .tw, says no local company or contact is needed, and calls .com.tw unrestricted | €161 for .tw |
| Openprovider | Netherlands | Sells .tw, with local presence marked as not required | Wholesale, via a reseller |
| CentralNic Reseller | Germany | Sells .tw and .com.tw, and notes foreign corporations may hold .com.tw | Wholesale, via a reseller |
| Netim | France | Taiwan is not on its trustee list of forty extensions | Not applicable |
| INWX | Germany | Neither .tw nor .com.tw is in its local presence list | Not applicable |
| Domgate | France | Taiwan is not among its local presence countries | Not applicable |
| Web Solutions | Denmark | Neither .tw nor .com.tw is in its local presence table | Not applicable |
We have not rated these, because there is no trustee product to rate. Prices are as each provider published them, and plain .tw is £25.82 at Gandi but €161 at EuropeID, so compare before you buy. The methodology explains where figures come from.
Why nobody sells one
A trustee exists to satisfy a registry test you cannot meet. TWNIC sets no restriction on a second level name (Part Two of its Policies and Regulations), and item IV admits a foreign corporation, limited partnership or association registered under its own national or state law to .com.tw. There is no Taiwanese address or contact to borrow.
The documents we read, the Policies and Regulations, the Guidelines and the Registration Agreement, do not mention a trustee at all. 101domain goes further and states on its .com.tw page that a trustee service is not available for the extension.
The one real gap
A foreign individual cannot hold .com.tw, because item IV is for registered entities and registered professional practitioners. TWNIC's FAQ (Q8) applies the same eligibility rules to foreign individuals as to domestic ones. Two things follow.
- A plain .tw or an .idv.tw (item VII) is open to any individual, with identity verified by email.
- Applications no longer face a document check first, but FAQ Q7 says post-registration audits happen and ineligible names may be deleted. Do not register .com.tw as an individual on the strength of that.
Key point
A trustee would not fix this
If someone offers you one
- Ask why. If the answer is that Taiwan requires local presence, it does not; compare Part Two of the policy.
- Ask whose name goes in the registrant field. Article 2 of the Agreement lets TWNIC publish it.
- Price the exit. A change of registrant means the new holder re-warrants eligibility under Article 1.
- Read the terms. A prepaid fee for a service the registry does not require is money you will not get back.
Alternatives
Register directly. Use any of TWNIC's overseas accredited registrars. Their list names Gandi, Key-Systems, Ascio, Dynadot and GNAME among 18.
Use a company you already have. A company registered in your own country is enough for .com.tw. See trustee or local company.
Keep reading on .tw
Frequently asked questions
Does a trustee own my .tw domain?
There is no trustee to ask. If you register a .tw or .com.tw yourself, you are the registrant of record, and your rights are those in TWNIC's Registration Agreement. If someone sold you a trustee anyway, the registrant is whoever the record names.
Can I move a .tw domain later?
Yes. Guidelines Article 27 gives the customer the right to transfer a name, and registrars use an authorisation code and an email confirmation. A new registrant must meet the eligibility rules for the category.
What if my provider goes out of business?
You are the registrant, so you move the name to another accredited registrar with your authorisation code. Article 29 of the Guidelines lets TWNIC terminate a name when a holder dies without successors or loses legal personality, which concerns the holder rather than your provider.
Notes
Prices and statements checked October 2026 as published by each provider. 101domain lists .com.tw at $31.49 and $41.99, Gandi plain .tw at £25.82 and £27.00, EuroDNS .com.tw at €40 and EuropeID plain .tw at €161. Openprovider and CentralNic Reseller publish no retail price. References are from TWNIC's Policies and Regulations (last revised December 2023), Guidelines (November 2021) and Agreement (October 2025). The absence of a trustee product is what we found on each provider's pages, not a guarantee that none exists. This page is not legal advice.
Sources
- TWNIC, Domain Name Registration Policies and RegulationsPart Two, items IV and VII, are cited above.
- TWNIC, domain name FAQ
- TWNIC, accredited registrars
- 101domain, .com.tw
- Gandi, .tw domain
- EuroDNS, .com.tw
- EuropeID, .tw registration
- Openprovider, .tw documentation
- CentralNic Reseller, .tw knowledge base
- Netim, trustee service
- INWX, local presence
- Domgate, local presence countries
- Web Solutions, local presence service
Last updated October 2026. Prices and terms change. If you spot something wrong, email info@trusteeindex.com.