Domain Name Registration Policy
Complete policy for registering domain names in the .mt domain name space.
1. Definitions
- "domain name"
- A string that identifies a realm of administrative autonomy, authority or control within the Internet. The domain name has a number of labels at different levels. The rightmost label is the Top Level Domain (TLD). In the case of the .mt domain name space the TLD is a country code TLD (ccTLD). The next label moving to the left is the second level domain (2LD). Similarly the next label to the left (if it exists) is the third level domain (3LD).
- "2LD"
- An abbreviation of "second-level domain".
- "3LD"
- An abbreviation of "third-level domain".
- "Registered Label"
- The left-most label in the registered domain name. E.g. the Registered Label of
myname.com.mtismyname. - "Legal Entity"
- Any natural person, or any legal person created and recognised as such under national law, European Union law or international law, which has legal personality and which may, acting in its own name, exercise rights and be subject to obligations.
- "Holder"
- The registrant of a domain name, that is, the legal entity who has been granted the right to use the domain by NIC(Malta) and who accepts all associated legal consequences.
- "Legacy date"
- 1 June 2016 at 00:01 Hours — the commencement of the consultation period on 2LD name registration.
- "Launch date"
- 1 December 2017 at 00:01 Hours — the date when 2LD name registration was launched.
- "corresponding 2LD name"
- A 2LD name with the same Registered Label as that of the 3LD name, e.g. the corresponding 2LD name of
myname.com.mtismyname.mt. - "prohibited domain name"
- A domain name which is not allowed to be registered under this policy.
Domain Roles →
Learn about the key roles for domain registration: Holder, Administrative Agent, Billing Agent, and Technical Agent.
2. Applicability
2.1 The clauses contained within this Policy document form an integral part of the Terms and Conditions regulating the registration of Domain Names in the .mt domain name space. The provisions of this Policy shall take precedence over the Terms and Conditions in cases of conflict between the two documents.
3. Structure of the .mt Domain Name Space
3.1 Registration of new domain names may be made at the second level (e.g. myname.mt) or at the third level (e.g. myname.com.mt).
3.2 Third level domain (3LD) name registrations must be made under one of the following second level domain (2LD) names:
| 2LD | Prospective Holder (Registrant) must |
|---|---|
| .com.mt | operate on a commercial basis e.g. limited liability companies |
| .org.mt | operate on a non-profit basis e.g. charities, foundations |
| .net.mt | be a provider of Internet related network services e.g. ISPs |
| .edu.mt | be an education institution recognized by Ministry of Education in Malta |
| .gov.mt | be a Government of Malta entity |
3.3 3LD name registrations under gov.mt are delegated to the Government of Malta.
3.4 NIC(Malta) reserves the right to add additional 2LD names to this list or to amend it in the future.
4. Eligibility Criteria
4.1 To register a 3LD name (e.g. myname.com.mt), the prospective Holder must be the legal entity that will be using the domain name and is required to declare the right to use the Registered Label of the domain name (e.g. myname) as a Full Trade Mark or Trade or Business Name in accordance with Maltese Law.
4.2 To register a 2LD name (e.g. myname.mt), the prospective Holder must be the legal entity that will be using the domain name. Furthermore, the Holder promises that:
- by registering and/or using the domain name in any way, the Holder will not infringe intellectual property rights and other third party rights;
- the Holder is entitled to register the domain name;
- the Holder will not use the domain name for any unlawful purposes.
4.3 There is no requirement for the Holder to be established in Malta.
4.4 Prohibited domain names:
The following domain names are not allowed to be registered at any level: mil, mt, co, myname, malta, registry, dnssec, dns, ns, whois, domain, domains.
4.5 NIC(Malta) reserves the right to amend the list of prohibited domain names at its full discretion.
5. Pre-registered Domains
5.1 The list of 2LD names provided in Appendix A have been registered prior to the enactment of this new policy allowing direct 2LD name registration.
6. Other Conditions
6.1 NIC(Malta) shall not register any domain name which is identical to an already registered domain name or which is blocked or in conflict or prohibited.
6.2 Holders of 2LD names are not permitted to sell, or otherwise make available, third level registrations under their registered name to other legal entities. Provided that an entity may make its 2LD name available to its holding, subsidiary, parent or sister company or to an entity which forms part of its corporate structure.
6.3 Standard registration and renewal fees for domain name registration in the .mt domain name space are published at our pricing page. NIC(Malta) reserves the right to amend these fees from time to time.
Appendix A: Pre-registered 2LD Names
The following 2LD names have been registered prior to the enactment of this policy allowing direct 2LD name registration:
| Entity | Registered 2LD Name |
|---|---|
| University of Malta | unimt.mt |
| Government of Malta | mygov.mt |
| Parlament ta' Malta | parlament.mt, parliament.mt |
| Government of Malta | chogm2015.mt |
| Government of Malta | eu2017.mt |
| Government of Malta | ema.mt |
Historical Policy: Preferential Registration Period
1 December 2017 – 30 November 2020 (Ended)
Historical Policy: Preferential Registration Period
1 December 2017 – 30 November 2020 (Ended)
Note: This section documents historical policy that applied during the Preferential Registration Period (1 Dec 2017 – 30 Nov 2020). These provisions are no longer in effect for new registrations but are preserved for reference.
Historical Definitions
- "Cut-off date"
- 30 November 2020 at 23:59 Hours. The date following which preferential treatment afforded to Holders of domain names following the introduction of 2LD name registration under .mt expired.
- "Preferential Registration Period"
- The period of time between the Launch date (1 Dec 2017) and Cut-off date (30 Nov 2020).
- "Legacy Holder"
- A Holder of a duly registered 3LD name on the Legacy date (1 June 2016).
- "Legacy 3LD name"
- A 3LD name which on the Legacy date was duly registered.
- "blocked domain name"
- A non-registered 2LD name with the same Registered Label as that of a Legacy 3LD name, which during the Preferential Registration Period was blocked from being registered except by the Holder of the corresponding Legacy 3LD name.
- "conflicted domain name"
- A blocked domain name that was blocked by two or more distinct Holders.
- "main domain name"
- The domain name for which the Holder was paying a registration fee.
- "paired domain name"
- The domain name which the Holder registered and for which no registration fees were due during the Preferential Registration Period.
Section 5: Preferential Registration Period (Historical)
5.1 The Preferential Registration Period ran between the Launch and Cut-off dates. This period was introduced in order to facilitate the introduction of 2LD name registration in the .mt name space.
5.2 All current Holders of duly registered 3LD names as on the Legacy date (referred to as Legacy Holders of Legacy 3LD names) automatically had the corresponding 2LD name blocked for a period of 3 years from Launch date free of charge, provided that the Legacy Holder continued to renew the corresponding legacy 3LD name during this period.
5.3 A domain name conflict existed if two or more distinct Legacy Holders were blocking the same 2LD name.
5.4 The Legacy Holder of a Legacy 3LD name had up to the Cut-off date to register the corresponding non-conflicted 2LD name. Registration during this period was free of charge.
5.5 A Legacy Holder of a 3LD name stopped blocking the corresponding 2LD name if: (1) the blocked 2LD name was not in conflict and was not registered by its Legacy Holder before the Cut-off date; or (2) the Legacy Holder submitted in writing that they no longer wanted to block the 2LD name; or (3) the registration of the corresponding legacy 3LD name was terminated.
5.6 A conflicted 2LD name remained blocked indefinitely as long as there were two or more Legacy Holders still blocking it.
5.7 The website conflict.nic.org.mt could be used to determine whether a domain name was available, registered, blocked or conflicted.
5.8 For conflicted 2LD names, if only a single Legacy Holder remained blocking the name, the 2LD name no longer remained in conflict and the remaining Legacy Holder was free to register it.
5.9–5.17 Additional clauses covered: registration timing categories, NIC(Malta) member restrictions, paired domain registration options, transfer rules, and fee application during the preferential period.
Note: For the complete historical policy text, please refer to the archived Domain Name Registration Policy documents or contact NIC(Malta).