To download the document of Registration agents for Saudi domain names.
1. Introduction
According to the Telecommunications and Information Technology Law (the “Law”) enacted by Royal Decree No. (M/106) dated 02/11/1443 AH, and its Bylaws (the Bylaws); and based on the regulatory functions of the Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST) as per its amended ordinance (the “Ordinance”) as amended by the Council of Ministers Resolution No. (133) dated 21/05/1424 AH, which entrusted CST with regulatory functions for the information technology sector; and since Article 39 of the Law authorizes CST to regulate Saudi domain names and technical identifiers, make decisions on the dispute related to the same; and giving due consideration the needs and regulation of the information and communication technology (ICT) markets in the Kingdom; and in keeping with the evolving ICT market as well as the experiences of other countries, CST has issued this document to set out the rules, terms, conditions and fees payable to registrars to provide Saudi domain name registration services in line with the Law objectives, including to localize and keep abreast of the evolving IT technology and maintain transparent and well-defined procedures in line with the principles of equality and non-discrimination.
2. Definitions
The terms and expressions defined in the Telecommunications Act, its Bylaws and other CST’s statutes shall have the same meanings when used in this document. Also, the following terms and expressions shall have the following meanings assigned thereto unless the context requires otherwise:
2-1 “License”: A document issued by CST to authorize the Registrar to provide registration services and perform the tasks entrusted thereto by SaudiNIC hereunder
2-2 “SaudiNIC Console”: An electronic platform dedicated to the Registrar for managing its account with SaudiNIC and receiving customer support services.
2-3 “Confidential Information”: Any information, materials or tools designated or considered to be confidential including, without limitation, computer software, data, information, intellectual property, databases, protocols, implementation references and documentation, financial information, statistics and functional specifications and a communication interface.
2-4 “EPP (Extensible Provisioning Protocol)”: the standard protocol used to provide linkage between the Registry System and licenseed Registrars.
2-5 “Personal Information”: The information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person.
2-6 “Effective Date”: The date on which a registrar is informed of the acceptance and approval of an application for licensing as a licensed Registrar.
2-7 “Registrant Agreement”: The agreement between a Registrar and a Registrant pursuant to a Service Request.
2-8 “Registrar”: Any Registrar licensed by SaudiNIC.
2-9 “Basic Registration Services”: The minimum required services related to Saudi domain names that must be provided by a Registrar, as specified by SaudiNIC.
2-10 “Registry Database”: A database containing data about one or more domain names registered under Saudi Top-Level Domains, which is used to generate published authoritative DNS resource records or the submission of Registration Data Directory Services queries.
2-11 “Registry System”: The application or system operated by SaudiNIC to manage Registration Services and Registry Databases. Registrars are granted access to the Registry System using EPP, as well as any applicable tools or applications.
2-12 “license Term”: Is the period beginning with the Effective Date until Registrar license has been terminated
3. Regulations Scope of Application
These Regulations apply to all registrars which are licensed to provide Saudi domain names registration services.
4. Registrar Qualifications and License Requirements
4-1 SaudiNIC determines eligibility criteria, which include services, licenses and activities pertaining to domain names.
4-2 The entity applying to become a licensed Registrar must be a local entity fulfilling the eligibility requirements pursuant to Article 4-1 at the time of its application. This requirement shall be considered an ongoing one during the License Term.
4-3 In order to be granted the license, the applicant must fulfill the following requirements:
4-3-1 Review and acknowledge acceptance of the Saudi Domain Name Terms and Conditions for Registrar licensing (this document).
4-3-2 Complete and submit a license application form signed by an authorized person from the applicant. The application form must be certified by the Chamber of Commerce.
4-3-3 Submit a detailed proposal including the following:
4-3-3-1 A technical plan demonstrating how the Registrar intends to access the Registry System.
4-3-3-2 The mechanism by which domain name registration services will be provided to end-users (Registrants).
4-3-3-3 The marketing plan for Saudi Domain Name Registration Services.
4-3-3-4 Customer support services.
4-3-3-5 The procedures and mechanisms that will be implemented to ensure registrant compliance with the Saudi Domain Name Registration Regulation, including:
4-3-3-5-1 Verification of accuracy of registration data including the Organization Name and Administrative Contact information.
4-3-3-5-2 Ensuring eligibility of the party seeking a Saudi domain name registration pursuant to Articles (4-1, 4-3) of Saudi Domain Name Registration Regulation.
4-3-3-5-3 Verification of a Registrant’s eligibility to a domain name pursuant to Article (6-4) of Saudi Domain Name Registration Regulation.
4-3-3-5-4 Verification of the Registrant’s identity with the purpose of managing their registered domain name.
4-3-4 Payment of the initial deposit pursuant to Schedule “1”, Table 2-1 that indicate Saudi Domain names fees.
4-3-5 Pass the technical test to demonstrate readiness to access and use the Registry System, as well as fulfill the associated technical specifications.
4-4 The Applicant for the license commits to comply with all applicable regulations, requirements, rules and procedures issued by the CST or SaudiNIC, including the Act and its Bylaws, in addition to the Saudi Domain Name Registration Regulation, Rules, Procedures and Guidelines as amended from time to time.
5. Registry System
5-1 Throughout the license Term, the Registrar shall be provided with access to the Registry System in accordance with the requirements and procedures adopted by SaudiNIC for provision of Registration Services.
5-2 The Registrar is solely responsible for the domain name records for the domain names under its sponsorship in the Registry System.
5-3 SaudiNIC reserves the right to suspend processing of Registrar requests for preserving the integrity and stability of the Registry System, or if deemed necessary by SaudiNIC.
5-4 SaudiNIC reserves the right to make modifications to the Registry System from time to time, or to modify the tools, Websites or means to access it. Notice of any such modifications will be provided to the Registrar as deemed appropriate and necessary by SaudiNIC.
6. Registrar Obligations
6-1 Throughout the license Term, the Registrar shall be provided with access to the Registry System in accordance with the requirements and procedures adopted by SaudiNIC for provision of Registration Services
6-2 The Registrar agrees and commits to compliance with the Terms and Conditions in this document, in addition to any other regulations, rules and procedures issued by the CST and/or SaudiNIC including the Act and its Bylaws, the Saudi Domain Name Registration Regulation and Rules, Procedures and guidelines as amended from time to time.
6-3 Throughout the license Term, the Registrar must provide the required contact information, provided it is accurate and up-to-date.
6-4 Throughout the license Term, the Registrar must provide all basic Registration Services detailed in Schedule 2 of these Terms and Conditions, and pursuant to Saudi Domain Name Registration Regulation, this Regulation and the applicable procedures and requirements.
6-5 The Registrar must provide all Registration Services uniformly using the same conditions and specifications to all Registrants, and may not in any way discriminate between any Registrants.
6-6 The Registrar must clearly and correctly display pricing of Registration Services to Registrants.
6-7 Registrars must provide customer care services including the necessary support concerning technical and financial aspects of Registration Services.
6-8 The Registrar must provide and publish a means of contact for emergency situations (emergency contact) for Registrants, in the event of exceptional circumstance.
6-9 The Registrar must make the Registrant Agreement available to all its customers, to which Registrants must agree to prior to the provision of any Registration Services. The Registrant Agreement must not include any provisions, which conflict with the Registrar’s obligations to the CST, SaudiNIC or any applicable laws and regulations.
6-10 Throughout the Registration Term, and as a requirement of registration, the Registrar must maintain an electronic copy of the Registrant Agreement in which the Registrant has indicated its agreement to comply with it. Furthermore, the Registrar must retain a copy of the above for a period of 1-year following termination of the Registrant Agreement.
6-11 The Registrant Agreement must include a declaration that that the Registrant agrees to the following:
6-11-1 The Registrant has reviewed and agreed to complying with all provisions in the Saudi Domain Name Registration Regulation.
6-11-2 An acknowledgment of consent by the Registrant that SaudiNIC retains the right to transfer sponsorship of its domain name(s) to another Registrar, should the need arise.
6-11-3 The Registrant’s agreement to be subject to and accept the decisions arising from dispute resolution procedures.
6-11-4 An acknowledgment from the Registrant that all information and documentation submitted concerning a domain name or a Service Request are complete, accurate, and up-to-date.
6-11-5 An acknowledgment that the Registrant agrees to the CST’s and/or SaudiNIC’s rights to enforce the terms and conditions included in the Registrant Agreement and Saudi Domain Name Registration Regulation, and to not hold either of them in any way liable.
6-12 The Registrar may offer Registration Services using resellers that officially and unequivocally act on its behalf, provided that the Registrar remains solely responsible for its resellers’ compliance with all obligations assigned to the Registrar as detailed in these Terms and Conditions.
6-13 The Registrar may provide a mechanism that enables registrants to offer their domain names for assignment, provided that the Registrar clarifies such mechanism and its procedures to the public in addition to any fees related thereto. The Registrar must also take the necessary measures and procedures to ensure fairness and non-disclosure of the price and non-favoritism of one party over another except as per the mechanism and processes published by the Registrar. CST may issue regulations or instructions that regulate this mechanism.
6-14 The Registrar must comply with requests for information and documentation at any such time that these are requested by SaudiNIC and within the timeframe specified in the request, and must additionally be delivered by the means and in the format specified in the request.
6-15 Within the specified timeframes, the Registrar must implement any decisions issued by the CST or SaudiNIC pursuant to their respective authorities as detailed in the Saudi Domain Name Registration Regulation.
6-16 Registrars must ensure Registrants meet all the registration requirements including in the Saudi Domain Name Registration Regulation concerning verification of accuracy of registration information as well as registration eligibility requirements. SaudiNIC reserves the right to request re-verification of the above, in addition to the right to take any action it deems appropriate without the assumption of any liability.
6-17 The Registrar must provide the contact information of Registrants of domain names under its sponsorship to SaudiNIC at its request.
6-18 The Registrar may not be involved in activities, which involve the acquisition or accumulation of domain names and prevention their availability to others.
6-19 The Registrar must submit to the Registry System all necessary information at the time of a new domain name registration taking place as detailed in the Registry System technical specification, and pursuant to the Saudi Domain Name Registration Regulation. All submitted information must be complete, accurate and up-to-date.
6-20 Upon receipt of any updates to registration information from the Registrant, the Registrar must update the registration information directly in the Registry System.
6-21 The Registrar must acknowledge that being granted the license does not award it any special privileged access to the Registry System, which are not similarly awarded to other Registrars.
6-22 The Registrar must comply with the operational manuals issued by SaudiNIC concerning the domain name life-cycle, Registry System commands, as well as rules concerning domain name transfers, holding and suspension and other services and processing activities associated with registration services, in addition to agreeing to manage any consequences resulting from implementing any of the above.
6-23 The Registrar must record and maintain all information and records pertaining to Service Requests, including but not limited to the IP address from which the request was submitted and records of fees paid by the requestor. The Registrar must retain this information for a period no less than 1 calendar year, and must provide it to the CST and SaudiNIC upon request.
6-24 The Registrar must acknowledge and agree that in the event of any dispute concerning the date or time of the entry of a domain name registration into the Registry database, the date and time shown in the Registry records are authoritative and shall apply.
6-25 The Registrar must indemnify the CST and SaudiNIC of any dispute or claim concerning a registered domain name or its use, including any associated subdomains.
6-26 The Registrar must commit to compliance with all applicable Acts, Bylaws, and Guidelines in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia associated with its business and activities.
7. Technical and Security Standards
7-1 The Registrar must comply with the applicable bylaws and regulations and adopted procedures in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in addition to international best operational and technical standards and quality control in the provision of domain name registration services and other services provided to its customers.
7-2 The Registrar must provide complete and accurate information consistent with applicable technical specifications when using or accessing the Registry System.
7-3 The Registrar must fulfill all requirements in order to access or use the Registry System, including but not limited to employing necessary human resources with sufficient skills and experience, as well as necessary hardware and software.
7-4 The Registrar must develop and implement the necessary solutions and technology complying with best technical and security practices to ensure provision of Saudi domain name registration services in a secure and reliable method, including secure access to the Registry System. Furthermore, any system or website associated with registration services and used by the Registrar must be secure. The Registrar must also comply with any regulations or standards issued by the CST or government agencies of competent.
7-5 In the event of a security threat or breach, which compromises the Registrar’s operations, access to the Registry System, registered Saudi domain names or Registrant information, the Registrar must provide notice to SaudiNIC of any such threat or breach within twenty four (24) hours of becoming aware of it.
7-6 The Registrar must cooperate with the CST and SaudiNIC in their investigations and audits with the purpose of ensuring compliance with these Terms and Conditions, and to fulfill any associated requirements.
8. Fees
8-1 The Registrar acknowledges its agreement; that all fees paid to the CST in exchange for registration service, including for registrations as well as renewals, are non-refundable.
8-2 The Registrar acknowledges its sole responsibility of maintaining a minimum financial balance suitable to conduct operations concerning registration services, against which registration services are debited, and shall make cash deposits to maintain the balance as required according to established procedures. In the event of the financial balance reaching the minimum required amount, or if the Registrar fails to pay invoices within the terms of payment, SaudiNIC reserves the right to restrict services available to the Registrar, which may result in suspension of some or all registration services available to the Registrar such as processing of new registrations or renewals.
8-3 The CST reserves the right to make amendments to the fees detailed in Schedule 1, which may result in increased or decreased fees as well as possible additional fees or removal of fees. Any such amendments will take effect ninety (90) days following a notification to the Registrar of them being adopted.
8-4 The Registrar must verify the price of any domain before registering, renewing or transferring it according to the mechanism established by CST. The Registrar shall be responsible for any debit from his account at a request issued by his registration systems.
8-5 All Fees are exclusive of applicable taxes (in particular Value Added Tax ), which are not applicable to registration services via the CST.
8-6 The Registrar acknowledges its responsibility for the collection and payment of any applicable taxes and fees.
8-7 The CST reserves the right to set a maximum price cap on the retail price of registration services at its own discretion, or as it deems appropriate.
9. Data Privacy
9-1 The Registrar must ensure the privacy of Registrant Personal Information, and must not permit access to or disclosure of Registrant Personal Information except as permitted by applicable rules and procedures on storage and processing of personal information issued by the CST or government agencies of competent.
9-2 In processing Personal Data, The Registrar must comply with applicable rules and Regulations. The Registrar shall only process Personal Data for specific, clear and lawful purposes.
9-3 The Registrar must take reasonable and appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect such Personal Information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration or destruction of such Personal Information.
9-4 The Registrar may not use or authorize the use of Personal Information in a way that is incompatible with the applicable laws, regulations or rules concerning data privacy. In particular the Registrar may not misuse Registrant information including telephone numbers, email or postal addresses collected for the provision of services, or exploit them by any means such as using them in announcement campaigns or selling the databases in which this information is stored to third-parties without the expressed prior permission of the Data Subject.
10. Confidentiality
10-1 The Registrar shall take all reasonable and appropriate technical and organizational measures issued by the CST or government agencies of competent to preserve the secrecy and confidentiality of all Confidential Information, including implementing reasonable physical and technical security measures and regulatory procedures.
10-2 During the License Term, the CST may disclose Confidential Information to the Registrar. The Registrar’s use or disclosure of any such Confidential Information shall be subject to and comply with the following:
10-2-1 The Registrar may not use any Confidential Information disclosed to it by the CST, except in exercising its rights or fulfillment of its obligations pursuant to these Terms and Conditions, and not for any other purposes whatsoever.
10-2-2 The Registrar may not disclose any Confidential Information disclosed to it by the CST to any third-party, except with the explicit consent of the CST.
10-2-3 The Registrar may not alter or delete any indication of the confidential nature of the Confidential Information, or any indication of the intellectual property rights of any such Confidential Information.
10-2-4 The Registrar may not develop, produce, distribute or publish any material resulting from Confidential Information in its possession.
10-3 The Registrar must preserve and maintain the confidentiality of information pertaining to its customers and end users, and protect their privacy as well as the privacy of their account information.
10-4 The Registrar may not disclose any Confidential Information unless the confidential information is in the public domain or the Registrar is required by law to disclose it
11. Renewal of License Term
11-1 The License Term is effective for a period of two (2) years from the Effective Date and may be automatically renewed for same period, except in the event that the CST, SaudiNIC or the Registrar provides notice of an intent to not renew the License within ninety (90) days of the expiration of the License Term.
11-2 In the event of non-renewal of the License Term, the conditions detailed in Article (12-3) shall apply.
12. Termination and Suspension of Registrar License
12-1 The Registrar may request termination of its License by submitting a formal request to that effect to SaudiNIC within a period of ninety (90) days of the date of expiration of the Registrar License Term.
12-2 SaudiNIC may terminate the Registrar’s License in any of the following circumstances:
12-2-1 If any information in the Registrar’s application or associated documents is found to be materially inaccurate or misleading.
12-2-2 If the Registrar is convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction of dishonesty, crimes or other serious offense related to financial activities, or is judged by a court of competent jurisdiction to have committed fraud or breach of fiduciary duty, or is the subject of a judicial determination that CST reasonably deems to be a substantive equivalent to any of those offenses.
12-2-3 If it is found, at the sole discretion of the CST, that the Registrar is acting in a manner conflicting with the regulations, bylaws or public policies of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
12-2-4 If the Registrar fails to correct or cure a breach of the Terms and Conditions within thirty (30) calendar days of receiving a notice of the breach.
12-2-5 If it becomes evident to SaudiNIC that the Registrar has not provided all required basic registration services.
12-2-6 If the Registrar continues acting in a manner that SaudiNIC has determined endangers the stability or operational integrity of the Internet or the Registry System after receiving seven (7) days’ notice of that determination.
12-2-7 If the registrar becomes bankrupt, files for bankruptcy, is declared insolvent, is placed under receivership, or if it is a company that has been dissolved or liquidated.
12-3 Upon the termination of a Registrar’s License:
12-3-1 The Registrar must complete and submit the registrations of all domain names being processed, including renewals, prior to the effective date of such termination as determined by SaudiNIC, provided that the Registrar’s has completed payment of all applicable fees.
12-3-2 Payment of all fees due to the CST becomes immediately due and payable.
12-3-3 The Registrar shall settle all financial dues with the CST.
12-3-4 The Registrar must transfer its sponsorship of all registered domain names to SaudiNIC or any such other Licensed Registrar, as directed by SaudiNIC.
12-3-5 SaudiNIC is within its rights to transfer sponsorship of all domain name registrations by the Registrar to itself (SaudiNIC) or to another Licensed Registrar at the Registrar’s expense.
12-3-6 The Registrar must return all Confidential Information in its possession to the CST, or have it destroyed as directed by SaudiNIC.
12-3-7 The Registrar remains obligated to the following Articles in these Regulations: 6-10, 6-23, 6-25, 8, 9,10,12,13,14,16-1 and 16-2.
13. Intellectual Property use of the SaudiNIC name, website and logos
13-1 This License grants to the Registrar permission to the following on a nonexclusive basis around the world during the of its License Term:
13-1-1 The Registrar may state that it is Licensed by SaudiNIC to sponsor registration of Saudi domain names.
13-1-2 The Registrar may use the TLDs logos in connection with promotion, marketing and registration of domain names.
13-1-3 The Registrar may use the Websites’ URL(s) associated with the TLDs logos
The Registrar may not use the names of the CST or SaudiNIC, their Websites or logos for any purpose other than those detailed above. With the exception of the permission mentioned in this Article, the Registrar will derive no right, title or interest in such intellectual property.
14. Assignment
14-1 This Registrar License is specific to the Licensed Registrar and may not be assigned or sublicensed by it without the consent of SaudiNIC. The Registrar must provide notice to SaudiNIC of any change of control of the Registrar, such as an event in which the Registrar is subject to an acquisition, a merger or any such other similar circumstance.
15. Communication
15-1 All notices delivered to the Registrar shall be in electronic formats as deemed appropriate by SaudiNIC, and shall be deemed to be properly received upon delivery using the contact information provided by the Registrar.
15-2 Any notice shall be deemed properly delivered to and received by all licenseed Registrars at such time as the CST or SaudiNIC post any such notice on their Website(s) or the SaudiNIC Console.
15-3 The Registrar is solely responsible for guaranteeing the availability of complete, accurate, and up-to-date contact information for itself or any contacts assigned by it at all times. SaudiNIC bears no responsibility for failure of receipt of any such notices delivered to this contact information.
16. General Provisions
16-1 This Regulation and its interpretation shall be subject to the laws of Saudi Arabia
16-2 This Regulation is subject to CST periodic review, and subject to update as CST deems appropriate in accordance with its statutes
16-3 The Arabic language version of these Terms and Conditions shall be the official version, and in case of any inconsistencies between the text of the official version written in the Arabic language and a translation, the Arabic language version shall prevail. The use of a language other than Arabic, or in combination with Arabic, for the purpose of communication to implement these Terms and Conditions, either in part or in their entirety, is permitted.
17. Schedules
Schedule (1): Fees
1-1 Fees for the Registration, Renewal and Transfer of Saudi Domain Names:
1-1-1 The following table determines the fees for the basic tier, that includes all domain names that are not considered premium domain names:
| The Tier | Annual fees for Registration, Renewal and Transfer |
|---|---|
| Basic Tier | SAR XX |
1-1-2 The following table determines the fees for Premium Domain Names tiers (Premium Tier 5 is the highest):
| The Tier | Annual fees for Registration, Renewal and Transfer |
|---|---|
| Premium Tier (1) | SAR XX |
| Premium Tier (2) | SAR XX |
| Premium Tier (3) | SAR XX |
| Premium Tier (4) | SAR XX |
| Premium Tier (5) | SAR XX |
1-2 The minimum financial balance for fees deposited in the Registrar’s account with SaudiNIC:
| Purpose of Deposit | Minimum Balance |
|---|---|
| A first deposit at the time of license | SAR 30,000 |
| Additional payment to top up the balance | SAR 6,000 |
1-3 License Application Fees:
| Procedure | Fees |
|---|---|
| Submission of application | Free |
| Licensing and renewal | Free |
| Bank guarantee | Not required |
All financial fees mentioned above are:
-
Open to modification or change according to article (8-3) of the Registrar Regulation.
-
Do not include taxes
Schedule (2):
2-1 Registration Service, which the Registrar must commit to provide to Registrants (Basic Services)
| No | Procedures |
|---|---|
| 1 | Domain name registration under extensions available to the Registrar not requiring additional review by SaudiNIC (.sa, .com.sa, .pub.sa, .net.sa and .السعودية) |
| 2 | Domain name registration under extensions available to the Registrar but requiring additional review by SaudiNIC (.edu.sa, .org.sa, .med.sa, .sch.sa) |
| 3 | Domain name renewal |
| 4 | Amendments to domain name registration information (Administrative Contact, Technical Contact and nameservers)[1] |
| 5 | Transfer of a domain name to a different Registrar |
| 6 | Transfer of a domain name to a different Registrant |
| 7 | Deletion of a domain name |
| 8 | Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) |
[1] Including any manual procedures to amend the Administrative Contact’s contact information in the event that the Administrative Contact is unreachable by email or mobile phone
2-2 Registration Service, which the Registrar may choose to provide to Registrants (Optional Services)
| No | Procedures |
|---|---|
| 1 | Registration of a Saudi Domain Name included in the Reserved List |
| 2 | Management of Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) Variants of Arabic script domain names under the extension .السعودية |
| 3 | Amendment of the status of a domain name (active, suspended) |
| 4 | Provide the ability to control the published registration information (whois) |
| 5 | Provide a Service that enables registrant to re-sell their domains (after-market services) |
| 6 | Premium Domain names registration |