How to register a .pk domain (PKNIC rules explained)

Step 1: Choose a name PKNIC will accept

Decide first whether you want a second-level name (yourshop.pk) or a third-level one (yourshop.com.pk). PKNIC's structure rules set a minimum of 4 characters for a plain .pk name and 1 character under .com.pk, with a 63-character cap on the label and 70 on the whole domain. A name cannot start or end with a dash or contain a double dash. The labels 'pk' and 'www' and the suffixes themselves are reserved.

Use .com.pk for a business or an individual, .org.pk for a non-profit, .net.pk for a network business and .biz.pk for promotional use; .edu.pk and .gov.pk stay inactive until signed paperwork arrives. If you are stuck, our /ideas/ page suggests names that fit these rules. Keep it short, easy to say on the phone in Karachi or Peshawar, and clear of anyone's registered trade name.

Step 2: Check availability before anyone pays

PKNIC registers names first come, first served, so check before you commit money. Search the name at /domains/; it looks the name up in PKNIC WHOIS and shows whether the exact string is free. Check the .com.pk and .pk versions together, because a business usually wants both.

If the name is taken, the owner is listed in WHOIS. You can make an offer through /buy-domain/ or get a figure for it at /domain-value/. When you order with us, we run the check again on the day we file, so you are not charged for a name that was taken between your search and your payment. Going direct, PKNIC's own WHOIS search is on its home page.

Step 3: Registrant details and the CNIC name

Write the registrant name exactly as it appears on the CNIC or, for a company, the SECP certificate. PKNIC locks the registrant record after registration to stop unauthorised transfers, and the domain name itself cannot be edited. To change the owner later, a company sends an authority letter on letterhead under seal, signed by the CEO, a director or the head, plus the signer's CNIC copy. An individual sends an affidavit on Rs 100 stamp paper attested by an oath commissioner or notary. Originals go by post to PKNIC in Lahore; scans are not accepted. The change takes about 3 to 4 business days after a phone check, and only while the domain is not expired.

We file every order in the customer's own name, never ours, and ask you to confirm the spelling on WhatsApp before we submit.

Step 4: The two-year term and what PKNIC charges

PKNIC bills in two-year blocks, so the shortest term is two years and you can prepay up to ten. Its published fee for registrants based in Pakistan is Rs 2,100 per year, raised from Rs 1,800 on 1 August 2026; registrants outside Pakistan pay US$15.99 per year, unchanged. At that rate the two-year minimum comes to Rs 4,200 paid straight to PKNIC. The maintenance fee is non-refundable and non-transferable.

Our own charge covers the PKNIC fee plus our filing work. It is on the price list at /pricing/, and where a price is not set yet we quote it on WhatsApp before you pay anything. Renewals follow the same two-year cycle.

Step 5: Paying in Pakistan

PKNIC direct takes online credit card payment, prepaid cards sold by resellers in your city, or a cheque or bank draft made out to 'PKNIC (PVT) Ltd' and posted to its collection address in Garden Town, Lahore. No cash is accepted, and PKNIC's pricing page says the funds must be in your account before a new domain can be registered.

If you do not hold a card, we take the payment in rupees instead: bank transfer, Raast, JazzCash or Easypaisa. Under State Bank of Pakistan directions, banks may not charge customers for Raast transfers and must credit the money within 20 seconds of the Raast credit advice. Send the transfer receipt on WhatsApp with your order number from /order/, and we aim to file the registration with PKNIC or a registrar the same working day the payment lands.

Step 6: When the domain becomes active

PKNIC's policy allows a name to be registered provisionally and made available right away, subject to a full review that it aims to finish within 30 days. If PKNIC asks for clarification and hears nothing within 15 days, the application is treated as rejected. Once the registry record exists, PKNIC pushes it to the .pk zone files every few hours, after which the name resolves worldwide.

An ordinary .com.pk or .pk for a shop or freelancer needs no extra paperwork, while .edu.pk and .gov.pk stay inactive until a signed letter on original letterhead, with the signer's CNIC copy, reaches PKNIC and is verified. We message you when the filing is done and again when the name resolves. If PKNIC queries anything, we forward the query the same day so the 15-day clock does not run out.

Step 7: Nameservers, renewal and moving it later

PKNIC does not require nameservers at registration and offers no website or email hosting, so you can register the name now and point it at a host later. Add your host's nameservers in the PKNIC account when ready, or send them to us and we will set them.

PKNIC says it will try to email a renewal reminder, but the reminder is a courtesy and not receiving it is no excuse for paying late. An unpaid domain can be deactivated at the due date, held for two weeks for you to pay and reactivate, and then offered to anyone else first come, first served. To move the domain to a different PKNIC account or registrar, similar paperwork applies and it must not be expired; see /pk-domain-transfer/ for how we handle it, and /sell-domain/ if you decide to let it go.

Common questions