New extension
.phd domain name
What you need to know about .phd: who can register it, which details are required and how transferring works.
Specifications
The key details of .phd
- Registration period
- 1 to 10 years
- Renewal period
- 1 to 10 years
- Domain name length
- 2 to 63 characters
- Renewal on transfer
- yes, transferring renews the domain
- Transfer code length
- 8 to 32 characters
- Transfer lock available
- yes
- Number of nameservers
- 1 to 13
- Renewable after expiry date
- 35 days
- Quarantine after deletion
- 30 days
Features
- DNSSEC: yesYou can secure your domain name with DNSSEC.
- IPv6: yesThe nameservers for this extension can also be reached over IPv6.
- Special characters: yesDomain names with letters such as é, ü or ø (and sometimes other scripts) are possible.
- Whois privacy: yesYour details can be hidden in the public Whois.
- Trustee: no
Requirements
Who can register a .phd?
Good to know when registering
- Websites on a .phd domain only work over a secure connection (HTTPS). Without an SSL certificate, your website won't open properly in browsers.
- You don't need to buy the SSL certificate before or at the same time as the domain name. Browsers enforce the HTTPS requirement, not the registration. So you can also set up the certificate later.
- .phd is on the HSTS preload list. This means browsers enforce an encrypted connection. This only applies to websites.
- Without an SSL certificate, you can still use a .phd domain for email and other services outside the browser. That's also possible if you're only registering the name to protect it.
- Before you register, you must confirm that you're aware of and accept the HTTPS requirement.
Transfer
Transferring a .phd
- You start the transfer at the new registrar using the transfer code for your domain name. The registry then automatically notifies your current registrar of the transfer.
- Your current registrar sends the registrant an email about the transfer, sometimes the administrative contact as well. In it, you can often approve or reject the transfer.
- If you neither approve nor reject the transfer, it's completed automatically after 5 days.
- Check beforehand that there's no transfer lock on your domain name. You can see this in the WHOIS details.
- Has your current registrar set a transfer lock? Then, as the registrant, you can ask for that lock to be removed.
The transfer code
- You need a transfer code to transfer a .phd domain.
- You request the transfer code from your current registrar. You do this as the registrant or as the administrative contact for the domain name.
Related extensions
View all domain extensionsCompiled from the registry's rules. Registries sometimes change their rules; if in doubt, the registry's terms take precedence. Updated on 11/11/2026.