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How to Register a .com.tr Domain in 2026

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How to Register a .com.tr Domain: Documents and Process

Registering a .com.tr domain no longer requires a tax certificate, trade registry gazette or trademark document — since 14 September 2022, com.tr, net.tr and org.tr have been allocated without documents, on a first-come, first-served basis. Almost every "documents required for com.tr" list still circulating online was written before that date and is simply wrong today. This guide walks through registering a .com.tr under the current rules, gives the official list of which .tr extensions still demand paperwork, and covers the term, renewal and dispute rules you should know before applying.

What changed: before and after TRABİS

For more than twenty years, .tr domains in Turkey were administered by nic.tr at Middle East Technical University, and obtaining a com.tr meant proving that the applicant's registered trade name matched the domain exactly. The process took days, sometimes weeks.

On 14 September 2022 administration moved to TRABİS (the ".tr Network Information System"), operated by Turkey's telecoms regulator BTK. On the same date the document requirement for com.tr, net.tr and org.tr was removed, and those extensions moved to the ordinary first come, first served rule.

com.tr allocation rules after 14 September 2022

One detail matters: domains previously allocated with documents kept their status. You cannot claim someone's existing com.tr on the grounds that the requirement was dropped — it remains theirs. What changed is only how unregistered names are allocated.

Which .tr extensions still require documents?

Per TRABİS's official list, these extensions require paperwork, with the corresponding document:

  • av.tr: a current document proving the applicant is a lawyer, or a notarised bar-approved equivalent.
  • dr.tr: a notarised medical diploma or graduation certificate.
  • edu.tr: a request letter signed by an authorised representative of the institution.
  • k12.tr: a request letter plus an establishment permit for non-public entities.
  • gov.tr: an official request letter signed by the authorised public authority.
  • bel.tr: an official request letter signed by an authorised municipal officer.
  • pol.tr: an official request letter from an authorised police unit.
  • tsk.tr: an official request letter from the authorised General Staff unit.
  • kep.tr: documentation proving signatory authority for registered electronic mail services.

.tr extensions that require documents

Anything not on that list — com.tr, net.tr, org.tr, along with web.tr, gen.tr, biz.tr, info.tr, tv.tr and name.tr — is allocated without documents. In other words, the extension a commercial project actually needs almost certainly requires no paperwork.

Registering a .com.tr, step by step

The process now looks much like registering an ordinary .com:

  • 1. Check availability. Search the name through a registrar's lookup. If it is free, you can take it directly.
  • 2. Choose a registrar. You cannot apply to TRABİS directly; registration always runs through a registrar authorised by BTK.
  • 3. Enter the registrant details. Supply your details as an individual or legal entity. These go into the WHOIS record, so enter them correctly.
  • 4. Pick a term. Registration runs from one to five years.
  • 5. Pay. For document-free extensions, allocation usually completes within minutes.
  • 6. Point your DNS. Once the domain is yours, direct the nameservers to your hosting provider.

Not sure what to do on the DNS side afterwards? Our DNS records guide explains A, CNAME, MX and TXT records one by one.

One small habit at the search stage saves a lot of trouble: check common spelling variants, not just the exact name you have in mind. For Turkish brand names, the "ş/s" and "ı/i" variants are separate domains, as are the hyphenated and unhyphenated spellings. Registering your main name plus the two closest variants both catches visitors who mistype and stops someone else setting up next door to your audience.

Term, renewal and how domains get lost

A domain is not property — it is a time-limited allocation, and not knowing the rules is the most common way people lose one:

  • Term: minimum 1 year, maximum 5 in a single registration. Renewals cannot push the total past 5 years either.
  • Notification: your registrar must notify you, at minimum by email, at least three months before expiry.
  • Renewal window: those three months are your real window to renew.
  • If it lapses: an unrenewed domain returns to the pool and falls back under first come, first served.

Practical advice: make sure the notification email lands somewhere corporate and actively read. Most domain losses trace back to a renewal warning sent to an old mailbox nobody checks. Even with WHOIS privacy enabled, the contact address your registrar holds must stay current.

Auto-renewal closes most of this risk, but not all of it: when the stored card expires, auto-renewal fails quietly. Once a year — ideally a couple of months before the domain's anniversary — check both your stored payment method and your contact email. Two minutes against the cost of losing a corporate domain is not a real trade-off.

If there is a dispute: UÇHS

If you find someone has registered your brand as a .com.tr, court is not your only option. TRABİS introduced the Dispute Resolution Service Providers (UÇHS) mechanism.

UÇHS handles claims of trademark infringement, unauthorised registration and bad-faith registration as an alternative route: faster than litigation, run by specialist arbitrators, and cheaper. Its importance grew with the move to document-free allocation — since nobody can now argue "they had the paperwork, so they must hold the right," competing claims get settled here.

The practical conclusion: if you own a trademark, register the .com.tr now. Under document-free rules it has never been easier for someone to take a name before you, and recovering one afterwards always costs more than registering it first.

.com.tr, .com or plain .tr?

The three serve different purposes, and for most projects the right answer is "two of them":

  • .com.tr: a strong local signal when your audience is in Turkey. It reads as an established Turkish business, which carries real weight for SMEs and e-commerce.
  • .com: the highest international recognition and resale value. If there is any chance you expand abroad, you want this too.
  • Plain .tr: second-level .tr allocation opened in phases; short and prestigious, so competition is high.

Audience location decides it. For an e-commerce site selling only within Turkey, .com.tr gives up nothing against .com in search results or user perception — and may gain on local trust. But for software, games or content, where borders are crossed by default, .com should be the primary address, because a .com.tr suffix can read as "not meant for me" to an international visitor.

The practical strategy: register both the .com and the .com.tr of your brand, run one as the live site and redirect the other. The annual cost difference is trivial next to the cost of someone confusing your brand with a lookalike. Still deciding on the name itself? Our domain selection guide covers the SEO side too.

Five mistakes to avoid

  • Preparing against old document lists. If you are gathering a tax certificate for a com.tr, you are reading a pre-2022 article.
  • Registering under an employee's personal account. Whoever holds the allocation holds the right. For company projects, ownership belongs to the company.
  • Using an email address on the domain itself. When the domain lapses that mailbox stops working, and the renewal notice never reaches you. Use an independent address.
  • Registering for one year only. With up to five years available, a one-year term means re-running the same risk annually.
  • Leaving transfers to the last minute. If you are changing registrar, do it comfortably ahead of expiry — we covered the process in how to transfer a domain.

Register your domain with Nubitro

You can register .com.tr and other extensions through Nubitro and manage WHOIS privacy, DNS records, nameservers and auto-renewal from a single panel. Current extension pricing and availability search are on the domain registration page.

Once the domain is yours you will need hosting to put the site live; our 5 critical factors when choosing web hosting covers the selection criteria, and the cPanel guide walks through the first steps in the panel.

Frequently Asked Questions

What documents do I need for a com.tr?

None, since 14 September 2022. No tax certificate, trade registry gazette or trademark document is required; allocation is first come, first served. Documents remain mandatory only for av.tr, dr.tr, edu.tr, k12.tr, gov.tr, bel.tr, pol.tr, tsk.tr and kep.tr.

Can an individual register a com.tr?

Yes. With the document requirement gone you do not need to own a company; individuals can hold the allocation.

How many years can I register a com.tr for?

One to five years. Renewals cannot take the total allocation beyond five years either.

Someone else holds the com.tr I want — what can I do?

Start by approaching the holder about a transfer. If there is trademark infringement or bad-faith registration, you can file through UÇHS, which is faster and cheaper than litigation.

Do I lose the domain immediately when it expires?

Your registrar must notify you by email at least three months before expiry, and that period is your renewal window. If it passes unrenewed, the domain returns to the pool.

Should I register both .com and .com.tr?

If your audience is in Turkey and you want to protect the brand, yes. Running one as the live site and redirecting the other is a common and inexpensive form of brand protection.

Summary

  • Since 14 September 2022, com.tr, net.tr and org.tr are allocated without documents, first come first served.
  • Documents remain required only for av.tr, dr.tr, edu.tr, k12.tr, gov.tr, bel.tr, pol.tr, tsk.tr and kep.tr.
  • Domains previously allocated with documents kept their status; only allocation of free names changed.
  • Registration runs 1–5 years, and renewals cannot exceed the same five-year ceiling.
  • Your registrar must email a renewal notice at least three months before expiry.
  • UÇHS offers a faster, cheaper alternative to court for trademark disputes.
  • Never put your contact email on the domain itself — when it lapses, the notice never arrives.
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