The .by extension is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Belarus, which was delegated in 1994.

The .by domain is particularly useful for businesses and organisations wishing to reach Belarusian customers and partners. The extension is also well-known in international projects, as the ‘by’ can be used as an English preposition (for example, ‘made by’) to create pun-based domain names. Registration and transfer are subject to stricter rules than usual; these are summarised below.

.by domain prices

Extension	Registration	Transfer	Renewal
.by	€16.80	Free	€16.80

Prices are quoted for one year and do not include VAT. The free transfer does not include a renewal; the fee for the paid transfer usually includes a one-year renewal.

How long will it take to be ready?

New domain registration

The registration of .by domains is fully automated, so the registration process is virtually instantaneous; you can start using your new domain name within a few minutes.

Domain transfer

To perform a .by domain transfer, a contract signed by the domain owner is required. Once the documents have been submitted, the transfer will be completed within a few working days.

How many characters can it be?

The domain name extension .by must be at least 2 and no more than 63 characters long.

Special characters

The .by domain extension does not support the use of special characters or accented characters; it is not IDN-compatible.

Restrictions

The owner must be resident outside Belarus. Residents of Belarus must register .by domains directly with a local registrar.

Whois privacy

A Whois privacy service is available to private individuals, which hides the owner’s details in the Whois database.