What Is .no Domain?

.no is a country code top-level domain name (ccTLD) for Norway.  It’s used by entities connected with Norway, like businesses, organizations, or individuals, to establish a Norwegian presence online. It helps users identify whether a website is Norwegian-based or associated with Norway.

There are also a wide range of second-level domains available for different types of entities in Norway. For example, there’s priv.no for individuals, idrett.no for sports organizations, dep.no for the government, and museum.no for museums.

In Which Scenarios Should You Use the .no Domain?

You should use the .no domain in the following scenarios:

• Norwegian Businesses: A .no domain shows you’re a local company
• Global Companies with a Norwegian Branch: It highlights your presence in Norway
• Individuals Residing in Norway: A .no domain connects your personal blog or website to Norway
• Nonprofit and Governmental Organizations in Norway: It shows your community commitment
• Businesses Targeting Norwegian Customers: A .no domain proves your dedication to serving Norwegians

Regulations

Only companies and individuals with a Norwegian address and with registration in the Brønnøysund Register Centre can register .no domain. In addition to an address, those who want a .no domain need to provide a PID (for individuals) or a VAT ID (for businesses).

Companies must be registered in the Central Coordinating Register for Legal Entities, where they’ll get their VAT IDs. Those who qualify can register:

• A maximum of 100 domains under .no
• 5 additional domains under each second-level .no domain.

Individuals must be registered in the National Registry, where they’ll get their PID (personal identification number).

• Can only register 5 priv.no and 5 location-oriented domains (like oslo.no) with the same PID, which won’t be deleted if you move abroad.
• But once you move out of Norway, you can’t register additional .no domains as an individual.

How to Buy .no Domain?

To buy a .no domain, you first need to meet all the regulatory requirements. Once you do, find a domain registry that offers .no domain names, see if the domain is free via WhoIs Lookup, and buy it from there.

Steps on How to Buy .no Domain

1. Prepare your documents – a Norwegian VAT ID for companies and a PID for individuals.
2. For people that don’t live in Norway – Find a reliable company or individual that meets the requirements to register the domain for them or use a Trustee Service located in Norway.
3. Find a company that offers .no domains.
4. Add the domain to your cart and proceed with the purchase by paying for your domain name. Once you do, you’ll get the URL of your website and be the owner of your chosen .no domain.
5. The registrar will ask for a *.zip file to validate your ability to purchase the domain.
6. Once the domain is online, ensure you secure your domain name with things like 2FA, limiting access, domain status notifications, and other domain privacy measures. That way, you’ll truly secure your domain name system (DNS).

Regulations Hack

Let’s be honest; not all sites that have a .no domain name are actually in Norway, even though they should be.

What you can do to own one of those sites is find a friend that lives in Norway and get to register a .no domain for you. Or, find a company that’s willing to register a domain for you. But whatever you do, make sure those people are reliable. You don’t want them to steal your domain right under your nose after a while, do you?

Also, if you can’t find a person you trust, you can use a Trustee service.

• Trustees can be either companies or individuals who live in Norway and help foreigners register domains for a fee.
• They handle all the paperwork and all that bureaucratic jazz and are the ones who legally own the domain name, even though you’ll be the one using it.

Whatever you do, make sure your domain name is unique and doesn’t sound like a popular brand. If you don’t, you might find yourself entangled in a lawsuit like Beijing CINet was. Back in 2001, Beijing CINet was sued by Ikea over its domain name “ikea.com.cn.”

So, even if the company had a .com.cn domain name, while Ikea has a .com one, Ikea won the case regardless because the court established that Beijing CINet had been registering domains that way for financial gain. So, if you register something like ikea.no, even if it’s available, you probably will have a lawsuit on your hands.

Our Recommended Places to Register

GoDaddy

The top domain registrar on our list is GoDaddy. It is the world’s largest domain registrar and offers security with DNSSEC, which is a recommended feature to have by Norid. Every GoDaddy domain comes with free domain privacy forever, 24/7 customer support, and real-time monitoring.

Domain.com

Next, we recommend Domain.com, a domain registrar that has been around for 2 decades. It offers Domain Privacy + Protection but unlike GoDaddy, securing your domain with Domain.com costs extra.

Nameshield

Lastly, we have Nameshield, another registrar that offers security with DNSSEC. It also secures domains with 2FA, an IP filter, strict password management, and access management by ACL (Access Control List).

At the time of writing, the minimum price for a .no domain name is $8.99, while the maximum is $6,522. However, you should know that those prices won’t stick because registrars like GoDaddy, Domain.com, etc., sell domains low for the 1st year and then massively increase the prices for the 2nd year onwards. For instance, with GoDaddy, you will pay as low as €0.99 for the first year, but the next year, the price will jump significantly to €19.99.

Perfect Partners for Your .no Domain

Hosting – registering a .no domain is the first step to launching a website online. You’ll also need web hosting to make the site available for other people to find. There are quite a few different web hosting services, suitable for different purposes. To find the one that best fits you, use this site.

SSL Protection – domains that don’t have SSL protection are considered risky by Google and other search engines. Thus, they’ll rank lower in searches. You can get an SSL certificate directly from your web hosting provider or a third party.

Premium DNS – DNS DDoS attacks are common online. You must make sure that you avoid them, as they can be disastrous for your business. So, getting premium DNS for your domain is crucial.

Private Email – private emails are essential for any business or individual that wants to look more professional. They can contain your domain name in the address and are also more secure than the likes of Yahoo, Outlook, Hotmail, etc.

Domain Information for .no

Popular .no Domains

Below, you can find examples of some of the popular .no domains:

• vg.no (Ahrefs rank: 83) – vg.no is the most-read online newspaper in Norway.
• nrk.no (Ahrefs rank: 87) – nrk.no is a government-owned radio and TV broadcasting company.
• finn.no (Ahrefs rank: 85) – finn.no is the largest eCommerce and shopping site in Norway.

.no Domain Alternatives

There are no alternatives for the .no domain name as it’s the only top-level domain for Norway. However, if you can’t get a .no domain, you can use other nordic domains, such as:

.se – Is your .no domain name already taken? Try your luck with a .se domain instead.

.dk – Register your brand with another nordic TLD with .net.

.fi – Try out .fi and see if your domain name is available there.