.com.cn Domain: China's Commercial Extension
.com.cn is one of the category domains under .cn, China's country code domain, and is set aside for those carrying out commercial activity. The zone is administered by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC); .cn entered the root zone on 28 November 1990. The system holds nine category domains under .cn (com.cn, net.cn, org.cn and others) alongside thirty-four administrative division domains; com.cn is the one that corresponds to commercial identity.
Under the registration rules, natural persons, legal persons and unincorporated organisations may apply, while the registry expects the second-level suffix chosen to match the nature of the applicant. Organisations are asked for a business licence or organisation registration certificate, individuals for an identity document. Registration data must be true, accurate and complete and must be verified against those documents; until verification is complete the domain does not activate.
Holding the same name as both .cn and com.cn is a common approach: one gives you the short address, the other carries commercial identity in the address itself. The counterpart for not-for-profit organisations is .org.cn. Factor in as well that changes to your details must be reported within 30 days after registration. Use domain search to see which candidates are available.
.COM.CN Domain at a Glance
- Registry China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC)
- Place in the namespace One of the nine category domains under .cn
- Intended use Applicants carrying out commercial activity
- Identity verification The domain does not activate until registration data is verified against documents
- Keeping data current Changes to registration data must be reported within 30 days
- Document Requirement View required documents
- Country China
- Character Length 1 - 63 characters
- Registration Period 1 - 10 years
- Name Server Count 1 - 13 servers
.com.cn Domain Prices — No Surprise Fees
Registration, transfer and renewal fees are listed separately. The renewal price can differ from the first-year price, so you see both up front.
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New Registration
$22.99 /year -
Transfer
$49.00 /year -
Renewal
$49.99 /year -
Restore
$214.90 -
Late Renewal
$10.00 -
Trustee Service
$1.00
Included With Every .com.cn Domain
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Free DNS management
Change A, MX, TXT and CNAME records yourself from the panel — no waiting on anyone when you move a site or mailbox.
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Domain lock
While the lock is on, nobody can move your domain to another registrar without your approval.
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Domain forwarding
Point the domain at your existing site, a campaign page or a social profile — at no extra cost.
.com.cn Domain Lifecycle
What happens day by day after it expires
Day 0 is the domain's expiry dateIn short: for .com.cn the post-expiry timeline is set by the registry, so it differs from one extension to the next. The diagram below shows the windows that actually apply to .com.cn, day by day. One thing never changes, whichever extension you hold: renewing before the expiry date is always the cheapest and safest route.
Domain Is Available (Available)
A .com.cn address at this stage has not been taken yet, and it goes to whoever registers first. Check the name you have in mind — if it is free, it can be yours within minutes.
Domain Is Active (Active Period)
Once registration is complete, the domain is registered to you for the term you selected. You can renew at any point before it expires to keep it active, or switch on auto-renewal so you never have to watch the date.
Redemption Period (Redemption Period)
The domain is not released the moment it expires — during this window it is still yours and can be recovered. Some extensions charge an extra restore fee at this stage, so renewing before expiry is always the cheaper route.
Domain Is Available Again
Once deletion completes, the domain leaves the system and anyone can register it — popular names are often taken the same minute by someone watching. Keep auto-renewal on so a name you care about never gets this far.
.com.cn Domain Specifications and Registration Rules
Registration conditions, supported features and the registry's own timelines in a single table.
.com.cn Domain Registration
- Document Requirement View required documents
- Country China
- Character Length 1 - 63 characters
- Registration Period 1 - 10 years
- Name Server Count 1 - 13 servers
.com.cn Domain Support
- IDN Support No
- Transfer Support Yes
- Late Renewal Support Yes
Documents Required for a .com.cn Domain
.CN, .COM.CN, .NET.CN, .ORG.CN and .SH.CN:
Local presence is required for registering Chinese domains. If your company does not meet the residency requirement, we will proceed with the domain registration, using the name of our representatives, and make it available to you; this alternative has an additional cost (Trustee Service).
If you have a Chinese Company or ID please contact one of our executives before requesting your new domain name.
Frequently Asked Questions About .com.cn Domains
The questions people actually ask before registering — answered plainly.
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The registration rules define applicants as natural persons, legal persons and unincorporated organisations. On top of that comes an expectation from the registry: the second-level suffix chosen should match the nature of the applicant. Since com.cn corresponds to commercial activity, applying with corporate documentation is the natural fit for this namespace. The counterpart for not-for-profit bodies is .org.cn.
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Organisations are asked for a business licence or organisation registration certificate, individuals for an identity document. The document must confirm the name and number stated in the registration data, and the registrant name is expected to be an exact match to the name on it. Having the paperwork ready at the moment of application keeps the record from stalling at the verification step. If you are unsure which document fits, clarify it with our support team before you start.
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.cn is the short address taken directly at the second level and carries no expectation about the type of applicant. com.cn shows commercial identity in the address itself. If you are entering the Chinese market as a corporate entity, com.cn matches that expectation; if a short, memorable address is your priority, .cn serves better. Many brands take both and redirect one to the other.
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The registration rules define applicants as natural persons, legal persons and unincorporated organisations, and the text sets no residency condition. The decisive step is identity verification: the document you supply must match your registration data. For a company abroad, the critical question is which document passes that check. We recommend clarifying the document set with our support team before you begin the application.
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An unverified name will not resolve even though it appears in the registry record: the site will not open and email on that name will not work. Where registration data is found to be untrue, inaccurate or incomplete, the registration service provider requires correction, and without it the registration may be refused or cancelled. Verification is therefore not a post-registration formality but the condition for the address going live.
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Both are category domains under .cn and both fall under the same identity verification rules. What separates them is the applicant each corresponds to: com.cn is for those carrying out commercial activity, .org.cn for not-for-profit organisations. Because the registry expects the suffix to match the nature of the applicant, choosing the right one also smooths the verification step.
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.com.cn names can be moved between providers. A transfer does not remove the verification obligation: registrant details must still match the documents under the new record. The remaining registration period is preserved after the move, and your site and email keep running as long as you do not change name servers. You can start on the domain transfer page.
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