Enter Ivory Coast market with a .COM.CI Domain

Yes, and the measurement confirms it. Although the registry's current descriptive material never mentions .com.ci, the namespace keeps working and keeps taking new registrations: help.com.ci was opened on 17 July 2026, ledger.com.ci on 11 June 2026 and 21.com.ci on 15 April 2026. The registry's own availability service also treats com.ci as a recognised namespace. Older records continue as well; google.com.ci has been registered since 25 July 2013 and runs to 2027. The namespace is therefore neither closed nor frozen, it simply is not in the registry's shop window.

On paper there is none: both are served from inside the .ci zone and share the same registry, the same eligibility rules, the same expiry chain and the same lookup server. The difference lies in visibility and usage. The registry lists .co.ci officially and all 34 accredited registrars sell it, while .com.ci appears neither in that list nor in the registrars' published extension lists. Against that, the 15 August 2026 measurement counted 76 distinct names under .com.ci and 42 under .co.ci. In short, .co.ci offers recognition and .com.ci is in fact the busier space.

Two characters. The evidence in the register is plain: the two-digit 21.com.ci was opened through a registrar on 15 April 2026 and runs to 15 April 2027. The registry's own availability service also reports the two-character zq.com.ci and k9.com.ci as free. Single-character labels, by contrast, come back unavailable even though no record exists for them, and the same rule applies across every namespace the registry recognises. So if you are after a two-letter label, this namespace is open to you and the choice is wide.

A two-stage window applies. The registry first allows a grace period of roughly 30 days, during which the name can be renewed without paying anything extra. Miss that window and the name enters a redemption period of about 30 days, where recovery is still possible but carries an additional fee. Once the second window closes the name is released and anyone may register it. That gives you roughly two months in total, and after it there is no way back. Keeping automatic renewal on, or choosing a longer term, removes the risk directly.

The registry lists four conditions. The name must be active and not blocked by a dispute or suspension. You request the authorisation code (AuthCode) from your current registrar. The gaining registrar must be accredited by ARTCI. Finally, a transfer fee may apply. One extra practical point applies to this namespace: because registrars do not publish .com.ci in their extension lists, confirming with the gaining side in advance saves time. Start the process from the domain transfer page.

No. The registry's lookup server is whois.nic.ci and it answers on port 43, but the response carries technical data only: the name itself, the registry object ID, the creation and expiry dates, the registrar and its e-mail, the status codes, the nameservers and the DNSSEC state. Of roughly 60 names queried on 15 August 2026, not one returned a registrant, administrative or technical contact. Your personal data is therefore never published in this register, and no separate privacy service is needed. You can run the query from the whois search page.