Enter Madagascar market with a .CO.MG Domain

In terms of rules, none. Article 5 of the naming charter joins the two zones on a single line and gives them the same definition: «.com.mg or .co.mg for commercial entities». Eligibility, term, character and transfer rules are identical, and registry records show both zones created on the same day and published from the same nameservers. The difference only appears in which name is free, so query both together.

Yes. Article 2 of the naming charter states that the applicant may be a natural or legal person, that they may reside abroad, and that the administrative contact need not be located in Madagascar. The charter is more open than most country extensions on this point, because it removes the local contact requirement as well. You register through an accredited registrar; NIC-MG does not accept registrations directly.

No. Article 3 of the charter asks for only two things for eligibility: two nameservers with their IP addresses, and complete contact details for the administrative and technical contacts. Although the zone is defined for commercial entities, the charter sets no document-based eligibility test for these definitions; article 5 says their purpose is to describe an activity. Documents are needed only for the reserved names in article 8.3.

Two characters. Article 8.1 of the charter states that names shorter than two characters are not permitted, and the maximum is 63 characters per label. Permitted characters are the letters a to z, the digits 0 to 9 and the hyphen, and a hyphen may not sit at the start or the end. The same article adds one more rule: a name may not consist of digits alone. Since accented letters are not accepted, the zone has no internationalised names.

Article 9 of the charter sets up a registration as a subscription of at least one year that is renewed tacitly, so you do not have to submit a renewal request. To stop it, your termination request must reach NIC-MG no later than the expiry date. If the fee is still unpaid one month after expiry, the registry may deactivate the name, and it only becomes available again three months later.

Yes. Article 13 of the charter states that a holder may request the transfer of the management of their name from one registrar to another, that the request is made online by the destination registrar, and it adds a safeguard: the former registrar may not oppose, except where an outstanding balance or dispute exists. You can start from the domain transfer page.

On this point the charter is not consistent with itself. Article 13, titled «Assignment and Transfer of Domain Name Management», says names may be transferred between applicants, while articles 4 and 8 state that a name is not transferable from one person or entity to another. Both formulations appear identically in the French and English texts. A change of registrar is clearly possible; if you are planning a change of holder, get confirmation before you proceed.

Article 15 of the charter points to one route: where a registration and its abusive use infringe a trademark right, the UDRP applies and the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center is the sole dispute resolution body. The registrar is obliged to inform the holder of the UDRP principles at registration and at renewal. The name stays active and locked throughout. Going to court remains open, and a final decision is enforced.