.sm Domain: The Official Country Extension of San Marino
.sm is the country-code extension of the Republic of San Marino and entered the root zone on 16 August 1995. Authority is split in two: the state writes the rules, a company runs the register. Under the regulation, the Naming Authority is the Telecommunications Sector of San Marino's Office for Information Technology, Technology, Data and Statistics, while the Registration Authority is Telecom Italia San Marino, today trading as TIM San Marino. The regulation is published on the registry site in eight sections.
On eligibility this is the most open extension in its region, and the regulation says so three separate times. Section 1 states that foreign companies may hold names; section 2 confirms that names may be assigned to «bodies, companies, associations and natural persons of any nationality»; and article 6.4, defining natural persons, puts it most plainly: «all individuals, regardless of nationality and state of residence». No local company, address or representative is required.
Documents are mandatory, however, and they come in two parts: an electronic registration form (MRE) carrying the technical data, and a letter of assumption of responsibility (LAR) prepared by the applicant. The registry accepts no application without both. Names run from three to sixty-three characters; one and two-character names are reserved. Registration always goes through an authorised reseller. Before assembling the paperwork, check whether the name is free on the domain name search page.
.SM Domain at a Glance
- Rule-maker Office for Information Technology, Data and Statistics — Telecommunications Sector
- Registry Telecom Italia San Marino (TIM San Marino)
- Root zone entry 16 August 1995
- Eligibility requirement None — bodies, companies, associations and individuals of any nationality
- Mandatory paperwork Letter of assumption of responsibility (LAR) + registration form (MRE)
- Dispute route San Marino's own arbitration; the forum is the Republic of San Marino
- Document Requirement View required documents
- Country San Marino
- Character Length 3 - 63 characters
- Registration Period 1 - 10 years
- Name Server Count 2 - 10 servers
.sm 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
$249.00 /year -
Transfer
$180.00 /year -
Renewal
$198.00 /year -
Restore
$224.90
Included With Every .sm 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 forwarding
Point the domain at your existing site, a campaign page or a social profile — at no extra cost.
.sm Domain Lifecycle
What happens day by day after it expires
Day 0 is the domain's expiry dateIn short: for .sm 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 .sm, 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 .sm 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.
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.
.sm Domain Specifications and Registration Rules
Registration conditions, supported features and the registry's own timelines in a single table.
.sm Domain Registration
- Document Requirement View required documents
- Country San Marino
- Character Length 3 - 63 characters
- Registration Period 1 - 10 years
- Name Server Count 2 - 10 servers
.sm Domain Support
- IDN Support No
- Transfer Support Yes
- Late Renewal Support No
Documents Required for a .sm Domain
In order to register a .SM domain, the domain owner must be
natural person or company. If the owner is a natural person, he can only
register a single domain name .SM; if the owner is a company, no .SM domain
name limits.
Names related to games of chance, gambling and explicitly or
implicitly sexual, reserved names and / or prohibited by the State
Administration of the Republic of San Marino will not be accepted
Frequently Asked Questions About .sm Domains
The questions people actually ask before registering — answered plainly.
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Yes; there is no nationality or residence test. Article 6.4 of the regulation defines natural persons as «all individuals, regardless of nationality and state of residence», and sections 1 and 2 separately confirm that foreign companies, bodies and associations may hold names. No local company, address or representative is required. Two documents are mandatory in return: the letter of assumption of responsibility (LAR) and the electronic registration form (MRE).
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Two documents accompany every application. The MRE is the electronic registration form carrying the technical data needed for the name to work; the provider or maintainer sends it to the registry. The LAR is the letter of assumption of responsibility prepared by the party requesting the name; in it you declare your identifying details and confirm that you know the basic principles of internet resource use, have read the registry's rules and its privacy notice, and undertake to comply. The registry accepts no application without both.
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Fifteen days for domestic applicants and thirty days for applicants abroad. Article 8.2 allows the registry, at its own discretion, to request documents proving what was declared in the letter of responsibility, and states plainly that «for foreign assignees this term is doubled». Article 8.3 sets out the consequence: if the documents do not arrive in time, if you refuse to send them, or if the declarations prove untrue, the registry may revoke the assignment of the name.
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Three characters. Article 5.1.1 limits the length to between 3 and 63 characters; the permitted characters are the digits 0-9, the letters a-z and the hyphen, and a name may not begin or end with a hyphen. Article 5.2 lists one and two-character names as the very first item among reserved names. The same list also covers units of measurement, protocol and technology names, gTLD strings, San Marino's geographical names and abbreviations, and trademarks. Accented letters cannot be used.
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Transfers are possible but as heavy as a fresh registration. The current owner sends the Registration Authority a signed document expressing the intent to transfer; there is no specific form, so it may be written as a self-certification. The new owner must simultaneously register the name as if requesting a new one — meaning a new LAR and a new MRE are produced. The operation runs through the new reseller, who delivers all the paperwork. You can start from the domain transfer page.
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Within limits, and within fifteen days. After cancellation the name enters a fifteen-day Grace Period, during which only the current reseller may reactivate it, and only for the benefit of the current owner — by submitting the same paperwork as for a new registration, a new LAR and a new MRE. Once the fifteen days pass, the name is definitively cancelled and becomes available again. A separate rule also applies: if the objects under the name stay unreachable for more than three months, the assignment may be revoked.
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