Trying to register .ie domain

Liveit

Hi,

So I am in the process of registering a .ie domain name.

I indicated that I would be opening an ecommerce store and I need the following documents:

RBN/CRO Number
Registered VAT Number
Signed document from either Bank Manager, Solicitor or Accountant confirming you are a Sole Trader along with a letter from yourself outlining your connection to the domain name (what it means, what it will be used for)


Problem is that I don't have any of these. I contacted revenue before and they said I dont need to register as a sole trader unless I went above 3,000 euro profit. So I didn't, and hence I have none of the above.


Would I be better off just telling them I want the domain for personal use or something and then just carry on as I was?

HellFireClub

What you need to do OP is register a Business Name with the CRO using the RBN1 form, when you pay your (40 Euro I think it is or 20 Euro if you do it online), you can fax the receipt you get to your web hosting company and this will tick the little public sector box that needs to be ticked in order to issue you with a domain name.

http://www.cro.ie/ena/business-registration-business-name.aspx

Zonua

The ".ie" domain names are among the most controlled in the world.

In order to secure one, you need to prove entitlement. Entitlement may be your full name, or the name of your (registered) business or company.

So if you are called Joe Bloggs, you can register www.joebloggs.ie, but if you want to register the name of your business, you must have your business or company registered (with the CRO)

You can apply for the domain name, and then it's up to the IEDR if they want accompanying documentation. In my experience, they mostly don't need supporting documentation, as entitlement is already clear (for example, if Joe Bloggs who owns the business name Lovely Shoes, supplies the RBN number and wants to register www.lovelyshoes.ie).

So, if you want to use your business name in the domain name, what you need to do now, is register your business or company, and when that's done, you can apply for your .ie domain.

PM me if you need more help.

MOH

You could try applying for it on a discretionary basis with a very convincing letter, but tbh for the sake of 20 quid, register a business name online with the CRO.

The business name cert might come in handy down the line if the business takes off and you ever want to open a business bank account, etc.

HellFireClub

MOH wrote: »

You could try applying for it on a discretionary basis with a very convincing letter, but tbh for the sake of 20 quid, register a business name online with the CRO.

The business name cert might come in handy down the line if the business takes off and you ever want to open a business bank account, etc.

You're dealing with public servants here and their little "file". Best advice OP as someone who has registered loads of them is for the sake of 20 Euro, register the business name, when you get the 20 Euro receipt, (you have to go in and pay at the desk of the CRO in Parnell Street), send/fax the receipt they give you into your hosting company. This has always done the job for me for domain name registration.

By the time you'll be done arguing and pleading with them, you'll have wished you just spent the 20 Euro and givem them the little bit of paper "for their file"...

Kersh

HellFireClub wrote: »

What you need to do OP is register a Business Name with the CRO using the RBN1 form, when you pay your (40 Euro I think it is or 20 Euro if you do it online), you can fax the receipt you get to your web hosting company and this will tick the little public sector box that needs to be ticked in order to issue you with a domain name.

http://www.cro.ie/ena/business-registration-business-name.aspx

After doing this in order to register the .ie name, is it any hassle to then go on and register the business name as a Ltd company? or register for Vat thereafter?

mneylon

Liveit wrote: »

Hi,

So I am in the process of registering a .ie domain name.

I indicated that I would be opening an ecommerce store and I need the following documents:

RBN/CRO Number
Registered VAT Number
Signed document from either Bank Manager, Solicitor or Accountant confirming you are a Sole Trader along with a letter from yourself outlining your connection to the domain name (what it means, what it will be used for)


Problem is that I don't have any of these. I contacted revenue before and they said I dont need to register as a sole trader unless I went above 3,000 euro profit. So I didn't, and hence I have none of the above.


Would I be better off just telling them I want the domain for personal use or something and then just carry on as I was?

You need to get a registered business name from the CRO if you are trading as anything other than your given name ie. if your name is John Doe and you want to trade as Irish Widgets you would need it
The VAT registration limits are unrelated

HellFireClub

Kersh wrote: »

After doing this in order to register the .ie name, is it any hassle to then go on and register the business name as a Ltd company? or register for Vat thereafter?

No, you can register the company separately if you wish, and if you want to be particular about it, you can transfer the domain name into the ownership of the company. If the company name sounds like the name of the domain name, this shouldn't be a problem.

A lot of folks get caught up with domain name ownership and the likes when starting up, I've seen folks buying up twenty domain names that they thought sounded like their original domain name in order to "protect their brand", and then a year later they haven't made a scent through their original domain name. My advice to you is once you get the domain name registered and in your name, don't worry too much about it afterwards or the ownership of it, (apart from keeping it registered in your name obviously once a year!), just plough into selling as much through it as you can!

mneylon

HellFireClub wrote: »

No, you can register the company separately if you wish, and if you want to be particular about it, you can transfer the domain name into the ownership of the company. If the company name sounds like the name of the domain name, this shouldn't be a problem.

A lot of folks get caught up with domain name ownership and the likes when starting up, I've seen folks buying up twenty domain names that they thought sounded like their original domain name in order to "protect their brand", and then a year later they haven't made a scent through their original domain name. My advice to you is once you get the domain name registered and in your name, don't worry too much about it afterwards or the ownership of it, (apart from keeping it registered in your name obviously once a year!), just plough into selling as much through it as you can!

While I appreciate your sentiments I'd have to disagree

If, as I've seen happen, someone were to register:
keyword.tld and keywords.tld were available they could easily end up having headaches later

HellFireClub

Blacknight wrote: »

While I appreciate your sentiments I'd have to disagree

If, as I've seen happen, someone were to register:
keyword.tld and keywords.tld were available they could easily end up having headaches later

I hear ya, but where you you draw the line??? Do you register key-word.tld and key-words.tld???

mneylon

HellFireClub wrote: »

I hear ya, but where you you draw the line??? Do you register key-word.tld and key-words.tld???

I'd avoid hyphens unless you're German (they seem to actually use them!)

jmcc

stephenpalmer wrote: »

90% of people type in .com automatically so if you had info.ie majority people would go to info.com.

No. People are often smarter than that. If you are targeting the Irish market, it is best to have a .ie as .com is global.

Regards...jmcc

mneylon

jmcc wrote: »

No. People are often smarter than that. If you are targeting the Irish market, it is best to have a .ie as .com is global.

Regards...jmcc

TBH I don't think they're even typing in an extension a lot of the time

Liveit

Thanks guys! If the domain name were to include two actual words, would you register the business name as one or two words and with or without the .ie?

mneylon

Liveit wrote: »

Thanks guys! If the domain name were to include two actual words, would you register the business name as one or two words and with or without the .ie?

You cannot register a business name, company name or trademark with a domain extension

You do not need to register a business name that exactly matches the .ie domain name you wish to register, however if the link between the business name and the domain name is not clear, you will be required to provide a signed letter outlining the link

For example, if your business name was:

"Cool Widgets"

then you could get:
coolwidget.ie, cool-widgets.ie, coolwidgets.ie,cool.ie or widgets.ie

But to get something like:
tracksuits.ie
with that business name the link is not obvious, so you'd need the letter

(NB: domain names mentioned etc., are purely for illustrative purposes)

Liveit

I see. Thanks for all the effort Blacknight I am currently in the process of registering a business name! If I knew you were this helpful I would have hosted with you. I'm still young so it will be the next one instead

fl4pj4ck

You need to get a registered business name from the CRO if you are trading as anything other than your given name ie. if your name is John Doe and you want to trade as Irish Widgets you would need it
The VAT registration limits are unrelated

no you don't always need a business name. last month I registered an address for the festival I'm kinda helping organizing, and there was no single question about any documentation. I just explained my entitlement on the webform and that was it, nobody even gave me a call

seems to me it's up to the company you're dealing with, in this case it was LetsHost

Get Cracking

does anyone know anything about .co?
its new i heard and its suppose to be bigger than .com when it gets going.
more numbers using it,
so it might be one to think about.

mneylon

fl4pj4ck wrote: »

no you don't always need a business name. last month I registered an address for the festival I'm kinda helping organizing, and there was no single question about any documentation. I just explained my entitlement on the webform and that was it, nobody even gave me a call

A festival wouldn't fall into the same category as a normal business. You should have had to provide a signed letter however, so if the IEDR allowed the registration without any supporting documentation then there's something odd going on.

fl4pj4ck wrote: »

seems to me it's up to the company you're dealing with, in this case it was LetsHost

No. It's down to the rules which are the same for everyone

mneylon

Get Cracking wrote: »

does anyone know anything about .co?
its new i heard and its suppose to be bigger than .com when it gets going.
more numbers using it,
so it might be one to think about.

.co relaunched about 12 months ago with an "open" registration policy.
So far a few high profile companies have opted for it with Overstock, for example, switching to o.co

It's far too early to say whether it will grow to be bigger than .com or not.. At the moment there are still less than a million .co domains registered

shoutman

These threads are popping up so frequently, I've decided it would be a good idea to keep this one stickied.

jmcc

Get Cracking wrote: »

does anyone know anything about .co?

Yes.

its new i heard and its suppose to be bigger than .com when it gets going.

No it will not be bigger than .com for a very long time as .com has over 94 million domains registered. The .co ccTLD has less than one million domains registered and many of those will drop in the next few months.

so it might be one to think about.

Well in the web surveys I run each month, I've identified 642 .co domains on Irish hosters so there is a bit of interest in it. But it is very much a minority TLD in the Irish market. The bulk of the Irish market is centred on the IE/COM axis.

The .co is a heavily speculated TLD and really only in its first year of operation as an open TLD where anyone can register domains. While there is development, I would estimate that around 50% of .co domains are parked with Pay Per Click advertising.

So if you want to reach an Irish audience, register a .ie domain. For a UK audience, register a .co.uk. For an EU audience a .eu. But for a global audience, nothing beats .com in terms of recognition.

Regards...jmcc

stephenpalmer

Great idea with the sticky mod. You could argue about any TLD becoming popular You could say oh the .ME is going to be huge but you never know. So by investing in a few I couldn't see you really losing out. Especially if you were thinking of starting a particular niche could be come pretty successful imwonderful.me etc

In regards to the .Co about the 50% of domains that are parked. I would say that .com had a similar figure 5 years ago, i would imagine this would over time as the extension develops.

My advice if you are getting contemplating a .IE over a .Com, I would pick the .COM if its available that is. However if it was something that was going to be local like 123.ie you would have better luck with the dot IE. Then again as long as you get a good name I wouldn't worry to much about the extension. Good Luck

mneylon

stephenpalmer wrote: »

Great idea with the sticky mod. You could argue about any TLD becoming popular You could say oh the .ME is going to be huge but you never know. So by investing in a few I couldn't see you really losing out. Especially if you were thinking of starting a particular niche could be come pretty successful imwonderful.me etc

In regards to the .Co about the 50% of domains that are parked. I would say that .com had a similar figure 5 years ago, i would imagine this would over time as the extension develops.

My advice if you are getting contemplating a .IE over a .Com, I would pick the .COM if its available that is. However if it was something that was going to be local like 123.ie you would have better luck with the dot IE. Then again as long as you get a good name I wouldn't worry to much about the extension. Good Luck

The key thing with any domain extension (apart from having a memorable name) is usage.

What both .me and .co have been working very hard on is getting as much quality content usage on the names as possible.
If people associate an extension with "quality" (which is really subjective) then the renewal rates will be better

stephenpalmer

Blacknight wrote: »

The key thing with any domain extension (apart from having a memorable name) is usage.

What both .me and .co have been working very hard on is getting as much quality content usage on the names as possible.
If people associate an extension with "quality" (which is really subjective) then the renewal rates will be better

Good point. Still though personally I would only pick these extensions if it was either a great name or fitted my business perfectly.

Derekf1

Very easily done, register with www.cro.ie and then download and print the signature page, bring it in to the companies registry office on Parnell street along with €20, and in a couple of days you will receive your certificate of registration which has your RBN up in the top left corner, you just need to ring the domain hosting site where you bought it (eg register365.com) and you're up and running. You don't need to register for VAT unless you have a annual turnover exceeding €35,000 (product) or €75,000 (service)
Hope this helps

mneylon

Derekf1 wrote: »

Very easily done, register with www.cro.ie and then download and print the signature page, bring it in to the companies registry office on Parnell street along with €20, and in a couple of days you will receive your certificate of registration which has your RBN up in the top left corner, you just need to ring the domain hosting site where you bought it (eg register365.com) and you're up and running. You don't need to register for VAT unless you have a annual turnover exceeding €35,000 (product) or €75,000 (service)
Hope this helps

First off - that assumes that people want to register a business name in order to register a domain. In our experience a LOT of people and companies don't. And it's understandable.
It can lead to complications and headaches further down the road.

theshamu

I want to set up a blog about a hobby of mine and would like a .ie I won't be using my name more like myhobbyirl.ie do I need to register a company name for this purpose? Thanks..

mneylon

theshamu wrote: »

I want to set up a blog about a hobby of mine and would like a .ie I won't be using my name more like myhobbyirl.ie do I need to register a company name for this purpose? Thanks..

You would probably need to register a business name with the CRO.
It's the fastest and the easiest way of getting a domain

liamo1991

Blacknight wrote: »

You would probably need to register a business name with the CRO.
It's the fastest and the easiest way of getting a domain

This may sound stupid, If I was to register a company say Blog Interior Design, is there anything stopping me from registering a domain interiordesign.ie if it is available or does it have to relate to the company name exactly etc.

mneylon

liamo1991 wrote: »

This may sound stupid, If I was to register a company say Blog Interior Design, is there anything stopping me from registering a domain interiordesign.ie if it is available or does it have to relate to the company name exactly etc.

It doesn't have to relate exactly, so if you had that business you could get a domain name made up of any combination of the keywords without any extra paperwork

unnameduser

Blacknight wrote: »

You need to get a registered business name from the CRO if you are trading as anything other than your given name ie. if your name is John Doe and you want to trade as Irish Widgets you would need it
The VAT registration limits are unrelated

When the best hosting providers give this kind of advice you'd better take it onboard!

As stated earlier register a business name with the CRO. My understanding is that web applications are processed much faster than paper applications.

And as for .ie addresses, my advice would be to continue with it. They have several advantages over other extension TLDs.

Best of luck

liamo1991

Blacknight wrote: »

It doesn't have to relate exactly, so if you had that business you could get a domain name made up of any combination of the keywords without any extra paperwork

Thanks for the advice Blacknight, it was helpful

Speculator

Hi

i bought 3 .ie domains for personal use. I am now planning on developing them to make money. Do i need to inform them that i now wish to use these domains as a business?

And what type of company do most websites operate, a sole trader?

mneylon

Speculator wrote: »

Hi

i bought 3 .ie domains for personal use. I am now planning on developing them to make money. Do i need to inform them that i now wish to use these domains as a business?

If you registered the domain(s) to yourself as a private individual and are now operating as a limited company then you probably should get them updated to the company.

Speculator

Blacknight wrote: »

If you registered the domain(s) to yourself as a private individual and are now operating as a limited company then you probably should get them updated to the company.

Hi Blacknight,

I will be operating as a sole trader, will this make any difference?

mneylon

Speculator wrote: »

Hi Blacknight,

I will be operating as a sole trader, will this make any difference?

Probably not, as there's no real line between an individual and a sole trader

scotwilson

jmcc wrote: »

No. People are often smarter than that. If you are targeting the Irish market, it is best to have a .ie as .com is global.

Regards...jmcc

I am totally agree with u jmcc, me as a scotish person i would refer that.........:D

bmw10740

With .ie there is a requirement to validate your connection as an Irish entity. This can be quite good once you have it but it does mean that you must supply the required documentation. If you are committed to your business long term then registering with CRO is something you will want to do anyway. Best advice is collect your documents and take the time to sort it out correctly. It will be worth it. Also check out http://gettingirishbusinessonline.ie/ its a great support for new business starting out. As an Irish business, if your customer base is Ireland then it will be worth the effort getting the .ie status. Good luck, hope this helps.

jlacey

this is true really for your business in Ireland, even.co.uk can marginalise an irish consumer, but if all else fails, people are not that bothered if your .com or .ie, how good you run your business is the most important thing, because rank engine and search engine results will go up and down and this will effect profits

Mr Bump

OP, HellFireClub is correct, it is ot hard, just register online, it costs 20 euro, you must also register with core.ie, when you pay online then within 24hours you will be able to access your RBN1 for in core and email it for your .ie address, it is really not that hard, also it only takes 24 hour for everything to be completed,

HellFireClub wrote: »

What you need to do OP is register a Business Name with the CRO using the RBN1 form, when you pay your (40 Euro I think it is or 20 Euro if you do it online), you can fax the receipt you get to your web hosting company and this will tick the little public sector box that needs to be ticked in order to issue you with a domain name.

http://www.cro.ie/ena/business-registration-business-name.aspx

aclerkin

Write the provider of .ie domain a letter explaining all and that should cover it. I don't think they read them half the time anyway.

Gizmoses

A .ie domain name is one of the hardest domains to get. But if you supply your hosting company with a business number from CRO (which costs 20 euro online) should have it within the week.

Hope that helps

Graham

A .ie domain is generally not at all difficult to get but it does take slightly more than handing over your credit card details.

Cookiepus

i thought - great i can do this on my PC with credit card or whatever
look at the instructions!....post a cheque!

Step 1
Complete your document online

Step 2
Print and sign your signature page

Step 3
Post the signature page along with your cheque to:-

Business Names Section
Companies Registration Office
Parnell House
14 Parnell Square
Dublin 1

mneylon

Cookiepus wrote: »

i thought - great i can do this on my PC with credit card or whatever
look at the instructions!....post a cheque!

Step 1
Complete your document online

Step 2
Print and sign your signature page

Step 3
Post the signature page along with your cheque to:-

Business Names Section
Companies Registration Office
Parnell House
14 Parnell Square
Dublin 1

Unfortunately they don't take payment online.. And so you have to find a cheque book ..

mmclo

I paid online, I think you can for all cro stuff now it takes you to a relex section. But yes still had to send the "signature" form by post!

mneylon

mmclo wrote: »

I paid online, I think you can for all cro stuff now it takes you to a relex section. But yes still had to send the "signature" form by post!

Good to know. I haven't applied for any RBNs for a while, so wasn't aware that they took payment online. Sending in the signature sheet isn't too hard

jmcc

Surprising that the CRO hasn't upgraded to fax. The signature requirement is a legal one from what I remember. Online payment does make it somewhat simpler but is it still a long wait for the actual cert?

Regards...jmcc

mmclo

Mine took 3 weeks

mneylon

mmclo wrote: »

Mine took 3 weeks

From what I recall it might take that long to get the physical certificate, but the actual number was assigned and available to check via their site quite a bit sooner