Domain Names

There is no specific legislation although some regulations on the organization and management of country code top-level domain names do exist. These include:

– Kenya Information and Communications Act, 1998 (Revised Edition 2020).
– The Kenya Information and Communications (Electronic Certification and Domain Name Administration) Regulations, 2010.

Filing

Country code top-level domain name: .ke 

Sub-domains: .co.ke; .ac.ke; .go.ke; .sc.ke; .ne.ke; .or.ke; .me.ke; .mobi.ke; .info.ke 

Applicant: individuals and legal entities. 

Restriction as to nationality: yes. 

Local presence: required. 

Domestic trademark right: not required for obtaining domain name registration. 

Domain name can be registered as a trademark: yes. 

Priority: none, domain names are registered on a first come, first served basis.

The Kenya Network Information Centre (KENIC) is the entity responsible for managing the .ke ccTLD under a Public Private Partnership with the Communications Authority of Kenya.

Filing requirements for registration:
1. A KENIC user ID with domain registration rights. The “name” field must contain at least two words to avoid an error message;
2. A domain name – the first part of the domain name and the second level criteria to be registered are required;
3. Registration fee, including Registrar’s hosting charges and VAT on the same, payable on the registration date;
4. Registration agreement;
5. The details of the name servers/hosts on which the records for the domain name are hosted;
6. The entity’s particulars, including the company or organization name of the domain owner, authoritative contact person, physical address, block number, plot number or building number, specifics of the office location, postal zip code, name of the city and country of location, calling country code and calling area code, and telephone number;
7. An administrative entity ID;
8. A domain technical contact ID; and
9. A billing contact ID.

Note: registration is done only with accredited Registrars listed by KENIC upon confirmation of availability of a domain name. The list of KENIC accredited Registrars can be viewed at https://kenic.or.ke/licensed-registrars

For go.ke, ac.ke and sc.ke, the following supporting documents must be provided:

go.ke: authority letter from the Department of Government IT Services (GITS) at the Ministry of Finance showing that the entity is a valid government institution or agency and authorized to register the domain name.

ac.ke: (1) a copy of the certificate of registration from the relevant Ministry; (2) a copy of the College Charter or Act of Parliament establishing the Institute; (3) name of the entity and classification as a Tertiary Institution, Polytechnic, Technical College or University.

sc.ke: (1) a copy of the certificate of registration with the Ministry of Education; (2) name of the entity and a classification of the same as a Kindergarten, Primary or Secondary School.

Registration, Protection

Duration: an initial period of either one year or up to five years.

Renewal/maintenance: either one year or up to five years, renewable upon expiry of the initial registration period.

Dispute about ownership: to be brought before the Dispute Resolution Centre, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Kenyan Chapter, or the High Court of Kenya. For disputes relating to cybersquatting, registration and use in bad faith, an offender must submit to a mandatory administrative proceeding, but this does not preclude an aggrieved party from initiating court action. 

Uniform dispute resolution procedure: available, in accordance with the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy and Rules, both incorporated by reference in every registration agreement. KENIC has also adopted an Alternative Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy modeled after the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) as recommended by WIPO and adopted by ICANN.

Addition of new third-level domains: possible. The KENIC Board can commission new third-level domains on the condition that commissioning is ordinarily considered to take account of social, cultural or other circumstances which are particularly Kenyan and enhances the overall Kenyan domain name space.

Registration Authority

Authority name: Kenya Network Information Centre (KENIC). 

Internet address: www.kenic.or.ke