Many people search for a domain name with the term "Traficom domain name" and end up wondering why they cannot buy a domain directly from the authority. In this article we go through what Traficom's role in .fi domain names is and how registration works in practice.
What is Traficom and what does it do for domain names?
Traficom, the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency, maintains the official domain name register for Finland's country code .fi. Every domain name ending in .fi is in Traficom's register, and the agency oversees that names are registered in accordance with the rules.
Traficom does not, however, sell domain names directly to consumers or businesses. Since 2016, .fi domain names have always been registered through a registrar approved by Traficom. The registrar handles the registration, billing, name servers and customer support, while Traficom focuses on maintaining the register.
Viestintävirasto, Ficora and Traficom are the same organisation
When talking about domain name matters you still come across several names. It is the same agency in different eras: Viestintävirasto managed the .fi register until 2019, and its English name was Ficora. At the start of 2019, Viestintävirasto and Trafi merged into the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom. So if older instructions refer to the domain name service of Viestintävirasto or Ficora, they mean today's Traficom.
Who can register a .fi domain name?
In practice, anyone. After the 2016 reform, a .fi domain name can be registered by a Finnish or foreign company, association, public body or private individual. Place of residence does not matter, and registration does not require a Finnish business ID or personal identity code.
Domain names are granted in order of arrival. A name must not infringe another party's protected name or trademark, and Traficom can order an infringing name to be removed afterwards.
This is how .fi domain name registration proceeds
- Check availability. Enter the name you want in the domain search and you will see straight away whether it is free.
- Place an order with a registrar. The registrar registers the name in Traficom's register in your name or your company's name. At Nordweb, registration happens automatically right after payment.
- The name is yours within minutes. Name servers and DNS management are included in the registration, so you can point the name to a website and email straight away.
Transferring a domain name from one registrar to another
If your .fi domain name is already registered with another registrar, you can transfer it freely. For the transfer you need an authorisation key, also known as a transfer key, which you get from your current registrar. The transfer does not change the name's validity period, and .fi names have no lock periods that restrict transfers.
What makes a good domain name?
Traficom's rules allow names of 2 to 63 characters, which may contain letters, numbers and hyphens. A good domain name is, however, as short as possible, easy to type and preferably the same as your company name. Scandinavian characters such as ä and ö are allowed, but with them it is worth also reserving a version without them, because not all systems handle the special characters correctly.
Register a .fi domain name with Nordweb
Nordweb is a registrar approved by Traficom. We register .fi names directly in the register without intermediaries, and the name is yours immediately. See the price of a .fi domain name or check whether the name you want is free.