About .cf domains

About .cf domains

.CF is a country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) in the DNS root zone. It is designated for Central African Republic. The IANA root zone lists the registry manager as Societe Centrafricaine de Telecommunications (SOCATEL). Registration policies (who may register, local presence, pricing) are set by the registry and its accredited registrars — not by IANA.

.cf is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the Central African Republic. It is administered by the Central African Society of Telecommunications. Dot CF, also known as Dot CrossFire, is an initiative of the Societe Centrafricaine de Telecommunications (SOCATEL, headquartered in Bangui) in partnership with Freenom (previously known as Freedom Registry). The domain was made available for registration free of charge on Freenom's website, regardless of whether the individual who registers the domain has any connection with the Central African Republic. Exceptions included "high value" domain names, which include trademark domain names for most Fortune 500 companies, and common dictionary terms. Potentially valuable domains which are fewer than 4 characters were also marked "High Value". The same applied to other domains offered via Freenom, such as .tk and .ml. The .cf registry allowed the creation of emoji domain names. Following Freenom's lawsuit with Meta and its settlement in 2024, it was unclear who would take up registration of the domain, as Freenom announced it would be exiting the domain business. The Central African Republic now owns the domain, and has closed off any further registries for the domain.

Who can register .cf domains?

Eligibility is defined by the registry operator and its registrars. Most gTLDs are open to anyone worldwide. Many ccTLDs are also open globally; some require local presence, citizenship, or trademark rights. Always confirm current policy with the registry or your registrar.

Registration restrictions

Character rules below follow common ICANN LDH conventions. Individual registries and registrars may impose extra eligibility, length, or residency rules.

Length

2 – 63 characters (label before .cf)

Can use

Letters (a–z), numbers (0–9), and hyphens (not first/last or consecutive in restricted cases)

Cannot use

Special characters (e.g. & # @) in standard LDH labels

IDNs

Varies by registry — check IDN support with the registry or your registrar

Features

Operational features (privacy, parking, protection) are registrar-level, not defined by the IANA root zone record.

Registry information

Sponsor / manager

Societe Centrafricaine de Telecommunications (SOCATEL)

Registration services

http://www.dot.cf

WHOIS server

whois.dot.cf

Root zone registration

1996-04-24

Record last updated

2015-12-29