View source for .qa

{{short description|Internet country-code top level domain for Qatar}}
{{Infobox Top level domain
| name                  = .qa
| image                 = Qatar Domains Registry logo.png
| introduced            = 12 June 1996
| type                  = [[Country code top-level domain]]
| status                = Active
| registry              = Qatar Domains Registry
| sponsor               =Communications Regulatory Authority 
| intendeduse           = Entities connected with {{QAT}}
| actualuse             = Fairly popular in Qatar
| registereddomains     = 21,612
| dateregistereddomains = July 2019
| refregistereddomains  = <ref name="domains1">{{cite web|url=http://www.domains.qa/en|title=Home|publisher=Qatar Domains Registry|accessdate=4 July 2019|archive-date=21 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060032/http://www.domains.qa/en|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| restrictions          = Registration must occur through an accredited registrar
| structure             = Country code top-level domain and second-level domains are available
| disputepolicy         = [https://www.cra.gov.qa/en/Services/Domains/Complains Complaints]
| website               = {{url|www.domains.qa/en}}
}}
'''.qa''' is the [[Internet]] [[country code]] [[top-level domain]] ([[ccTLD]]) for [[Qatar|State of Qatar]].

==History==
The .qa country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Qatar has been managed by the Qatar Domains Registry (QDR), under the oversight of the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA). Initially, the registry held a "sunrise" period prior to public availability, which allowed trademark holders and government entities to secure their Qatar-specific domain names.

Public registration of .qa domains began in September 2011, with domain names offered through a mix of local and international accredited registrars.<ref name="domains2">{{cite web | url=http://www.domains.qa/en/news/qatar-domain-names-qa-now-available-public | title=Qatar Domain Names (.QA) Now Available to the Public | publisher=Qatar Domain Registry | accessdate=23 August 2014 | archive-date=26 August 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826113941/http://www.domains.qa/en/news/qatar-domain-names-qa-now-available-public | url-status=dead }}</ref> By 2014, thirteen registrars had been accredited by the QDR, including both international and local entities such as Qtel, IP Mirror, MarkMonitor, and DomainMonster.<ref name="domains3">{{cite web | url=http://www.domains.qa/en/registrars/accredited-registrars | title=Accredited Registrars | publisher=Qatar Domain Registry | accessdate=23 August 2014 | date=2014-05-29 | archive-date=2014-08-20 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140820134654/http://www.domains.qa/en/registrars/accredited-registrars | url-status=dead }}</ref>

However, a significant policy shift occurred at the end of 2024, when the CRA discontinued the renewal and issuance of registrar licenses to international companies. The regulatory framework was amended to ensure that only companies legally registered within the State of Qatar are eligible to become accredited domain registrars.<ref name="cra2025">{{cite web |url=https://www.cra.gov.qa/en/Services/Domains/Accredited-Registrars |title=Accredited Registrars |publisher=Communications Regulatory Authority |access-date=13 May 2025}}</ref>

The Qatar Domains Registry manages a variety of domain extensions under the .qa namespace, including:

* Publicly available through registrars: .qa, .com.qa, .net.qa, .name.qa, and the Arabic IDN .قطر (represented in Punycode as <code>.xn--wgbl6a</code>).
* Reserved and managed directly by QDR: .gov.qa, .mil.qa, .org.qa, .edu.qa, and .sch.qa.

Qatar was among the first countries globally to offer domain names in the Arabic script.

==Second-level domains==
* ''.com.qa'' – Commercial organisations; registered trademarks.
* ''.edu.qa'' – Licensed higher educational organisations in Qatar.
* ''.sch.qa'' – Licensed private and public schools in Qatar.
* ''.gov.qa'' – Governmental organisations.
* ''.mil.qa'' – Ministry of State for Defense Affairs and [[Qatar Armed Forces]].
* ''.net.qa'' – Licensed networks of data communications.
* ''.org.qa'' – Nonprofit organisations.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.iana.org/domains/root/db/qa.html IANA .qa whois information]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180421213856/http://www.ictqatar.qa/en/department/regulatory-authority/qatar-internet-domain-names Qatar Internet Domain Names]
* [http://www.domains.qa Qatar Domains Registry] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110527043147/http://www.domains.qa/ |date=2011-05-27 }}
* [http://نطاقات.قطر/ar For the IDN version of the website.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826171348/http://xn--mgbaj3c0cva.xn--wgbl6a/ar |date=2014-08-26 }}

{{CcTLD}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qa}}
[[Category:Country code top-level domains]]
[[Category:Telecommunications in Qatar]]
[[Category:Internet in Qatar]]
[[Category:Internet properties established in 1996]]

[[sv:Toppdomän#Q]]