Country extension · China
.sn.cn domain name
What you need to know about .sn.cn: who can register it, which details are required and how transferring works.
Specifications
The key details of .sn.cn
- Country
- China
- Registry
- cnnic.cn
- Registration period
- 1 to 10 years
- Renewal period
- 1 to 10 years
- Domain name length
- 1 to 63 characters
- Time to registration
- up to 7 working days
- Renewal on transfer
- yes, transferring renews the domain
- Transfer code length
- 6 to 16 characters
- Transfer lock available
- yes
- Number of nameservers
- 1 to 13
- Quarantine after deletion
- 15 days
Features
- DNSSEC: yesYou can secure your domain name with DNSSEC.
- IPv6: yesThe nameservers for this extension can also be reached over IPv6.
- Special characters: yesDomain names with letters such as é, ü or ø (and sometimes other scripts) are possible.
- Whois privacy: no
- Trustee: no
Requirements
Who can register a .sn.cn?
- Individuals and organisations both inside and outside China can register a .sn.cn domain name.
- The registry CNNIC requires real-name registration: the registrant's identity is verified at registration, transfer and change of registrant.
- The registrant's name must exactly match the name on the identity document or company document, including the legal form, such as LTD.
- If you live outside China, your full name as it appears on your passport must not contain special characters such as ä, ö, ü or é. Otherwise CNNIC can't verify your document.
- If a company's contact person has a name like that, you can provide another employee without special characters in their name who is willing to send in an identity document.
- You must comply with CNNIC's rules and Chinese legislation on domain names, including the domain name dispute resolution policy.
- A domain name must not conflict with the Chinese constitution or legislation. Prohibited names or uses include, among others, those that harm national security, discriminate, spread rumours, spread pornography, gambling or violence, or insult others.
- You declare that your details and documents are genuine, accurate and complete, that you have read CNNIC's rules and that you will comply with the rules on the content of your website.
- You are fully responsible yourself if your domain name is suspended because of a breach of these terms. CNNIC and the registrar are not liable for this.
- If the web server is located in mainland China, you need a valid ICP number from the Chinese ministry MIIT. This is only possible if you have a business establishment in China.
Additional details for registration
- You indicate whether you're registering as an individual or as an organisation.
- You provide the type of identity document of the registrant, for example a passport, ID card or business licence, and the corresponding document number.
- If you're registering as an organisation, you provide the name of a responsible person. This person doesn't have to appear on the company document.
- If you use the domain name for a website on a server in mainland China, you also provide an ICP number.
Documents
- Individuals outside China send a scan or photo of their passport or ID card. A driving licence is not accepted and the registrant's name must appear on the document.
- Organisations outside China send a scan or copy of their business licence or an extract from the trade register, plus a copy of the responsible person's passport or ID card.
- Individuals in China send a copy of their passport or Chinese ID card. If you're from mainland China, it must be the Chinese ID card.
- Organisations in China send a copy of the first page of their company document, preferably the business licence, plus a copy of the contact person's passport or Chinese ID card.
- If you're from Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan, you can use a travel permit or residence permit for the mainland. A residence card for foreigners with permanent residence status is also accepted.
- If you provide a residence permit for residents of Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan or a residence card for foreigners, send both the front and the back.
- Documents for a registration must be in JPEG format and no larger than 1 MB.
- A signed declaration is no longer required.
Good to know when registering
- The registration is only complete once CNNIC has received and approved your documents.
- If the documents aren't received within 8 days, the registration fails.
- CNNIC carries out the check manually, even if you've been approved before.
Transfer
Transferring a .sn.cn
- The registrant details are needed for a transfer. CNNIC may also carry out an identity check during a transfer.
- You need a signed request from the registrant before the transfer is started.
- The domain must not be locked. You can see this in the WHOIS. If there's a lock on it, the registrant can ask the current registrar to remove it.
- The domain name must be more than 60 days old, otherwise the transfer will be rejected.
- The expiry date must be more than 15 days in the future. So start the transfer in good time and not just before it expires.
The transfer code
- A transfer code is needed to transfer a domain.
- The registrant or the administrative contact requests the code from the current registrar.
- Check that the code is correct before the transfer is started, otherwise it will fail.
Owner
Change of registrant
Change of registrant
- A change of registrant requires a copy of the new registrant's identity document or passport. For an organisation, this is the business licence.
- The documents can be in JPG, PNG, GIF or JPEG format and no larger than 1 MB.
- A change of registrant isn't processed immediately, so there's some time between the request and completion.
- If the domain was registered in the name of a trustee service, you can transfer it to your own registrant. Transferring to a trustee service isn't possible.
Renewal, cancellation and quarantine
- After an expired domain name has been recovered, the domain is initially inactive. It becomes active again as soon as nameservers have been set up again.
More information
Registry rules and links
- Registry website cnnic.cn
- Dispute resolution policy www1.cnnic.cn
- Registry terms and conditions www1.cnnic.cn
Compiled from the registry's rules. Registries sometimes change their rules; if in doubt, the registry's terms take precedence. Updated on 11/11/2026.