What is the charge for domain name registration?

The cost for registering a new domain name in .com, .org, and .net is $100 (US). This fee covers the initial registration and updates to the domain name's database record for a period of two years. Following the initial two-year period, registrants will be charged $50 (US) annually, on the anniversary of the initial registration, to renew the domain name. The renewal fee also covers updates for that year. The billing contact will be sent an invoice by postal and electronic mail 30 days before this fee is due.

Updates that are not covered by this fee are: changes to the domain name itself; transfers of the domain name to another party; changes in the Organization's information that in effect represent a transfer of the domain name to another legal entity. These actions are not considered updates and require a new registration to be processed, which will be subject to the $100 (US) new registration fee.

All fees received will be considered "program income" under he NSF General Conditions of the cooperative agreement and must be shown as revenues and their disposition accounted for. Seventy percent of the fees collected will be retained by Network Solutions to cover operating costs and will be audited by NSF. The remaining thirty percent will be spent, with guidance from an advisory committee drawn from the Internet community, into the intellectual infrastructure of the Internet and will be publicly accounted for.

Those domains already in existence when fees were imposed will owe a $50 annual renewal fee on the anniversary date of their registration. The billing contact will be sent an invoice by postal and electronic mail 30 days before this fee is due.