.fr is France's country code, the address French customers look for when they buy from a business that serves France. It is open to people living in, and organisations established in, the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, so a UK-only business can't register a new one.
PD Hosting is a Nominet accredited registrar with a London office. If you're eligible, we register your .fr immediately and keep it in the same account as your UK names.
Per year. Compare every extension on our domain pricing page.
What is a .fr domain?
- Type
- Country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) for France. Source
- Registry
- Afnic, the French association for cooperative internet naming, based in Guyancourt. Source
- Who may register
- People resident in, and organisations with their registered office or main establishment in, an EU member state, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland. Source
- UK owners
- Since 1 January 2021 UK residents are not eligible for new .fr names. Names registered by UK residents before then remain valid and can be renewed, but can't be transferred to another UK holder. Source
- Eligibility checks
- Afnic can ask a holder to justify eligibility and contactability. If the request goes unanswered, the name is deleted immediately, with no redemption period. Source
- After deletion
- A name deleted at the holder's request enters a 30-day redemption period, in which only its registrar can restore it. Source
Facts checked against the registry on 9 November 2026.
Who a .fr domain suits
A .fr fits a business established in France or elsewhere in the EU that sells to French customers: a gîte in the Dordogne, a Lyon wine merchant, an Irish software firm with a French-language site, or the Paris subsidiary of a British retailer. French visitors recognise it straight away as local.
It also suits individuals living in France, Belgium, Spain or any other eligible country, including British people who have settled there, because eligibility depends on where you live, not on your nationality.
- A French-language website for customers in France
- The site and email of a French subsidiary or branch
- A holiday let, shop or practice located in France
- A personal site for someone living in an eligible country
Benefits of a .fr domain
Clearly French
French customers trust an address in their own country code, especially when paying for goods or bookings.
Holders are known to be European
Every holder must live or be established in the EU, EEA or Switzerland, so a .fr carries a European presence with it.
A country signal for France
Google uses country codes such as .fr to understand which country a site targets.
Who can hold a .fr, and what Brexit changed for UK owners
Afnic's rule turns on residence and establishment, not citizenship. An individual must live in an EU member state, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland. A company or organisation must have its registered office or main establishment in one of those countries; where its owners live doesn't matter.
When the UK left the EU, Afnic didn't change its charter. UK residents simply stopped meeting the residence test from 1 January 2021. Afnic applied the principle that new rules aren't retroactive, so about 34,000 .fr names already held by UK residents stayed valid. Their owners can keep and renew them, but a .fr can't be transferred to a new UK-resident holder.
For a UK business today, the practical routes are a French or other EU-established subsidiary, which can hold the name itself, or a British person who genuinely lives in an eligible country. Registering with an address you don't use is risky: Afnic can ask for proof of eligibility, and if that request goes unanswered the domain is deleted straight away.
.fr pros and cons
Works well if
- You live in, or your organisation is established in, the EU, EEA or Switzerland
- Your customers are mainly in France
- You're running a French-language site and want it to look local
- You already hold a .fr from before 2021 and want to keep renewing it
Look elsewhere if
- Your business is established only in the UK: choose .com or .co.uk instead
- You serve several EU countries equally: a .eu may suit better if you're eligible
- You'd rather avoid eligibility checks: .com has none
.fr compared with similar extensions
| Extension | Best for | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| .fr | Businesses and residents serving France | Requires residence or establishment in the EU, EEA or Switzerland. |
| .eu | Selling across the EU | Also open to EU citizens living outside the EU. |
| .com | UK businesses with French customers | No eligibility rules; pair it with a French-language section. |
Register your .fr domain
- Search for the name you want below.
- Add it to your basket and choose how many years to register it for.
- Check out. Your domain is registered straight away and appears in your client area, ready to point at your website and email.
Every domain includes DNS management, DNS backup and restore, and free mail forwarding.
.fr questions
Is a UK resident allowed a new .fr?
Not a new one. Afnic requires individuals to live in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, and UK residents stopped qualifying on 1 January 2021. A name you registered before that date can still be renewed.
Can a British citizen living in France have a .fr?
Yes. Eligibility depends on where you live, not your passport, so a British national resident in France or another eligible country can register a .fr in their own name.
Can my UK company use its French subsidiary to hold a .fr?
Yes, if the subsidiary has its registered office or main establishment in France or another eligible country. The subsidiary itself must be named as the holder.
Does a .fr renew at the same price as its first year?
No. A .fr renews with us at £13.95 a year. That is higher than the first-year price, so allow for it when you budget.
What happens if my .fr is deleted?
If it was deleted at your request, Afnic holds it for 30 days, during which your registrar can restore it. If it was deleted because an eligibility check went unanswered, deletion is immediate and there's no redemption period.
Sources: Afnic naming policy (May 2025) · Afnic: Brexit and .fr domain names · Afnic FAQs · IANA .fr record
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