GlossaryThe domain name
Registry
Definition
A registry is the organization that runs an extension — .com, .fr, .org — and keeps the authoritative database of every name reserved under it. It is the authority on whether a domain exists and when it expires; the registrar just passes requests along.
Three roles people mix up constantly
The registry operates the extension, the registrar is the shop you buy from, and the registrant is whoever the name belongs to. All three appear in the public record of any domain, and mixing them up costs you time at the worst possible moment — you end up on the phone to the wrong company while a deadline runs down.
The registry matters to an agency at two moments. First when you pick an extension, because each one sets its own conditions: .fr is open only to people established in the European Union and a few neighbouring countries, under Afnic's rules. Then at expiry, because what happens next — grace period, paid restoration, release for resale — runs on the registry's calendar, not the registrar's.
Who runs what
The most common extensions, and the organization behind each.
.com Verisign
.net Verisign
.org Public Interest Registry
.fr Afnic
.eu EURidNone of these organizations sells domains to the public: they keep the database and leave the selling to others. It is also why everyday requests — renew, transfer, fix the registrant — always go through a registrar.
The usual mistake
Applying what you learned on a .com to a .fr. Post-expiry deadlines, restoration terms and even the vocabulary change from one registry to the next, so counting on a grace period that this extension does not offer means losing the name.
How to avoid it: Before you let a renewal date run, read the post-expiry calendar published by that extension's registry. Better still, do not let it run: the only date that costs nothing is the one you renew early.
Source: Each registry publishes its own rules: Afnic for .fr, Verisign for .com and .net, EURid for .eu. IANA maintains the list of extensions and their operators.
Related terms
Where to go next
Knowing the words is half the job
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