IRNIC

What IRNIC does

IRNIC (ایرنیک) is the Islamic Republic of Iran's official country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) registry, operating since 1994 as the Domain Registration Center under the Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), a government-affiliated research institution headquartered in Tehran. As Iran's sole ccTLD registry delegated by ICANN, IRNIC manages all registrations for the ASCII .ir TLD and the Persian-script .ایران (dot-Iran) TLD, including internationalized domain name (IDN) support with automatic Arabic-to-Persian character conversion and automatic bundling of up to six homograph variant domains to protect registrants. Core services comprise second- and third-level domain registration and renewal, WHOIS lookup, DNS configuration, reserved-name policy enforcement, and a UDRP-style domain dispute resolution framework administered in partnership with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center.

The registry's technology stack is purpose-built for Persian-language internet identity, including support for Zero-Width Joiner (ZWJ) and Zero-Width Non-Joiner (ZWNJ) characters and participation in ICANN's example.test IDN evaluation project across 11 scripts. IRNIC distributes its services through two channels: a direct self-service online portal (new.nic.ir) where registrants apply, authenticate, upload documents, configure DNS, and manage renewals, plus a network of authorized resellers who receive a discounted unit rate. Pricing is denominated in Iranian Rials at 460,000 Rials per unit for end users and 345,000 Rials per unit for resellers, with second-level domains priced at 2 units annually or 6 units for a five-year term.

IRNIC's business model is subscription-based recurring revenue from registration and renewal fees, supplemented by ancillary charges for cancellations (0.5 units), transfers (1 unit), and post-expiry unlocks. The customer base is defined broadly as any natural or legal person whose registration does not conflict with Iranian law, yielding a highly distributed, low-concentration registrant pool. As a non-profit public-purpose registry, IRNIC does not pursue venture funding, disclose revenue, or operate on commercial growth metrics; its mandate is regulatory and infrastructural rather than profit-maximizing, and its competitive position derives from its ICANN delegation and Iranian government designation rather than from market-based differentiation.

Name

IRNIC

Legal name

ایرنیک (IRNIC) — مرکز ثبت دامنه نقطه آی‌آر (.ir)

Website

https://nic.ir

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

IRNIC (ایرنیک) is Iran's official country-code top-level domain registry under IPM, managing .ir and Persian-script .ایران domain registrations, WHOIS, DNS, and WIPO-administered dispute resolution for Iranian individuals and organizations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Tehran

HQ country

Iran

HQ region

Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Domain Name Registration Fees: IRNIC generates revenue through domain registration and renewal fees for .ir and .ایران domains. Fees are structured per unit (460,000 Rials per unit for end users; 345,000 Rials per unit for authorized resellers). Second-level domain registration/renewal costs 2 units for one year or 6 units for five years. Third-level domains cost 1.5 units annually or 4.5 units for five years. Domain cancellation costs 0.5 units and domain transfer costs 1 unit.
2. Reseller Network Fees: Authorized resellers pay a reduced unit rate (345,000 Rials per unit) compared to direct users (460,000 Rials), generating margin-based revenue through the reseller distribution channel.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

IRNIC operates the registry for Iran's country-code top-level domains, providing registration, renewal, and lifecycle management of .ir (ASCII) and .ایران (Persian-script IDN) domain names for Iranian individuals and organizations. Core services include second-level and third-level domain registration, WHOIS lookup, DNS configuration, Persian Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) support with bundled homograph variant protection, and formal domain dispute resolution administered through the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center.

Product overview

IRNIC (ایرنیک) is the Islamic Republic of Iran's country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) registry, operating under the Research Institute for Information and Communication Technology (ICT). It manages two primary TLDs: the ASCII .ir domain and the Persian-script .ایران (dot-iran) domain, the latter supporting internationalized domain names (IDN) with full Persian character sets. Core services include domain name registration, renewal, and management; WHOIS lookup; DNS configuration; and a formal dispute resolution policy administered in partnership with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center. IRNIC also participates in the ICANN-led IDN evaluation program, offering test domains in multiple scripts. The registry is not a SaaS platform in the conventional sense — it is a national domain registry authority providing regulatory, registration, and dispute management services for Iranian internet infrastructure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• .ir Domain Registration Registration, renewal, and lifecycle management of second-level and third-level domain names under the .ir country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Iranian individuals and organizations. Available in one-year or five-year terms at 2 units per year (second-level) or 1.5 units per year (third-level).
• .ایران (Dot-Iran) Domain Registration Registration of domain names under the .ایران (dot-Iran) internationalized top-level domain using native Persian script, with automatic Arabic-to-Persian character conversion and bundled homograph variant domains (up to six confusingly similar variants) auto-assigned for registrant protection.
• WHOIS Lookup Service Public WHOIS lookup service enabling queries against the .ir domain name registry, returning registrar and name server (DNS) information for registered domains.
• Domain Dispute Resolution Service Formal UDRP-style domain dispute resolution service covering bad-faith registration, lack of legitimate interests, reverse domain name hijacking, and trademark infringement via domain names, administered through the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center for .ir domain conflicts.
• DNS Name Server Service Authoritative DNS resolution service for the .ir and .ایران zones via IRNIC-operated name servers (a.irnic.ir and b.irnic.ir), enabling registrants to configure and manage DNS records for their registered domains.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• WIPO Arbitration and Mediation CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center serves as the designated dispute resolution provider for .ir domain name disputes under IRNIC's Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy. It administers mandatory administrative proceedings for domain name conflicts involving bad faith registration, trademark infringement via domain names, and cases where registrants have no legitimate interest in the disputed domain.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• DENIC: DENIC is the registry for Germany's .de ccTLD, one of the largest ccTLD registries globally. It is directly comparable to IRNIC as a national ccTLD registry managing registration, dispute resolution, and DNS for a country-code top-level domain.
• AFNIC: AFNIC manages France's .fr ccTLD and is a direct peer to IRNIC. Both are national registries providing registration, WHOIS, DNS, and dispute resolution services, with AFNIC being slightly more commercially oriented.
• NIC.at: NIC.at manages Austria's .at ccTLD registry. It is a direct peer to IRNIC, providing domain registration services under a national registry model with policy and dispute resolution frameworks.
• SWITCH: SWITCH operates Switzerland's .ch ccTLD registry. As a non-profit registry under government/academic oversight, it is structurally very similar to IRNIC in mission and operating model.
• CIRA: CIRA (Canadian Internet Registration Authority) manages the .ca ccTLD. It is a direct peer to IRNIC as a national registry with a member-based governance model and policy-driven approach to domain registration.
• Nominet: Nominet operates the .uk ccTLD registry. It is a direct peer to IRNIC, providing domain registration services, dispute resolution, and policy management for a country's national TLD, with similar non-profit/government-affiliated origins.

Broad incumbents

• ICANN: ICANN is the global coordinator of the DNS and the parent authority under which IRNIC operates as a ccTLD registry. Iran is historically associated with ICANN's ccTLD umbrella, making ICANN a regulatory peer.

Regional players

• SaudiNIC (Communications, Space & Technology Commission): SaudiNIC operates .sa ccTLD and is a regional peer to IRNIC in the Middle East. Both are government-affiliated domain registries serving national internet infrastructure in their respective countries.

Others

• WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center: WIPO administers IRNIC's domain dispute resolution proceedings. While not a registry peer, WIPO is a key infrastructure partner and is comparable to other dispute resolution providers serving ccTLDs.
• Nominet UK Dispute Resolution Service: Nominet's DRS is a reference implementation for ccTLD dispute resolution. As a peer framework to IRNIC's WIPO-administered policy, it represents a comparable policy/dispute infrastructure for a national registry.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/irnic

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IRNIC