For resellers selling into Chile, or building out a broader Latin America TLD offering, .cl is the local domain extension clients will ask for. You should therefore know the rules before you give your client a price.
Eligibility for .cl is straightforward. What catches resellers out is everything that happens after registration: what NIC Chile expects from the domain holder, what happens if a client’s data goes stale, and how a dispute plays out under a process that is separate from the UDRP most resellers know from generic TLDs.
This article covers who can register a .cl domain, what NIC Chile expects from the holder afterward, how .cl disputes work, and how to add .cl to your portfolio through Openprovider.
Key takeaways
- Any natural or legal person, Chilean or foreign, can register a .cl domain.
- A .cl domain can be registered or renewed for any term from 1 to 10 years, with no forced minimum.
- Registrant data has to stay accurate. NIC Chile can delete a domain over incomplete or inaccurate identification data if it is not corrected within five calendar days.
- Disputes run through NIC Chile’s own arbitration process, and the arbitrator’s decision cannot be appealed.
Anyone can register a .cl domain
Any natural or legal person can register a .cl domain, whether they are Chilean or foreign. This comes from article 7 of NIC Chile’s regulations.
One caveat: NIC Chile reserves the right to request proof of the holder’s identity in exceptional cases, so it is worth making sure the registrant details you submit match the client’s real identity.
For the wider case on why the Chilean market is worth investing in, see our Chile reseller guide.
The importance of keeping registrant data current
Every .cl registration needs an administrative contact. This contact acts as the holder’s representative for every regulatory purpose, disputes included, so it needs to be someone who can respond if NIC Chile or a third party gets in touch.
Registration data must be complete and accurate, and the holder is obliged to keep it up to date for as long as they hold the domain. Under article 17 of NIC Chile’s regulations, incomplete or inaccurate identification data is grounds for deletion. NIC Chile can request a correction by email, and if the data is not fixed within five calendar days, the domain can be deactivated and then deleted.
For a reseller managing dozens of Chilean registrations, that five-day deadline belongs in your data-hygiene process. Weekends count, so a request that arrives on a Friday leaves very little working time.
Predictable .cl pricing makes quoting simpler
A .cl domain can be registered or renewed for any term from 1 to 10 years. NIC Chile’s registry price is the same for each year, so the registry cost grows evenly with the number of years the client chooses. The price you pay on top of that depends on your registrar.
That pricing predictability is worth building into how you quote. A client who wants a lower upfront cost can register for a single year. A client who wants to avoid an annual renewal conversation can go longer. Either way, the term is your decision to make with the client.
If a client’s domains are already spread across several providers, keeping track of individually chosen terms is the kind of detail that gets lost. Our piece on how fragmented infrastructure erodes margin at scale explains why that gap is expensive. Managing .cl in the same Reseller Control Panel (RCP) as the rest of your portfolio keeps every term and renewal date in one view.
Register brand names early: the first 30 days carry the most risk
After a .cl domain is registered, NIC Chile adds it to a public list of new registrations for 30 calendar days. During that time, anyone can ask NIC Chile to cancel the registration if they believe they have a better claim to the name, for example because it matches their company name or brand. They don’t need to prove that the holder did anything wrong. A revocation request costs CLP 46,000 under NIC Chile’s current fee schedule.
After the 30-day window, the bar rises. A challenger then has to show that the registration is abusive, which means meeting all three of these conditions:
- The domain is identical or confusingly similar to a name or trademark the challenger has prior rights to.
- The holder has no rights or legitimate interest in the domain.
- The domain was registered or is being used in bad faith.
The first month is when a new .cl is most exposed. If a client is registering a brand-related .cl name, it is worth registering it well before launch, so the 30-day window closes before the brand goes public.
How .cl disputes work outside the UDRP
.cl disputes do not use ICANN’s Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP), the process most resellers know from generic TLDs. Anyone who believes a .cl registration harms their rights can request revocation under NIC Chile’s own dispute policy.
The parties can agree on an arbitrator between themselves. If they don’t, NIC Chile appoints one from a list published on its website. The arbitrator’s decisions cannot be appealed, a right every registrant waives by holding a .cl domain. For contractual matters outside the arbitrator’s remit, the parties fall under the jurisdiction of the courts in Santiago.
While a revocation case is open, the domain is blocked: the holder cannot be changed and the domain cannot be deleted. The holder can still update the domain’s data unless the arbitrator orders otherwise. NIC Chile’s dispute resolution policy sets out the full procedure.
Plan for registry-level suspensions in your abuse process
Since a 2020 amendment to NIC Chile’s regulations, the registry can suspend a .cl domain temporarily or permanently if it was registered for phishing, malware distribution, botnet operation, or other technical abuse of the DNS.
For a reseller, this is an action the registry takes directly on a domain you manage and bill for, so your abuse-handling process should account for it.
Choose who receives NIC Chile’s emails before you register
NIC Chile sends every notification, including the five-day correction request, to the email addresses in the domain’s registration data. Keeping those addresses working is the holder’s exclusive responsibility.
If you use your own address as the reseller, you are responsible for anything that gets missed. If you use the client’s address, make sure someone monitors it, since a missed email does not pause the five-day deadline.
Either approach can work, as long as the choice is deliberate. If the client needs a monitored address, business email can be set up alongside the domain.
What to check before you quote a .cl domain
A few details decide whether a .cl registration stays trouble-free after the sale, so it’s worth confirming them with the client before you send a quote:
- The term the client wants, and the total upfront cost for that term
- Who holds the contact email, and whether someone monitors it
- Whether the registrant details match the client’s real identity
- Whether the client has a Chilean trademark worth defending, given the higher risk in the first 30 days
Sell .cl alongside the rest of your portfolio
With Openprovider, .cl sits alongside more than 2,000 TLDs in one RCP, so you can register, renew, and manage every client domain in the same place, whether through the panel or the API.
Openprovider Membership gives you cost-price access to Openprovider-accredited TLDs, with no markup added between you and the registry. That leaves more room for your own margin on every domain you sell.
Create your free account, no card needed, and try out the platform for yourself.
FAQ
Can a foreign company register a .cl domain?
Yes. Any natural or legal person, Chilean or foreign, can register a .cl domain.
What information do you need to register a .cl domain?
You need complete and accurate registrant data and an administrative contact, which is mandatory. The data must be kept current for as long as the domain is registered.
What is the minimum registration period for a .cl domain?
There is no forced minimum. A .cl domain can be registered for any term from 1 to 10 years, and the registry charges the same amount for each year.
When does a .cl domain need to be renewed?
Before the end of the term you registered it for. Renewals can be for any term from 1 to 10 years, and a domain that is not renewed can be deleted.
Can a .cl domain be deleted for inaccurate contact data?
Yes. Under article 17 of NIC Chile’s regulations, incomplete or inaccurate identification data is grounds for deletion if it is not corrected within five calendar days of NIC Chile’s request.
Does .cl use UDRP?
No. .cl disputes run through NIC Chile’s own dispute resolution policy, which is separate from ICANN’s UDRP.
Can someone challenge a .cl domain after it is registered?
Yes. Inside the first 30 days, a challenger only needs to claim a preferential interest in the name. After that, they must prove the registration is abusive under a three-part test.
What happens to a .cl domain during a dispute?
The domain is blocked. The holder cannot be changed and the domain cannot be deleted, but the holder can still update its data unless the arbitrator orders otherwise.
Can NIC Chile suspend a .cl domain?
Yes. Since a 2020 amendment, NIC Chile can suspend a .cl domain temporarily or permanently for phishing, malware, botnet activity, or other technical abuse of the DNS.
Who manages the .cl registry?
NIC Chile, which is run by the Department of Computer Science at the University of Chile under delegation from IANA.
