How to check if a .rs domain is free on the RNIDS WHOIS, how registration works through an accredited registrar, who the registrant, administrative and technical contacts are and what happens when a domain expires.
.rs Domain: How to Check and Register It, and Why It Must Be in Your Name
You can check whether a .rs domain is free with the WHOIS search on the RNIDS website (rnids.rs), at no cost. You do not register the domain with RNIDS itself but through one of its accredited registrars, for one to ten years. The registrant, the person or company the domain is registered to, should be your business or you personally, because the registrant holds the rights to the domain.
The domain is the address where customers find you and the address of your business email. When the domain is in someone else's name, an agency, a former partner or a relative who "took care of it", you depend on that person for every change, renewal and move to another registrar.
RNIDS (the Serbian National Internet Domain Registry) runs the central registry for .rs and .срб domains and sets the registration rules. It does not deal with end users directly; that is what accredited registrars are for.
Below is the order we suggest to every client before a website is built: checking, registering, contact roles, expiry and transfer. All facts come from the official RNIDS website.
The check takes less than a minute and costs nothing. If the domain is taken, WHOIS also shows who holds it and when it expires, so you know whether it makes sense to wait or to look for another name.
Check the same name as a .срб domain if Cyrillic matters to you, and on social networks too. It is easier to pick a name that is free everywhere than to explain three different names to customers.
Open rnids.rs and choose the WHOIS search.
Type the name you want, for example yourbusiness.rs, without www.
If the domain is free, note it and go straight to registration, because it is not reserved until someone pays for it.
If it is taken, look at the expiry date and check similar options: with a hyphen, with your trade or with your city.
What WHOIS Shows and How to See Who Your Domain Belongs To
For a registered domain, the RNIDS WHOIS shows the domain status, registration date, last modification date and expiry date, the accredited registrar, the DNS servers and the contacts: registrant, administrative and technical contact.
For a domain registered to a business, the registrant field shows the name of the company or sole trader. Look up your own domain now and check that field. If it does not show your business, the domain is not legally yours, no matter who pays the bill.
Note the expiry date too. That is the day the domain becomes inactive if nobody renews it, and your website and email stop working with it.
If you find that the domain is registered to an agency or to someone you no longer work with, do not wait for it to expire. A change of registrant goes through the accredited registrar; more on that below.
Who Can Register a .rs Domain
01Anyone
RNIDS states that .rs domains can be registered by legal entities and individuals, domestic and foreign, and by organizations of any kind. You do not need a company registered in Serbia.
02Other zones
.co.rs, .org.rs, .edu.rs and .in.rs are meant for specific categories of registrants under the General Terms and Conditions. For most small businesses a plain .rs is the natural choice.
03Characters
Since 10 December 2018 .rs names can also be registered with an extended set of Latin characters from the languages of national minorities used in Serbia. For Cyrillic there is a separate .срб domain.
Registering a .rs Domain, Step by Step
You register the domain through an accredited registrar, not directly with RNIDS. The list of accredited registrars is on the RNIDS website. Registrars set their own prices and payment methods, so compare the renewal price, not only the first year.
You give the registrar the details of the registrant, the administrative and technical contacts and at least two DNS servers. Without DNS servers the domain exists but is not visible on the internet.
The domain is yours only once you have paid for it. RNIDS states that until payment is made the registrar has no obligations toward you and the domain is not reserved for you.
When the registrar enters the domain into the RNIDS database, the registrant receives an email with a link to verify the data. Click it within 20 days, or the domain becomes inactive. So use an email address you actually read when registering.
A domain is registered for one to ten years and can be renewed without limit, but the total registration period cannot exceed ten years.
The registrant is the holder of the domain and the rights that come with it, as long as the registration is renewed. That is why RNIDS recommends registering the domain in your own name or your company's name.
The administrative contact can change most registration data, but cannot change the registrant, cannot change the administrative contact and cannot request termination of the registration. Those decisions stay with the registrant.
In practice this means an agency or developer can be the technical contact and look after your DNS, but the registrant should be you. If you part ways with the agency, the domain stays with you and you simply hand access to the new team.
If the domain is already in someone else's name, a request to change the registrant is filed through the accredited registrar. RNIDS says it carries out the transfer immediately, and no later than 60 working days after receiving a complete request. A change can also follow a decision of the dispute resolution commission or a final court decision.
Registrant, Administrative and Technical Contact
Every .rs domain has three roles. The registrant owns the registration. The administrative contact acts for the registrant with the registrar and changes most data. The technical contact handles technical matters with the registrar, such as DNS servers.
One person or company can hold all three roles. For a small business it is simplest when the registrant and the administrative contact are the business and the technical contact is whoever maintains the website.
Keep the data accurate. RNIDS requires you to report changes to the registrar within 15 days, and it can check the data itself and ask for corrections. If the registrant does not respond to such a request, the domain becomes inactive.
A new business address, a new director or a new email is therefore not only paperwork for the business register. Tell your domain registrar too.
What Happens When a Domain Expires
When the registration period ends, the domain becomes inactive. The website no longer opens and emails to addresses on that domain stop arriving.
The registrant then has 30 days to renew. If renewed within that window, the new period runs from the original expiry date. If not, the domain is deleted and becomes free for anyone.
The most common reason for expiry is not money but email. The registrar's reminder goes to a former employee or an agency and nobody reads it. That is why the administrative contact and notification email should be addresses the business controls.
If someone maintains your website, have them track the domain expiry date along with the SSL certificate and backups. That way renewal does not depend on anyone's memory.
Changing the registrar (a transfer) does not change who owns the domain, only the company you renew it through. The registrant or administrative contact asks the current registrar for an authorization code.
The code is emailed to the administrative contact, who gives it to the new registrar. The new registrar enters the code and the transfer is done. One more reason for the administrative contact to be an email you read.
If the current registrar does not provide the code, the new registrar starts the request. If the current registrar does not respond within 7 days, the request goes to RNIDS for approval.
Hosting and domain do not have to be with the same company. You can keep the domain with one registrar and the website with another host, and then changing hosting does not touch the domain.
Three Checks for the Domain You Already Have
01Registrant
Check in WHOIS whether the registrant is your business. If not, arrange a change of registrant now, while you are on good terms with the person the domain is registered to.
02Notification email
Make sure the administrative contact uses an email someone in the business reads. Verifications, expiry reminders and the authorization code all go there.
03Expiry date
Put it in the business calendar with a reminder a month before. If you can, renew the domain for several years at once.
In the WHOIS search on rnids.rs. Type the domain name and you see whether it is free. If it is taken, you also see the expiry date, the registrar and the registrant details. The check is free.
Yes. According to RNIDS, .rs domains can be registered by domestic and foreign legal entities and individuals and by organizations of any kind. The .co.rs, .org.rs, .edu.rs and .in.rs zones have their own rules on who may register.
From one to ten years, with unlimited renewals. The total registration period cannot exceed ten years. The accredited registrar sets the price, so compare the renewal price as well.
Ask the agency to file a change of registrant request through the accredited registrar. RNIDS completes the transfer within 60 working days of a complete request at the latest. If no agreement is possible, the dispute resolution commission and the courts remain.
After expiry the domain becomes inactive and the registrant has 30 days to renew it. The new period runs from the original expiry date. After that the domain is deleted and anyone can register it.
