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.Pro Frequently Asked Questions

 

What is a .Pro domain name?
A .Pro domain name is the first and only restricted top-level domain exclusively for professionals, approved and regulated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and operated by RegistryPro. It is a bundled security offering of a profession-specific domain name, (med.pro, law.pro or cpa.pro) along with a professional verification and professional level digital certificate to enable secure email communications.

 

Why do I need a .Pro domain name?
Professionals who have a heightened security and privacy obligation will benefit from the easy to implement and use .Pro domain name and professional level certificate. Professionals in the legal, medical and accounting fields have an obligation to keep client records, communications and personal information secure and private. With .Pro, emails can be digitally signed and encrypted which enable privacy.

 

How does .Pro work?
A .Pro domain name is issued to professionals who self-certify that they meet the eligibility requirements and pass a verification process. Once they pass, they are issued a digital certificate which can be downloaded to your computer for use in digitally signing and encrypting email communications. A professional level digital certificate provides the following levels of digital trust:

Authentication - provides proof of a digital identity
Confidentiality - maintains privacy and confidentiality of content
Integrity - ensures the content has not been changed or altered
Non-repudiation - provides proof that the communication was sent

 

Who can register a .Pro domain name?
At this time, only members of the medical, legal and accounting professions will be eligible to register for .Pro domains.

The .Pro professional eligibility requirements are intended to restrict domain name registrations within the .Pro top-level domain to persons and organizations that are licensed or otherwise credentialed by the appropriate government agencies or organizations to provide professional services to the public in the legal, medical and accounting fields.

Eligible registrants may reigster as one of three major profession-specific domains:

Profession

TLD

Engineers

.eng.pro
Attorneys .law.pro
.jur.pro
.bar.pro

Accountants

 .cpa.pro
.aca.pro

Physicians

.med.pro

 

In the future, variations of these domains will be available to take into account local, professional and linguistic differences in the various regions in which .Pro domain names will be offered (e.g., .avocat.pro, .bar.pro, .recht.pro, and .jur.pro).

 

What are the basic eligibility criteria?
Generally, to be in compliance with the professional eligibility requirements, a registrant must be either:

1. An individual who is currently licensed as (i) a Certified Public Accountant, (ii) a physician (including a medical doctor), or (iii) an attorney at law, who is currently licensed in one of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia; or,

2. An organization, that provides accounting, legal or medical professional services, and has an employee who satisfies one of the above criteria and registers on behalf of such entity or organization. Examples of such organizations include: accounting firms, hospitals, legal publishers, medical supply companies, or even the law department of a large company.

Registrants outside the 50 United States are eligible for Defensive Name Registrations. Additional jurisdictions will be added shortly.
All .Pro domain name registrants must remain in compliance with the professional eligibility requirements at all times during their registration.

 

When will .Pro be launching in markets other than the US?
The .Pro domain will only be available to professionals who hold licenses in the United States at the initial launch. As verification methods are established in overseas jurisdictions, .Pro will become available globally, quickly. In the meantime, Defensive registration will be available for international customers who want to protect their trademarks defensively or secure their .Pro domain name until such time that .Pro domain names may become available in their jurisdictions.

 

What information must be provided as proof of eligibility for a .Pro domain name?
All applicants will need to submit personal and professional information in order to be eligible for a .Pro domain. Information will include but is not limited to: country of residence, full legal name, home address, date of birth, last four digits of social security number, type of profession, jurisdiction, professional license number, date issued, name as it appears on license, address where professional license was issued.

 

How will .Pro review the eligibility of registrants in the .Pro domain?
What distinguishes the .Pro TLD from other domain extensions is its unique registration requirements. RegistryPro will require that registrants self-certify that they are professionals who meet the requirements of their profession and jurisdiction and provide information license and identity information which can be independently cross-referenced either through an online review process or a manual verification process established by an authorized Registrar.

 

Will eligibility be reviewed again after registration?
Eligibility for registration in the .Pro domain will be verified at the time of registration and will also be periodically re-verified, at a minimum annually, at the time of a registrants' digital certificate annual renewal.

 

Is this a real-time registration?
No, to ensure a high level of security, .Pro registrations are multi-stage and require an out-of band process to provide some assurance that the registrant is who they represent themselves to be.

 

When can I get a .Pro domain name?
DomainPeople will provide a .Pro pre-registration service that will enable eligible professionals to submit their registration requests prior to the launch of live registration. Live registration is scheduled to be launched July 31, 2003.

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