Who can register a .ae, .co.ae, .sa, .qa, .com.kw, .bh or .om name, what each registry asks for, and whether a Gulf business needs a country domain at all.
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Drafted with AI tools; researched, edited and approved by Althameem Ali. Our editorial policy
On this page · 9 sections
- The six Gulf country domains at a glance
- Who can register a .ae domain, and what about .co.ae?
- What does Saudi Arabia ask for a .sa or .com.sa name?
- What are the rules for .qa, .com.kw, .bh and .om?
- Should a Gulf business use a country domain or a .com?
- Whose name should the domain be registered in?
- How do you move a site to a new Gulf domain without losing search traffic?
- What does a Gulf domain cost, and who do you pay?
- Getting your Gulf domain right
We build websites for Gulf businesses remotely from Calicut, Kerala, and the domain is one of the first things we ask about at kick-off. Answers online contradict each other on .ae: some say anyone can have one, others say you need a UAE presence. Both are partly right, because the UAE runs open and restricted zones side by side. Below is what each of the six says, read on 27 and 28 October 2026 from the registry's own pages and, where a registry's page is silent, from the law firm or registrar we name. This is general information, not legal advice; registry rules change, so confirm with the registry or your registrar before you buy.
The six Gulf country domains at a glance#
Who can register a .ae domain, and what about .co.ae?#
The UAE government portal says the .ae Domain Administration of the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (opens in a new tab) (u.ae, page updated 17 April 2026, read 28 October 2026) regulates and runs both .ae and the Arabic .امارات, and that you register through the accredited registrars listed on the .aeDA website.
On eligibility, a Morgan Lewis guide to UAE domains (opens in a new tab) (Morgan Lewis, October 2022, read 27 October 2026) calls .ae "an unrestricted zone": any legal person, domestic or foreign, can apply for a name through an accredited registrar. The second-level zones co.ae, net.ae, org.ae, sch.ae, ac.ae, gov.ae and mil.ae are "Restricted Zones", with extra eligibility rules and a registrar that must be based in the UAE. The same guide says a .ae licence runs for one to five years, which Gulf News (opens in a new tab) (May 2022, read 28 October 2026) also reports from TDRA.
For .co.ae itself, the clearest summary we found is a registrar's, not the registry's. AEserver's policy explainer (opens in a new tab) (AEserver, read 28 October 2026) says the applicant needs a valid UAE trade licence, free-zone licences included, or an applied-for or registered UAE trademark, and the name must be an exact match, acronym, abbreviation or close connection to that company or mark. That is a registrar's reading, so check it with yours.
So a foreign company can hold yourbrand.ae today. If you want yourbrand.co.ae, you need the UAE licence or mark first.
What does Saudi Arabia ask for a .sa or .com.sa name?#
Saudi Arabia is, with Kuwait, the strictest of the six. SaudiNIC's Domain Name Regulation, version 5.0 (opens in a new tab) (SaudiNIC, February 2024, read 27 October 2026) says in clause 4-1 that registration services go only to:
- an entity physically located in Saudi Arabia;
- a natural person with Saudi nationality or Premium Residency;
- an entity with a registration or licence from a Saudi authority;
- the owner of a trademark or trade name registered in Saudi Arabia.
Within that, .com.sa is for entities providing commercial services with a valid Commercial Registration (or equivalent), or for locally registered trade names and trademarks. Every name also needs an administrative contact, defined as a person or entity based in Saudi Arabia. Registration is provided by SaudiNIC and by registrars it licenses. The Arabic text of the regulation is the official one.
Two clauses are worded more openly: clause 4-2 says Arabic names under .السعودية may be registered "by any natural person or legal entity", and clause 4-3-1 says the same of a plain .sa. Read with clause 4-1, we take that to mean any person or entity in the four groups, so a company outside the Kingdom with no Saudi CR, licence or registered mark should plan on not holding a .sa name. If your case is borderline, ask SaudiNIC before you plan around it. Our Saudi Arabia web development page covers what else a Saudi site needs.
What are the rules for .qa, .com.kw, .bh and .om?#
Qatar. The CRA's registrant page (opens in a new tab) (CRA, read 27 October 2026) says .qa and .قطر are "Open for all". .com.qa is for companies and businesses registered in Qatar, and .net.qa for ICT firms registered there. Those go through CRA-accredited registrars; government, education and official zones go to the CRA directly.
Kuwait. CITRA's .kw page (opens in a new tab) (CITRA, read 27 October 2026) says the service is for residents and registered entities in Kuwait. .com.kw is reserved for registered commercial entities and .edu.kw for registered educational institutions, and the plain .kw, for Kuwaiti nationals and expatriate residents, is marked "Coming soon". It lists five accredited registrars.
Bahrain. register.bh (opens in a new tab) (read 27 October 2026), the registry site of Bahrain's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, says there are no registration restrictions on a second-level .bh. Third-level names carry uses: .com.bh for companies and individuals, .edu.bh for educational establishments. The Arabic .البحرين is its IDN variant, and every name goes through one of register.bh's retailers.
Oman. The TRA's domain page (opens in a new tab) (TRA Oman, read 27 October 2026) lists .om, .com.om, .co.om and the Arabic .عمان among the names it manages through accredited registrars. Since a change reported by AGIP on 11 December 2025 (opens in a new tab) (read 27 October 2026), foreign companies can register .om, .com.om and .co.om without a trademark registration, using a scanned commercial registration or equivalent company documents, and the name no longer has to match the company name, as long as it does not conflict with a registered Omani trademark. Oman is also slow: 101domain, a registrar, lists the time to register a .om as about two months (opens in a new tab) and says only businesses can register (101domain, read 28 October 2026), so we start an Omani domain at kick-off, not in launch week. Our Oman web development page has the rest of the Omani checklist.
Should a Gulf business use a country domain or a .com?#
Google's guide to managing multi-regional sites (opens in a new tab) (Google Search Central, updated 10 December 2025, read 28 October 2026) says country-code domains "provide a strong signal to both users and search engines that your site is explicitly intended for a certain country". The downsides it lists: cost, more infrastructure, sometimes strict requirements, and a single target country. The alternative it describes, a .com with folders such as /ae/ or /sa/, is easier to run, though users may not see the targeting from the address alone.
How we weigh it:
If you are serving more than one language, our guide to Arabic and English website design covers the layout side.
Whose name should the domain be registered in?#
Yours. The registrant on the record is the holder, and whoever controls the registrar account controls where your email and website point. If a web firm or former employee registered it in their name, any later move starts with getting it back.
How we set it up on every Gulf project:
- Your account, your name. You open the account with the registrar and register the name in your company's legal name. We never register a client's domain in ours.
- Our access is limited. We ask for DNS access, or you add the records we send. We do not need the account password.
- Renewal is on your card. Use auto-renew and a company email address, not a staff member's personal one.
- Launch day is planned. We point the domain and launch on a weekday morning in your hours, so your team is at work if anything needs a check.
- Demos never reach anyone. Our concept builds, such as the Dubai car rental concept, use addresses on .example, a name RFC 2606 (opens in a new tab) (IETF, June 1999) reserves for documentation, so a test enquiry cannot land in a real inbox. The concept builds are real websites for fictional brands, not client work.
How do you move a site to a new Gulf domain without losing search traffic?#
Moving from a .com to a .ae, or from .qa to .com.qa, is a site move in Google's eyes. Its site move guide (opens in a new tab) (Google Search Central, updated 20 August 2026, read 28 October 2026) asks for server-side permanent redirects, kept "for as long as possible, generally at least 1 year", and a Change of Address submitted in Search Console for the old site. It also warns: "Expect temporary fluctuation in site ranking during the move."
The order we follow:
- Register the new name early, especially for .om, and keep the old one renewed for as long as the redirects run.
- Map every old address to its new one, page for page, not everything to the homepage.
- Switch on the 301 redirects at launch and test a sample of the old addresses.
- Verify both domains in Search Console and submit the Change of Address.
- Update your Google Business Profile, social profiles and email signatures.
- Watch impressions and errors for the following weeks.
Our website redesign SEO checklist has the full list for a move that also changes the design.
What does a Gulf domain cost, and who do you pay?#
You pay the registrar, not us. Prices vary by registrar and term: Morgan Lewis put a .ae at roughly AED 150 to AED 750 in 2022, depending on the registrar and licence period, and 101domain lists a .om at USD 311.99 a year to register (both read 27 and 28 October 2026).
Our own prices never include the domain. Hosting, domains and other usage are billed at cost, in your name. For the website itself, a custom business website of up to 8 pages starts from AED 8,000 (the same figure in QAR or SAR, or from KWD 650, OMR 800 or BHD 800), and a Next.js website with a CMS starts from AED 15,000. The website care plan starts from AED 500 a month, billed yearly. These are starting prices before VAT where it applies in the Gulf, and the full list is on our pricing page.
Getting your Gulf domain right#
The short version: a plain .ae, .qa or .bh is open to anyone, .co.ae needs a UAE licence or trademark, .com.qa needs a company registered in Qatar, .sa needs a Saudi tie, Kuwait's names are for residents and entities registered there, and .om takes time. Register the name in your company's name, through your own registrar account, before the build starts.
If you are planning a site for one of the six, our country pages for Dubai and the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman cover the local payments, language and rules. We work remotely from Kerala, with no office in the Gulf, and we are happy to check your domain options on a first call before you buy anything.
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Written by
Co-founder, Marketlube
Althameem Ali researched, edited and approved this post. Marketlube is a growth partner in Calicut building brands, websites, CRMs and campaigns for businesses across Kerala, India and the Gulf.
