What is .qa?
A little context on Qatar: the capital is Doha, the main language is Arabic, the currency is the Qatari riyal (QAR) and the international dialing code is +974.
Next door on the map, you'll find .sa for Saudi Arabia.
IANA lists Communications Regulatory Authority as the manager of .qa, with an address in Qatar. The registry's website is https://www.cra.gov.qa. ccTLD managers set their own policies — who can register, which second-level names exist, pricing to registrars — so those rules differ from country to country.
Under the hood, the root zone points to 9 name servers for .qa, 4 of them reachable over IPv6. There is no DS record for .qa in the root zone, which means the TLD is not DNSSEC-signed at the top level. Registration data is published over WHOIS (the WHOIS server is whois.registry.qa).
Qatar also has another country-code domain in the root zone: .قطر (Arabic).
Same registry, other endings
1 other TLD shares this operator.
.qa FAQ
What country is .qa?
.qa is the country-code top-level domain for Qatar, in Western Asia.
What is Qatar's domain extension?
Qatar's website extension is .qa, its country-code top-level domain. It also has .قطر in other scripts. "QA" is its ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code.
Who owns the .qa domain?
IANA lists Communications Regulatory Authority as the manager of .qa: it runs the registry and sets the rules for Qatar's ccTLD. Individual .qa names belong to whoever registers them.
Can I register a .qa domain from the US?
It depends on Communications Regulatory Authority's policy. Some ccTLDs are open to anyone in the world, while others require a local address, company or trademark. Check the registry (https://www.cra.gov.qa) or an accredited registrar before you buy.
Is .qa DNSSEC-signed?
No. As of our last data refresh there is no DS record for .qa in the root zone.
How do I look up who owns a .qa domain?
Query the registry's registration data service: the WHOIS server is whois.registry.qa. Many registrants use privacy services, so personal details may be hidden.
Sources
Data from IANA root zone version 2026102000. Last changed February 7, 2022. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
