On October 11, 2013, the Council of InternetNZ (Internet New Zealand Inc) approved a proposal from the subsidiary Domain Name Commission Ltd to allow second-level .NZ domain name registrations. Allowing registrations at the second-level, for instance registering mydomain.nz instead of mydomain.co.nz is intended to give New Zealanders much more choice and flexibility. No changes will be made to the existing second levels - all existing domain names will continue to be available, and people will still be able to register new domain names in the current third-level domains like .co.nz, .org.nz.

Registrations for the direct and shorter .NZ domain name will start on September 30, 2014. Right now, you can pre-register the .NZ domain name to improve your chances of obtaining the .NZ domain you want at HEXONET.

PLEASE NOTE: Many .NZ domain name holders may be able to get the shorter version of their name.  A six-month holding period called the Preferential Registration Eligibility (PRE) will be available for existing .NZ domain name holders to register or reserve the shorter version of their domain name. Please visit our new .NZ landing page where you can learn more including details on the Preferential Registration Eligibility rights (PRE) program.