Most of businesses today are promoting their activities using internet services. As such, investors should also be interested in opening websites, that can be easily accessed by the clients and partners and that would represent the company’s core activities and beliefs. When setting up a business in Malta, our company formation agents can help you acquire an internet domain, necessary if you want to carry your business operation on the on-line environment.
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Domain Registration in Malta
All websites registered in Malta are recognized by the top level domain (.mt). According to the Maltese legislation, a website should also contain a second level domain, which represents the sector of activity to which the certain company belongs to. As such, the Network Information Centre Malta has established the following second level domains:
• com.mt is used for companies with commercial activities;
• org.mt is used for nonprofit organizations, such as charities or foundations;
• net.mt is used for companies which provide internet network services;
• edu.mt is used for companies related to the educational system.
The Malta Communications Authority is the main authority regulating communication services in the country, including internet distribution services. At the beginning of the year, the Communications Authority was also enabled to develop Malta’s innovation sector in the information and communications technology sector. Malta has a comprehensive legislation regulating internet services in the country. Among the most important are:
- – the National Legislation on Electronic Communications,
- – the National Legislation on Electronic Commerce,
- – the National Legislation on the Malta Communications Authority.
All legal frameworks were also harmonized with the corresponding EU Directives for internet services providers.
The domain registration policy in Malta
The top-level domain in Malta is .mt which is divided into second-level domains (SLDs) created for diverse sectors. Depending on the type of Maltese company to be registered, one may select one of the following domains:
- – edu.mt for educational structures recognized by the Ministry of Education,
- – com.mt for commercial purposes for Maltese limited liability companies,
- – org.mt for non-profit companies, such as NGOs or foundations,
- – net.mt for internet service providers.
It is also very important to know that all companies in Malta wanting to register an internet domain name are required to opt for one of the second-level domains in order to preserve the integrity of the .mt domain name.
What are the requirements for Maltese companies to register a domain name?
All Maltese companies reserving an internet domain name are required to declare the right to use the respective name according to the Copyright Law. The proposed domain name must be registered as a trademark with the Patent Office or must be registered as a company name with the Maltese Companies Registrar. However, the company registering the domain name is not required to be a Maltese resident.
All domain registration applications are submitted with the Network Information Center in Malta. The Network Information Center will process the application and decide on whether to register the domain name.
Holder of the Website in Malta
The Maltese law states that holder of the website, who has to be an individual or a legal entity, must declare that he or she has the right to use the name stated before the second level domain. As such, when you open a company in Malta, whose operations are of commercial nature, a website should be entitled according to the following rule: “company.com.mt”.
In agreement with the Maltese law, a holder is the representative of a legal entity who has the rights to use the website domain and who has to respect obligations which derive from this. The contract for registering a new domain is available for one year; the registration for a com.mt website costs EUR 30, while the renewal of the contract (available for one year or two years) costs EUR 20 for a one year contract and EUR 36 for a two years contract. In the situation in which the website is suspended for various reasons, the holder must pay re-installment fee, which costs EUR 10.
For further information on opening a website in Malta, please contact our company formation agents, who can offer you consultation on this matter.