Free Subdomain .NOM.ZA

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Suffix .nom.za
Our Rating 😐😐😐
User Rating 😊😊😊😊
Extra Suffixes
Free Domains 1
Years Active 17
Geo-targetable πŸ‡ΏπŸ‡¦
Is Indexed? true
Is TLD? true
Supports IDN true
Notes Only personal use with no financial gain. Possibly limited to South Africans.
DNS Records A, AAAA, NS, SPF
Image Screenshot

Description

NOM.ZA is a second-level domain in .za (South Africa) namespace. It is meant for individual personal use, and registrations by companies or brand names will not be accepted. The TOS states:

use […] is expected by individuals wishing to register their given, legal, or last names.

As with other subdomains, you don't own a NOM.ZA domain, you only get custody of it. If you don't actively use your NOM.ZA domain for a period of 60 days, you agree to relinquish the right to it, so no domain squatting. Just in 2020, they did a huge purge of inactive accounts. NomZa is run by individuals and supposedly, after 10,000 domains get registered, "a general meeting of the domain custodians will be called in Johannesburg […] to decide on the future" of the domain.

With NOM.ZA part of the ISC DLV registry, a recognized ISPA member, and a ZADNA/ZACR co-signer, and its availability on IPv6 implies at least somebody is taking it seriously and that NOM.ZA is here to stay.

What Users Are Saying

Chris Fornesa, a NOM.ZA user himself, gives a good overview:

Pros:

  • A free, legitimate domain name.
  • You don't have to be a South African to register.
  • Websites using this domain seem reputable for the most part.
  • Decent goal set by NOM.ZA of community ownership.

Cons:

  • Only NS records may be used (though with free Dynamic DNS services that isn't too much of an issue β€” I use Namecheap's DNS)
  • LONG waiting period (around a week) before you know whether your name is deemed "acceptable" and you're subject to the same waiting period if/when you choose to change your hostnames.

REMEMBER: The name you choose HAS to be your name or a variation of it in order for it to be approved, although this is self-explanatory and so, despite any possible inconveniences, I wouldn't consider this a "con" per se.

All in all, I would say that this is a great service, however, be well-aware of the potentially long waiting period for it, and if you want to host your domain on services like Tumblr or Blogger, you should probably register for a dynamic DNS service, so that you can associate your name with sites that require A or CNAME records. My only major complaint is the long waiting period, but I would imagine the demand for something of this sort.