Morocco domain name guide
.ma domain names for companies doing business in Morocco
A .ma domain is an address under Morocco's country extension, such as yourbrand.ma, and a company or founder abroad can hold one. You register it through a registrar declared to the ANRT, Morocco's telecoms regulator, for 1 to 5 years at a time. The one local requirement is an administrative contact: a natural person established in Morocco.
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This guide is for companies opening a Moroccan branch, entering the market or protecting a brand. It follows the official texts listed at the end, from the ANRT naming decision of 5 February 2024 to the 2025 dispute rules.
DevoraTech, a web agency in Tangier, registers .ma names for its clients, in the client's name, as part of a project with our website development agency.
Key facts
The .ma domain at a glance
What a company abroad should know before registering a Morocco domain name.
- Who runs .ma
The ANRT (Agence Nationale de Réglementation des Télécommunications), since ICANN redelegated .ma in 2006. It also runs ".المغرب", Morocco's extension in Arabic script.
- Who can register
Any person or company, in Morocco or abroad, with an administrative contact established in Morocco.
- Where to register
Through a registrar declared to the ANRT: 50 at the end of 2025, listed on registre.ma.
- Extensions
.ma itself, chosen for 94.2% of the 133,977 names at the end of 2025, or .co.ma, .net.ma and .org.ma; .ac.ma, .press.ma and .gov.ma are restricted.
- Term
1 to 5 years, renewable, with a 30-day grace period after expiry.
- Where to check a name
The .ma registry's WHOIS: availability, holder, registrar and expiry date.
- Disputes
Decided under the PARL procedure, run by the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center.
- With DevoraTech
Your .ma name registered with your website, in your name, and renewed with your agreement.
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Contents
Why a .ma address for your Moroccan market
Google reads a country code domain as a strong signal that a site is meant for one country, and .ma is not on its list of country codes treated as generic. A country domain targets that country only, so a company can keep its .com for other markets and run its Moroccan site on the .ma.
Register before you launch
The ANRT counts 32% of .ma names with no website or email, which it reads as registered for protection, and recommends also registering a name's accented and Arabic-script versions. Register your brand's .ma before announcing your Moroccan launch.
Who can register a .ma domain from abroad
Registration is open to residents and foreigners, individuals and companies, with no limit on numbers. Every name needs an administrative contact: a natural person established in Morocco, authorised by the holder, who handles the name with the registrar and the ANRT.
The administrative contact
The contact receives the ANRT's official correspondence about the name but has no rights over it. A manager of your Moroccan branch, or another person established in Morocco whom you authorise, can take the role.
What the registrar asks for
The holder's name, phone, postal and email addresses, the same for the administrative and technical contacts, and an identifier: a national ID number or equivalent for a person, a trade register number, the ICE (Morocco's company identifier) or an equivalent for a company.
Hold the name in your company's name
The registry reminds applicants that they must stay the holder on record, even when a host or an agency registers the name. Most complaints the ANRT handles concern names that intermediaries registered in their own name. Check your company's name in the WHOIS, or ask your registrar for a registration certificate issued by the ANRT.
.ma domain registration, step by step
You cannot register with the ANRT itself: names go through a declared registrar, first come, first served.
1. Check the name
Search the WHOIS and check the spelling: a typo stays in the name, and the right spelling has to be registered as a new name. Check the list of reserved terms too, such as country, province and institution names.
2. Pick a registrar
Choose from the ANRT's list of declared registrars, each bound to it by an agreement. The ANRT recommends none and registrars set their own prices: compare registration, renewal, term and what is included.
3. Name your contacts
Holder, administrative contact and technical contact, with accurate details. Use an email address your company will keep: the name's authorisation code is sent there.
4. Accept the terms
Accepting the naming decision and the registrar's contract means accepting WHOIS publication and the PARL procedure.
5. Activation and check
Without prior review, the name is active within one working day; otherwise it waits for the ANRT, and the request is deleted if proof of your right does not arrive in time. Then check that the WHOIS shows your company as holder.
Check a name and its holder in the .ma WHOIS
The registry's WHOIS shows whether a name is free and, if not, its holder, registrar, creation and expiry dates, status, administrative and technical contacts and name servers. Search it on the .ma registry's WHOIS or through whois.registre.ma. A name that is not found is free, subject to the reserved terms.
Since the 2024 naming decision, a holder can ask its registrar not to publish its phone number and email, or its administrative contact's: ask before registering.
Renewal, expiry and the 30-day grace period
A .ma name runs for 1 to 5 years and can be renewed at any time, as long as its validity stays within 5 years of the request. In 2025, 93.5% of names were registered for one year only; the ANRT advises several years, so a name is not lost to a missed renewal. Your registrar must remind you at least 30 days before expiry.
After expiry
The name is frozen for a 30-day grace period, during which you can still renew or cancel it.
If nobody acts
Without a renewal or cancellation request during the grace period, the name is renewed automatically for one year, and that year is billed. Your registrar may also cancel it if you do not answer its reminders.
Cancellation and deletion
A cancelled name is deleted once its grace period ends and becomes free for anyone.
Moving registrar or handing the name over
You can change registrar at any time while the name is active, and the expiry date stays the same.
The authorisation code
This confidential code secures the change. Your registrar must give it to you on request, within two working days under the 2024 decision; if it does not, write to the ANRT at dns@anrt.ma, which sends the code to the holder's email on record. For an important name, also ask for a lock against changes.
A new holder
A change of holder is a voluntary transfer: a form signed by the current and the new holder, submitted by the registrar, on which the ANRT decides. Selling or reselling .ma names is forbidden, and the ANRT can delete a name offered for sale.
Protecting your brand: trademarks and disputes
A trademark protected in Morocco does not give you the matching .ma name: you still have to register it. If someone else holds a name matching your trademark, company name or geographical indication protected in Morocco, you can bring the Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedure (PARL), run by the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center under rules in force since 15 February 2025.
Protect the mark in Morocco
Moroccan trademarks are filed with OMPIC, the industrial property office, and a non-resident must appoint a representative domiciled in Morocco. OMPIC's free databases also list international registrations designating Morocco.
What the complainant proves
That the name is identical or confusingly similar to its protected sign, that the holder has no rights or legitimate interest in it, and that it was registered or is used in bad faith. Under the .ma rules, bad faith in either registration or use is enough.
The decision
A single expert qualified in Moroccan law decides, in French unless decided otherwise: transfer, deletion or rejection. The parties can also go to court.
Your .ma name with DevoraTech
DevoraTech registers the .ma domain name for its clients, through a registrar declared to the ANRT, as part of a website project. The name is registered in your company's name, as holder, and we renew it with your agreement. Before registering, we check its availability, spelling and the reserved terms with you. If nobody in your company is established in Morocco, a person at DevoraTech who is established in Morocco can be the administrative contact of your name: that person receives the registry's notices for you, and you stay the holder.
We work remotely with companies abroad, in English or French. After launch, our website maintenance keeps track of the name's renewal dates, and our SEO agency in Morocco can help your Moroccan site get found on Google.
Sources
Official sources for this guide
- .ma registry: home
- .ma registry: the .ma domain and its characters
- .ma registry: descriptive extensions
- .ma registry: conditions
- .ma registry: registration steps
- .ma registry: managing a name
- .ma registry: statuses
- .ma registry: FAQ
- .ma registry: WHOIS service
- .ma registry: use and registration certificate
- .ma registry: relationship with the registrar
- .ma registry: list of registrars
- .ma registry: becoming a registrar
- .ma registry: accented names
- .ma registry: reserved terms (PDF)
- .ma registry: disputes and PARL
- ANRT: decision ANRT/DG/N°02/2024 (PDF, in Arabic)
- ANRT: PARL rules, 2025 (PDF, in French)
- ANRT: report on .ma names at the end of 2025 (PDF, in French)
- ANRT: the .ma domain
- IANA: .ma delegation record
- IANA: .المغرب delegation record
- WIPO: dispute resolution for .MA and .المغرب
- OMPIC: domain names (in French)
- OMPIC: trademark search (in French)
- OMPIC: filing a trademark in Morocco (in French)
- Google Search Central: multi-regional and multilingual sites
Related services
Services linked to this guide
Website development
Showcase sites, dynamic platforms and online stores built to load fast and bring inquiries.
Website maintenance
Updates, backups, security and fixes for websites that already exist.
Questions
.ma domain: your questions
Can a foreign company register a .ma domain?
Yes, provided it appoints an administrative contact who is a natural person established in Morocco. That contact has no rights over the name, and your company stays the holder on record.
Do I need a .ma if I already have a .com?
No rule requires it. A .ma tells Google and your visitors that the site is meant for Morocco, and a .com suits a site aimed at several countries. You can hold both and redirect one to the other.
How long does .ma domain registration take?
Up to one working day for a name that needs no prior review. A name with a reserved term, or under .ac.ma, .gov.ma or .press.ma, waits for the ANRT's decision.
How much does a .ma domain cost?
Each registrar sets its own price, which varies with the number of years and the renewal price. The holder pays registration and each renewal to the registrar, and the ANRT bills registrars for each operation. A "free .ma" offer puts the price inside another service: check the renewal price and the holder on record.
What if the .ma name I want is taken?
The WHOIS shows its holder, registrar and expiry date. The holder can hand it over by voluntary transfer, though selling .ma names is forbidden. If it matches your trademark or company name protected in Morocco and was registered or is used in bad faith, the PARL lets you ask for its transfer.
Can I keep my details out of the .ma WHOIS?
In part. The holder's name is normally published, but since the 2024 decision you can ask your registrar not to publish your phone number and email, or your administrative contact's. The ANRT can still disclose them to the courts, in a PARL case or on a justified request.
Guide
Plan your Moroccan site and its .ma name
Tell us the name you want and what your Moroccan site needs to do. We reply with questions, then a written quote for the site and the name's registration.