Most Nigerian domains are open: anyone with valid contact details can register a .ng, .com.ng, .org.ng or .name.ng name. Two extensions are different. .edu.ng and .gov.ng are closed, which means only eligible institutions can hold them, and each application is checked before the name is registered.
.edu.ng: for tertiary institutions
.edu.ng is reserved for tertiary institutions approved and accredited by the body that regulates them:
- Universities, accredited by the National Universities Commission (NUC)
- Polytechnics and colleges of technology, accredited by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE)
- Colleges of education, accredited by the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE)
Primary and secondary schools use .sch.ng instead. Businesses, training centres and education blogs can't hold a .edu.ng name; a .com.ng or .ng name suits them.
What you need
- An authorisation letter on the institution's letterhead, addressed to the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA). It states the domain you want, the nameservers it should use and your administrative contact's details.
- Evidence of accreditation from your regulator, such as an NUC accreditation letter for a university.
Search for the name as usual and have both documents ready. A .edu.ng registration completes only once eligibility is confirmed, so it can take longer than an open extension.
.gov.ng: for government institutions
.gov.ng is reserved for federal, state and local government institutions, including ministries, departments and agencies. According to the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), a government project that will run for 18 months or more can also have one.
What you need
An authorisation letter signed by the head of the institution, or the next officer in line. The letter must include:
- the domain name you want
- at least two nameservers
- an administrative contact, who must be a member of staff
- a technical contact, who can be staff or, if you have no technical staff, a consultant
- each contact's name, designation, phone number and email address
Where to send it
NG Domain doesn't register .gov.ng names, so apply in one of the two ways NITDA accepts:
- To NITDA directly: address the letter to NITDA's Director General and email a scanned copy to [email protected].
- Through a NiRA-accredited registrar that handles .gov.ng: address the letter to NiRA's Chief Operating Officer. The registrar sends it to NiRA, then registers the domain once NITDA approves it.
NITDA charges no fee to register or update a .gov.ng name, though a registrar may charge for the work it does on your behalf. When the letter is complete and NITDA can verify it, approval usually takes about a day.
Choosing the right extension
If you're not sure which extension fits, our guide to choosing a .ng extension compares them all, and the price list shows what each one costs. For anything specific to your institution, contact our support team.