How to Buy a .ca Domain Name and Make Sure Your Business Owns It
To buy a .ca domain, choose a registrar that sells .ca names, search for the name, check the current .ca registration rules and register it in your business’s legal name, not in the name of a staff member, designer or agency. That last step is the one most businesses get wrong, and it decides who controls your website and email if a relationship ends. This guide covers how to buy a .ca, whether to also buy the .com, and how to check who owns your domain today.
How do I buy a .ca domain?
- Pick a registrar that sells .ca names. Many web hosts and domain companies do; compare the renewal price, not just the first year.
- Search for the name you want on the registrar’s site. If it is taken, try a shorter version, your full business name, or your trade plus your city.
- Enter the registrant details: the legal name of the business that will own the domain, plus any details the registrar asks for to confirm the business can hold a .ca.
- Choose the registration period and turn on auto-renewal with a payment method that will not expire soon.
- Accept the registration terms and pay.
- Log in to the registrar account and confirm the registrant name, the admin email and the renewal date are right.
Who can register a .ca domain?
.ca is Canada’s country code top-level domain, managed by the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA). CIRA sets the rules on who may hold a .ca name, and rules can change, so read the current requirements on CIRA’s website or ask your registrar before you register. Then register the name to the legal owner, which for a business domain should be the business itself.
Who should own your business domain?
The business itself. Register the domain in the legal name of your company, with an admin email address the business controls (for example an address on a shared mailbox, not one person’s personal inbox). Three set-ups cause most ownership problems:
- the domain was registered by a former employee in their own name or with their personal email;
- a web designer or agency registered it in their account “to save time”;
- the owner registered it years ago as an individual, then incorporated, and the domain still belongs to the person, not the company.
In each case the business depends on someone else to renew the name, change where it points or move it. Whoever controls the registrar login controls your website, email and any service that verifies your domain.
How do I transfer a .ca from a person to the company?
Changing the owner is different from moving to another registrar. A change of registrant updates who legally holds the domain; a registrar transfer moves the account to a new provider. To move ownership from an individual to the company, ask your registrar how its change of registrant process works and what it needs from the current registrant and from the company. If the current holder is a former employee or supplier you can no longer reach, contact the registrar first and gather proof that the business uses the domain.
Should I buy the .com too?
If it is available and affordable, yes. Owning both stops someone else from building a site on the other version and catches visitors who type the wrong ending. Point the second domain to your main site with a permanent redirect, so there is one live website. A .ca tells Canadian customers you are local; a business that sells mainly outside Canada may want the .com as its main address.
How do I find out who owns a website domain?
Run a WHOIS lookup. CIRA operates the WHOIS service for .ca names; the result names the registrar, and contact details may be hidden for privacy. For your own domain, the reliable answer is in your registrar account: log in and check the registrant name. If you cannot log in, or you do not know which registrar holds it, the WHOIS result names the registrar so you can start there.
What should you avoid in a domain name?
- Hyphens and numbers that people mishear when you say the address aloud.
- Spellings that are easy to get wrong, or that differ between Canadian and US English.
- Someone else’s trademark, which can lead to a dispute and loss of the name.
- Very long names; aim for something you can say once on the phone and be understood.
Domain ownership checklist
- Registrant is the business’s legal name.
- Admin email is a shared business mailbox.
- Registrar login stored in the business’s password manager, with two-step verification on.
- Auto-renewal on, payment card current, renewal date in the calendar.
- Second version (.com or .ca) registered and redirected if you want it.
- DNS records documented, so a move to new hosting or email does not break anything.
Our website hosting and maintenance team registers and manages domains in the client’s own name, documents DNS and keeps renewals on schedule. Starting a new site? See our guide on how to make a website for your business.
We host, monitor and back up business websites, with a sales and support line open Monday to Saturday.
Frequently asked questions
How do I buy a .ca domain?
Choose a registrar that sells .ca names, search for the name, check the current .ca registration rules, enter your business's legal name, set auto-renewal and pay.
Who can register a .ca domain?
The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA), which manages .ca, sets the rules on who may hold a .ca name. Read the current requirements on CIRA's website or ask your registrar before you register.
How do I transfer a .ca from a person to the company?
Ask your registrar how its change of registrant process works and what it needs from the current registrant and from the company.
Should I buy the .com as well as the .ca?
If it is available, yes. Owning both protects your name and catches mistyped addresses; redirect the second domain to your main site.
How do I find out who owns a website domain?
Run a WHOIS lookup to see the registrar and dates. For your own domain, log in to your registrar account and check the registrant name.
Where are .ca websites from?
.ca is Canada's country code top-level domain, managed by the Canadian Internet Registration Authority. The website itself can be hosted anywhere.
What should you avoid in a domain name?
Hyphens, numbers, easy misspellings, someone else's trademark and very long names. Aim for a name you can say once on the phone and be understood.
Who should own my business domain, me or my web designer?
The business, in its legal name, with an admin email the business controls. Our website hosting and maintenance team registers domains in the client's own name.
Is it worth owning a domain?
Yes. A domain you own gives you a permanent address for your website and professional email that you control, whichever web host or email provider you use.