You register a .pk domain through PKNIC, the registry that runs .pk, either in your own account on its website or through one of its resellers. PKNIC charges registrants in Pakistan Rs 2,100 a year and bills two years at a time, so the smallest first payment is Rs 4,200. Renewal costs the same per year as registration. Resellers set their own prices on top of that.
This guide covers what a .pk domain costs, which ending to pick, the naming rules that catch people out, how to register and renew directly with PKNIC, and the one detail you must get right on day one: the registrant name.
How much does a .pk domain cost?
PKNIC’s pricing page sets the fee in one paragraph:
- Registrants based in Pakistan pay Rs 2,100 per domain per year. PKNIC raised this by Rs 300, from Rs 1,800.
- Registrants or registrars outside Pakistan pay $15.99 per domain per year.
- Billing is biennial. You pay for two years at a time, and you can pay up to ten years ahead.
- Renewal costs the same per year as registration.
So a new .pk domain costs Rs 4,200 at PKNIC for the first two years, and Rs 4,200 again every two years after that, unless PKNIC changes its fee. The money has to be in your PKNIC account before the domain is registered, or you pay by credit card at the time.
A reseller’s price includes its own margin and often its own services, so it will be higher than PKNIC’s fee. Before you buy from a reseller, ask what the price covers. Ask whether it is for one year or two, and what the renewal will cost.
Which .pk ending should you choose?
PKNIC’s domain structure page lists every ending it offers, and says the payment schedule is the same for all of them. The ones most site owners choose from:
- .pk on its own, for example yourshop.pk. The shortest option.
- .com.pk, for general business or individuals.
- .net.pk, for network-related businesses.
- .org.pk, for non-profit organisations.
- .biz.pk, for general business and promotion.
- .web.pk, for websites.
- .fam.pk, for families and individuals.
- .ac.pk, for academic and educational use, with no accreditation needed.
.edu.pk has its own requirements for educational institutes, and the government endings such as .gov.pk and the provincial ones are only for government bodies.
If your business name is free as a plain .pk, take it, because it is the shortest address. If you can get both the .pk and the .com.pk, register both and point one at the other, so nobody else can take the second one.
What naming rules catch people out?
The same page sets rules that a quick availability search will not explain. The ones that matter most:
- A plain .pk name needs at least four characters before the .pk. Third-level names such as a.com.pk can be a single character.
- Four-character .pk names cannot start with a PKNIC ending such as com, net, org or gov. PKNIC’s own examples of names it refuses include coms.pk, nets.pk and govs.pk.
- New plain .pk names cannot end with an ending either, such as com, net, edu or org, though PKNIC may make exceptions for longer names that are not easily confused.
- No dash at the start or end, and no two dashes in a row. Those are reserved for international domain name encoding.
- The name can be at most 63 characters, not counting the ending.
- Some names are reserved or blocked, for example info.pk and name.pk.
- You cannot change a name after you register it. PKNIC’s FAQ says so plainly. A typo means a new registration.
Dictionary words are allowed, as long as they break no other rule. You also carry the responsibility for not registering a name that infringes someone else’s rights, which PKNIC’s FAQ spells out too.
How do you register a .pk domain with PKNIC?
PKNIC’s registration page lists four steps:
- Check that the name is free with the Search Domain box on PKNIC’s home page. The same WHOIS search shows who holds a name that is taken.
- Log in to your .pk account, or sign up for one if you do not have it.
- Open Billing, then Add Domain Credits, and add credit to your account.
- Open Register Domain, then Register Domains, and register the name.
Its payment page lists three ways to pay. You can pay online by credit card, or with a pre-paid card bought from resellers in your city. You can also post a cheque or bank draft payable to “PKNIC (PVT) Ltd” with your .pk account number on the back. PKNIC does not accept cash.
You do not need hosting before you register. PKNIC’s rules say a domain does not need nameservers set up at registration, so you can register the name today and connect it to a website later.
Whose name should the domain be registered in?
Yours, or your company’s, from the first day. On .pk, fixing it later takes paper documents, the post and several days.
PKNIC locks the registrant record so nobody can take a domain by editing a form. To change the registrant details, its page on changing domain details asks for paper documents sent by post. A company sends an authority letter signed by its head on the company letterhead, with a copy of the signer’s CNIC. An individual sends an affidavit on Rs 100 stamp paper, attested by an oath commissioner or notary public. Scanned copies are not accepted. PKNIC verifies the documents by phone, and the change takes about three to four business days after that.
Moving a domain from one PKNIC account to another, for example from a web designer’s account to your own, follows the same pattern on the change registrar page. It needs original documents by post, phone verification, and about three to four business days. It only works while the domain has not expired.
So if a designer, a reseller or a relative registers the domain for you, check two things before you pay them. The registrant name must be you or your business, and you need the login of the PKNIC account that holds it, or a written promise to move it to your account.
Should you buy from PKNIC or a reseller?
Both are legitimate. PKNIC’s FAQ says its only office is in Lahore, and that its resellers and agents are independent companies with no ownership link to PKNIC. It also says PKNIC does not provide website or email hosting.
Buy directly from PKNIC if you want the lowest fee and full control of the account. Buy from a reseller if you want one company to handle the domain, hosting and email together and you are happy to pay for that. Either way, the advice above about the registrant name still applies.
How do you point a .pk domain to your hosting?
You set the domain’s nameservers to the ones your host gives you. If you registered directly, do it in your PKNIC account. If a reseller registered it, ask the reseller or use its control panel. Our guide to pointing your domain to your hosting walks through the steps, and it covers .pk domains.
PKNIC says it pushes changes out every few hours, and that it cannot control how fast other servers on the internet pick them up. Plan for your site and email to switch over within a day, not within minutes.
Is a .pk domain secure?
We checked one part of this ourselves. A DNS lookup for the .pk zone in the internet’s root zone returns a DS record, and a validating resolver marks the answer as authenticated. That means the .pk zone itself is signed with DNSSEC, which protects lookups for .pk names against forged answers at the registry level.
Your own domain is a separate step. PKNIC’s home page asks you to contact its staff if you need DNSSEC for your domain. Two other steps are in your hands today: an https certificate on the website, and a strong password on your PKNIC account. Our guide to free SSL certificates for WordPress covers the first.
How do you renew a .pk domain?
PKNIC’s renewal page says it usually issues an invoice a few weeks before the domain expires. You pay it under Billing, then Invoices, by domain credit or card. To renew early, open My Domains, then Manage Domains, tick the domains, and choose “Invoice For Payment” under the bulk actions. You can also ask an agent, such as your ISP or a reseller, to pay for you, or send a cheque.
Log in to your PKNIC account a few weeks before the expiry date and look for the invoice, so the renewal does not slip. Remember that an expired domain cannot be moved to another account until it is renewed. If you are comparing what a domain and hosting will cost over several years, our checklist on what to check before you buy web hosting covers the hosting side.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a .pk domain for one year?
PKNIC’s fee is Rs 2,100 a year for registrants in Pakistan, but it bills two years at a time. So the smallest payment at PKNIC is Rs 4,200 for two years.
Can someone outside Pakistan register a .pk domain?
Yes. PKNIC charges registrants or registrars outside Pakistan $15.99 per domain per year, billed two years at a time.
Can I change my .pk domain name after registering it?
No. PKNIC’s FAQ says a registered name cannot be modified. You would register the new name separately.
How long does a new .pk domain take to work?
PKNIC updates its zone files every few hours. After that, other DNS servers pick up the change at their own pace, so allow up to a day.
Does PKNIC sell hosting or email?
No. PKNIC’s FAQ says it does not provide website or email hosting. You buy hosting separately and point the domain to it with nameservers.
