.jp domain names have special registry requirements for registration, renewals, and transfers. This guide explains what these requirements mean when you manage a .jp domain name on WordPress.com.
There are no restrictions on individual registrations. However, WordPress.com offers only .jp, not its country code second-level domain names (like .co.jp or .or.jp).
If you list JP as the country, the “state” field becomes mandatory. A list of valid states will appear as a drop-down in the registrant contact form. Your domain name registration may fail if the address is not correct. A valid ZIP code is also required. The correct format is XXX-XXXX.
You must also indicate the city district or the borough. It can be included in one of the street fields with the street number, or it can be prefixed to the city field using this format: city district, city.
.jp domain names permit only a small set of characters in contact information. Only the following characters are permitted for first name, last name, address, and organization:
a-zA-Z0-9.,&-
Privacy protection is not supported for .jp domain names.
WHOIS does not update in real time. There can be a delay of up to 24 hours for changes in WHOIS to be reflected.
The registry does not allow manual renewals. Therefore, if you disable auto-renew and WordPress.com misses the renewal date, you cannot re-enable auto-renew to renew the domain name.
The expiration date for .jp domain names is always set to the end of the corresponding month of registration. It does not matter when a domain name has been registered within that month. For example, if a domain name is registered on May 15, 2020, the expiration date will be set at May 31, 2021.
All .jp domain names renew on the 16th day before expiration. There are two ways for you to avoid renewing a .jp domain name:
- Cancel the registration at least 17 days before expiration; this means you will no longer own the domain name.
- Disable auto-renew on your subscription at least 17 days before expiration; the domain name will then expire.
If WordPress.com cannot auto-renew the domain name before it reaches expiration, the domain name must be redeemed. There might be a fee for the redemption. See Renewing a domain name in the redemption period for instructions on the redemption.
Once a domain name expires, it goes into redemption for 20 days. However, canceled domain names get a longer overall redemption period than expired domain names.
If you cancel the domain name, WordPress.com parks it for five days. If the domain name is not restored within that time, it is canceled at the registry and goes into redemption. The redemption period covers the rest of the month in which the domain name was canceled, and then the domain name is suspended for a month.
A REG-ID is required to transfer a .jp domain name to a different registrar. An authorization code is not required. In addition to the use of a REG-ID, .jp domain names have a few other key differences in transfer policy:
- There is no automatic renewal upon the completion of a transfer for .jp.
- Transfers are not possible if the domain name is expiring within the next 30 days.
- .jp domain names can be transferred within the first 60 days of registration.
- There is no transfer lock applied as a result of a contact information update.
If you do not have a Japanese address and a proxy address was automatically provided for you during the registration process, you will need to update your contact information to replace the proxy address with a Japanese address. Otherwise, it is not possible to transfer out.
The domain name does not need to be unlocked. You must submit the transfer with the gaining registrar (the registrar to whom you are transferring). You will not need an authorization code to request a transfer.
Once WordPress.com receives notice from the registry that a transfer request has been submitted, we will process your approval or disapproval for the transfer-out request.
WordPress.com does not accept incoming domain name transfers for .jp domain names. Use the Domain Connection option instead.
All transactions and status changes for .jp domain names use Japan Standard Time (UTC+9), most often specifically midnight. Therefore expirations, renewals, and other status changes all occur at midnight JST, which may happen earlier than expected depending on your time zone.
