Domain extension .li
Buy a .li domain: price, rules and use cases
.li is the country extension of the Principality of Liechtenstein. It is managed by the same registry as .ch and is just as open: any person or company can register one.
- Registration
- CHF 6.90
- in the first year · incl. VAT
- Renewal
- CHF 14.90
- per year · incl. VAT
- Transfer
- free of charge
Is your .li domain still available?
Who manages .li and who may register?
Domains under .li are managed by SWITCH on behalf of the Office for Communications of the Principality of Liechtenstein. For holders, the registry goes by the name NIC Liechtenstein (nic.li). As with .ch, you do not register directly with the registry but through an accredited registrar such as HostOn.
According to NIC Liechtenstein, you need neither Liechtenstein citizenship nor a residence or registered office in Liechtenstein. Private individuals and companies from Switzerland, Austria or Germany can therefore hold a .li domain too. The flip side: a .li address does not necessarily mean there is a Liechtenstein company behind it.
What details are required?
At minimum, correct contact details of the holder. If the data are incomplete, wrong or outdated and the holder's identity cannot be established without considerable effort, the registry can revoke the assignment. There is no reservation in the sense of a pre-booking for .li: a domain is either registered or free. You can, however, register a .li domain without using it right away, for example to secure the name for a later project.
Characters, length and municipality names
The same rules apply as for .ch, set out in the SWITCH terms and conditions: 3 to 63 characters, letters, digits and hyphens, plus umlauts and accents as IDNs. Names of municipalities, such as Liechtenstein's eleven municipalities, are reserved for the municipalities concerned. The registry does not check whether a name infringes third-party rights; that is your responsibility.
Price, renewal and grace period
At HostOn, a .li domain costs CHF 6.90 for the first year and CHF 14.90 per year after that, the same as .ch. If you hold both extensions, you renew them at the same price and manage them in the same client area. If a .li domain is not renewed and is deleted, a 40-day grace period follows, as with .ch, during which only the previous holder can have it restored through the registrar.
Liechtenstein forms a common VAT area with Switzerland and uses the Swiss franc. Customers from Liechtenstein therefore pay the same CHF prices including VAT at HostOn as customers in Switzerland.
Transferring a .li domain
To move to HostOn, you need the auth code from your current registrar, which must allow the transfer at any time. The transfer is free and the term stays the same. The registry adds new name servers to the zone within one hour at the latest. As with .ch, holders' names and addresses have not been shown publicly in Whois since 2021.
Typical uses
- Companies, fiduciary offices, practices and associations based in Liechtenstein whose customers expect the national extension.
- Businesses in the Rhine Valley and eastern Switzerland that also serve customers in Liechtenstein.
- Brand protection: whoever owns your-company.ch often also secures your-company.li and forwards it to the main address.
- Short names: if a name you want is taken under .ch, it is sometimes still free under .li.
Alternatives to .li
For an audience mainly in Switzerland, .ch is the obvious choice. If you operate internationally, add .com. A GmbH from Liechtenstein can also consider .gmbh. Companies from Liechtenstein are not eligible for .swiss, as it requires a registered office in Switzerland.
Who is .li a good fit for?
For anyone with a connection to Liechtenstein and anyone who wants to protect their name fully in the region. As a sole address, .li is mainly suitable if most of your customers are in Liechtenstein. Otherwise, .li is an inexpensive addition to .ch.
Frequently asked questions
Answers to the questions we are asked most often about this service.
No. According to NIC Liechtenstein, you need neither Liechtenstein citizenship nor a residence or registered office in Liechtenstein.
Technically and organisationally very similar: SWITCH manages both extensions under the same terms and conditions. However, .li is Liechtenstein's country extension and is operated on behalf of Liechtenstein's Office for Communications.
No, a pre-booking or provisional registration is not possible. You can, however, register the domain and only use it later for a website or e-mail.
Yes. Liechtenstein and Switzerland form a common VAT area, so the same CHF prices including VAT apply as in Switzerland.
The transfer is free. You only need the auth code from your current provider, and the term stays the same.
