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by Simon Aughton

Nominet, the body that oversees Internet domain name allocations in the UK, is to begin charging for transferring domains from one person or organisation to another.

Currently Nominet makes no charge for the transfer of .uk domain names, but from 19 May 2003, it will charge £30 plus VAT (£35.25). As a non-profit organisation, Nominet explains that the charge is necessary merely to cover its costs, which involve a series of checks to ensure that domain change requests are legitimate.

'We take a lot of care to make sure that domain names are not transferred in error,' said Lesley Cowley, managing director of Nominet UK. 'While this process creates additional work for Nominet, it is essential to preserve the integrity of the domain name system, the accuracy of the register database and the confidence of .uk domain name holders.'

Changing domains currently involves the completion of a Transfer Form, but the process should go online later this year. Around 2,500 domain transfers are processed each month.

Further details are available from www.nominet.org.uk/MakingChangesToYourDomainName/Transfer .