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.Pro Frequently Asked Questions

What is a .Pro domain name?
A .Pro domain name is the first and only restricted top-level domain exclusively for professionals, approved and regulated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and operated by RegistryPro. It is a bundled security offering of a profession-specific domain name, (.eng.pro, .med.pro, .law.pro or .cpa.pro) along with a professional verification and professional level digital certificate to enable secure email communications. Second-level .pro domains are available without the profession-specific label to any registrant that has at least one third-level domain.

Why do I need a .Pro domain name?
Professionals who have a heightened security and privacy obligation will benefit from the easy to implement and use .Pro domain name and professional level certificate. Professionals in the engineering, legal, medical and accounting fields have an obligation to keep client records, communications and personal information secure and private. With .Pro, emails can be digitally signed and encrypted which enable privacy.

How does .Pro work?
A .Pro domain name is issued to professionals who self-certify that they meet the eligibility requirements and pass a verification process. Once they pass, they are issued a digital certificate which can be downloaded to their computer for use in digitally signing and encrypting email communications. A professional level digital certificate provides the following levels of digital trust:

Authentication - provides proof of a digital identity
Confidentiality - maintains privacy and confidentiality of content
Integrity - ensures the content has not been changed or altered
Non-repudiation - provides proof that the communication was sent

Who can register a .Pro domain name?
At this time, only members of the engineering, medical, legal and accounting professions are eligible to register for .Pro domains. The .Pro professional eligibility requirements are intended to restrict domain name registrations within the .Pro top-level domain to persons and organizations that are licensed or otherwise credentialed by the appropriate government agencies or organizations to provide professional services to the public in the legal, medical and accounting fields.

Eligible registrants may register one or more of four major profession-specific domains:

Profession	TLD
Engineers	.eng.pro
Attorneys	.law.pro .jur.pro .bar.pro
Accountants	.cpa.pro .aca.pro
Physicians	.med.pro

What are the basic eligibility criteria?
Generally, to be in compliance with the professional eligibility requirements, a registrant must be either:

• An individual who is currently licensed as (i) an engineer, (ii) a Certified Public Accountant, (iii) a physician (including a medical doctor), or (iv) an attorney at law, who is currently licensed to practice in any of the following supported jurisdictions:

United States
Canada
UK
Germany;

or,

• An organization, that provides engineering, accounting, legal or medical professional services, and has an employee who satisfies one of the above criteria and registers on behalf of such entity or organization. Examples of such organizations include: engineering consultation firms, accounting firms, hospitals, legal publishers, medical supply companies, or even the law department of a large company.

What information must be provided as proof of eligibility for a .Pro domain name?
All applicants will need to submit personal and professional information in order to be eligible for a .Pro domain. Information will include:

First Name
Last Name
Date of Birth
Profession Type
Country of Jurisdiction
License Number
Licensing Authority

How will .Pro review the eligibility of registrants in the .Pro domain?
What distinguishes the .Pro TLD from other domain extensions is its unique registration requirements. RegistryPro will require that registrants self-certify that they are professionals who meet the requirements of their profession and jurisdiction and provide information license and identity information which can be independently cross-referenced either through an online review process administered at the RegistryPro website .

Will eligibility be reviewed again after registration?
Eligibility for registration in the .Pro domain will be verified at the time of registration and will also be periodically re-verified, at a minimum annually, at the time of a registrants' digital certificate annual renewal.

To implement the .Pro Professional Eligibility Requirements, RegistryPro will:
1. Require that each Registrar certify that as a condition to registration of a .Pro domain name, that the professional eligibility of each registrant is verified,
2. Require that each registrar's agreement with registrants include terms and conditions relating specifically to .Pro domains (for example, regarding professional eligibility and the requirement that the registrant remain in good standing in his/her profession throughout the term of their domain name registration). Examples of such terms and conditions can be found in the DomainPeople Registration Agreement .

Is this a real-time registration?
No, to ensure a high level of security, .Pro registrations are multi-stage to provide assurance that the registrant is who they represent themselves to be.

4) .Pro FAQ ? second level: (http://www.domainpeople.com/domainname/domain-pro_secondlevel.htm )

Second-Level .Pro Registrations

What is a second-level .Pro domain name?

A second-level .pro domain name is in the form of ?domain.pro? where a specific profession is not identified. In order to register a second-level .Pro domain name, an individual or organization must have 1 or more third-level .pro domains registered, or in the process of being registered. There are two types of second-level .Pro domain names Second Level Redirecting and Second Level Resolving.

What is a Second Level Redirecting Name
If a registrant provides professional services such as engineering, medical, legal or accounting and has registered a third-level domain under that profession, registration can also be performed on the second-level. In this case the registration will require a redirect to the third-level professional designator that corresponds to the registrant's professional area. For example, an engineer or engineering firm could register for acme.pro in addition to acme.eng.pro. The second-level name would be redirected to a corresponding third-level designator per a service provided by RegistryPro, which is included in the price of the Second-Level Redirecting product.

What is a Second Level Resolving Name
RegistryPro offers second level names (e.g., acme.pro) to registrants who provide multiple professional services and meet two or more eligibility requirements. Examples of organizations that would qualify are engineering firms (providing both engineering and legal service). Rather than being restricted to having two or more third-level names with the associated second level professional designation (e.g., acme.eng.pro and acme.law.pro), eligible registrants can also register second-level domains (e.g., acme.pro) to use for their website, email, and other internet identify applications.

5) .Pro FAQ ? Eligibility Requirements: (http://www.domainpeople.com/domainname/faqs/proeligibiltyfaqs.htm )

.Pro eligibility Requirements Frequently Asked Questions

Who can register a .Pro domain name?
At this time, only members of the engineering, medical, legal and accounting professions will be eligible to register for .Pro domains.

The .Pro professional eligibility requirements are intended to restrict domain name registrations within the .Pro top-level domain to persons and organizations that are licensed or otherwise credentialed by the appropriate government agencies or organizations to provide professional services to the public in the legal, medical and accounting fields.

Eligible registrants may register one or more of four major profession-specific domains:

Profession	TLD
Engineers	.eng.pro
Attorneys	.law.pro .jur.pro .bar.pro
Accountants	.cpa.pro .aca.pro
Physicians	.med.pro

In the future, additional variations of these domains will be available to take into account local, professional and linguistic differences in the various regions in which .Pro domain names will be offered.

Where are the eligibility criteria specified?
The .Pro eligibility criteria are established in the Registry's Agreement with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Moreover, RegistryPro, the operator of the .Pro top-level domain will establish registry policy in consultation with an Advisory Board made up of representatives of professional organizations. It is the responsibility of registrants to provide truthful and accurate information about their professional status when registering for a .Pro domain name.

What are the basic eligibility criteria?
Generally, to be in compliance with the professional eligibility requirements, a registrant must be either:

Registrants outside the supported jurisdictions are eligible for Defensive Name Registrations. Additional jurisdictions will be added shortly. All .Pro domain name registrants must remain in compliance with the professional eligibility requirements at all times during their registration.

What is the Verification Process?
Registrars shall enforce the Professional Eligibility Requirements and must verify the personal identity of each registrant as a condition of registration. To satisfy the registration requirements, Registrars may:

(i) contract with RegistryPro for individual identity and professional verification services,
(ii) conduct personal identity and professional eligibility verification manually, or
(iii) contract with other third-parties for automated verification services.

What personal and professional information will a registrant have to provide to the Registry to successfully complete the authentication and verification process known as the "AV Check"?
Professional Eligibility: All registrants of resolving .pro domain names must demonstrate that they meet the professional eligibility requirements of the .pro registry. Eligibility is demonstrated by presenting a set of personal authentication and professional verification (A/V) data. The accuracy of the A/V data must be verified, and it must be confirmed that the individual indicated by the A/V data is aware of and authorized the initiation of the check. This person must be given the power to approve or veto any actions, such as completion of the registration of a domain name that may be taken as a result of a successful check.

A .pro registrant may either be an individual professional or a professional organization. When the registrant is an organization, there must be a qualifying professional who meets the normal eligibility standards for an individual registrant. This individual must certify that they are an employee of the registrant organization and that the organization provides services directly related to the individual's profession.

Please refer to the RegistryPro website for a complete description of professional eligibility for the .pro restricted gTLD.

The following A/V data must be provided to the Registry for the subject of the A/V check:

First Name
Last Name
Date of Birth
Profession Type
Country of Jurisdiction
License Number
Licensing Authority

The Registry will email the customer directly with the results of the A/V check and will include instructions on how to obtain an email or website digital certificate to use with the domain name.

Please Note: As authenticating and validating a potential .Pro registrant is a costly process, the cost of a .Pro third-level registration includes a non-refundable A/V service provided by RegistryPro. The Registry will process the information that is submitted through the online A/V interface and if the check fails, an additional A/V request must be submitted by DomainPeople at a cost of $100USD.

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