Since its launch in 2002, .PRO eligibility has been restricted to only certain specified professions, and registrars have been required to implement special procedures in order to register .PRO names.
These restrictions and procedures will be eliminated on November 16. .PRO registration requests no longer need to include the supplemental data (profession, authority name, authority URL, license number) which was previously required. Thus, the extensions X-PRO-PROFESSION, X-PRO-AUTHORITY, X-PRO-LICENSE-NUMBER and X-PRO-AUTHORITY-WEBSITE will become obsolete. Renewals, transfers, etc will be handled according to the revised policies beginning on November 16.
This liberalization does not only apply to .PRO second-level domains, but also for all third-level domain names such as names below .LAW.PRO, .MED.PRO, or .ENG.PRO.
This creates a significant sales opportunity for registrars, as many registrars have had to disappoint registrants in the past who were looking for a .PRO name. The change in eligibility will open the TLD to ALL registrants. The registry expects to continue to market .PRO as the domain for professionals, but the target market will expand dramatically to include businesses, service providers and individuals who consider themselves to be a “PRO”.
.PRO Domain Name Registration is available over AltusHost
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