Free tool

.ma naming charter: can your name be registered?

The Moroccan registry refuses a name that does not follow its charter, whichever provider it goes through. This tool applies the format rules of decision ANRT/DG/N°02/2024 and tells you, rule by rule, what is blocking.

Step 1 — the form of the name

Type the name you have in mind. The check runs in your browser, and the verdict is immediate.

The name you want to register

The name alone or the full address, either works. With no extension, .ma is assumed.

At this step nothing is sent or stored: the check runs entirely on your device.

Step 2 — availability and reserved terms

A browser can judge the form. The rest belongs to the registry: is the name free, and does it appear among ANRT's reserved terms. This search asks both questions at once and gives you the registry's answer.

What the charter allows, article by article

These four rules are exactly the ones the tool applies. They come from article 6 of decision ANRT/DG/N°02/2024, which has served as the .ma naming charter since its publication in Bulletin Officiel no. 7280 of 7 March 2024.

Allowed characters: The letters a to z, the accented letters à â ç è é ê ë î ï ô ù û ü ÿ, the digits 0 to 9 and the hyphen. No spaces, no underscores, no other special characters. A request containing one is rejected, with no possibility of correction afterwards.
Label length: Between 2 and 63 characters, extension excluded — that is, the part before the dot, mycompany in mycompany.ma. A single-letter label is refused, which often catches out projects built on an acronym.
Hyphen position: Never in the first position, never in the last. And never two hyphens together in the 3rd and 4th slots: those two are reserved for the xn-- prefix of internationalized names. A single hyphen in a medial position remains perfectly valid — my-company.ma is registered without difficulty, whereas ex--ample.ma is refused.
Accents and internationalized names: An accented name is lawful: the registry records it under its technical equivalent prefixed with xn--, with no additional formality. Names written in Arabic script, by contrast, belong to another national extension and its own character set (article 6.2).

Second-level extensions, and who may apply for them

The .ma is not the only available form. The registry opens several second-level extensions, each intended for a specific category of registrant. Three are registered directly; three others go through a prior ANRT review (article 5.4).

Extension	Intended for	Access conditions
.ma	Any registrant, individual or legal entity	Direct registration
.co.ma	Commercial activities	Direct registration
.net.ma	Internet service providers	Direct registration
.org.ma	Associations, foundations and similar organizations	Direct registration
.press.ma	Press organizations declared with the competent authorities	Prior ANRT review
.ac.ma	Academies and authorized educational institutions	Prior ANRT review
.gov.ma	Ministries, wilayas, prefectures, provinces, diplomatic missions	Reserved for public entities

For a company registered in Morocco, the .ma remains the most direct path: no category condition, no file to put together. The .co.ma suits you if you want to show your commercial status — it too is registered without prior review, as are .net.ma and .org.ma.

A period capped at 5 years

A .ma is registered for a period of up to five years, and can be renewed at any time during that period, without its validity ever exceeding five years (articles 30 and 33.1). The ceiling is lower than the ten years of generic extensions, but it comfortably covers a project's horizon — and a long period shields the name from accidental expiry, without changing anything about your title over it.

At expiry, the .ma does not behave like a .com. Your provider must notify you of the expiry at least thirty days in advance (article 33.2); the expired name then enters a thirty-day grace period during which it is frozen (article 33.3). Once that grace period passes, the name is not released: it is renewed automatically for one year, and billed (article 33.4). A .ma only becomes available to a third party after a termination requested by its registrant.

What no checker can settle

The two steps above cover form and availability. What remains is a share of judgment that neither a tool nor a search delivers in advance — better to know it before having business cards printed.

Registered trademarks. A name identical or very similar to a trademark protected with OMPIC risks refusal, or a dispute after allocation. The OMPIC negative certificate is the only way to know in advance.
Geographical names. Moroccan cities, regions and places may be refused when they are used in a way that misleads on origin or appropriates a territory.
Names of notable individuals. Registering the name of a public figure without a direct link to them exposes you to rejection as much as to a later dispute.
Public order and good morals. An offensive, discriminatory or unlawful label is refused by the registry, and that assessment is the registry's to make.

These caveats do not make the process a gamble: they explain why a neutral, distinctive name goes through without trouble, where a name that borrows from someone else sooner or later runs into them.

Is your name ready?

ServOrbit is accredited by ANRT for .ma, .co.ma and .press.ma. The rules on this page are applied at the point of order, and the documents we ask for are the ones the registry requires — no more, no less.

Rules taken from decision ANRT/DG/N°02/2024, published in Bulletin Officiel no. 7280 of 7 March 2024. This tool applies its articles 5.4, 6, 30 and 33; it does not replace the text.