A .my domain used to come with an unwritten filter built in: registering one meant proving, in one way or another, an actual connection to Malaysia. That's no longer the whole story. Anyone who has recently tried to register a .my domain, or read that the rules changed, is really asking a simpler question underneath it all: who can register one now, and does that change anything for a business already using, or considering, a .my address?
What changed, and when
On 20 June 2024, MYNIC — the registry responsible for the .my country-code domain — relaunched the second-level .my domain and removed the requirement for a Malaysian presence that had applied since the domain's earlier rules were set. Before that date, registering a plain .my domain (yourname.my) meant demonstrating some genuine connection to Malaysia. Since that date, it doesn't — a business or individual anywhere in the world can register one the same way they'd register a .com.
What didn't change: .com.my and the other third-level extensions
This is the detail that trips people up most often. The June 2024 change applies specifically to the second-level .my domain — the bare yourname.my format. It does not apply to the third-level extensions registered underneath .my: .com.my, .net.my, .org.my and similar still require a genuine Malaysian presence to register, exactly as they did before. A foreign business can now register yourname.my, but not yourname.com.my, without meeting the local-presence requirement.
Why MYNIC made this change
MYNIC has publicly linked the change to a growth target: reaching 400,000 registered .my domains, up from where the count stood before the relaunch. Opening the domain to a global market and pricing registration more competitively were both cited as part of the same push. Removing a registration restriction that only Malaysian-connected registrants could meet is a straightforward way to expand the pool of who can register at all.
What a foreign registrant needs now
Since the change, registering a plain .my domain from outside Malaysia doesn't require a local address, a Malaysian company registration, or any proof of presence in the country. A registrant still needs the standard information any domain registration requires — valid contact details — and goes through an accredited registrar to complete it, the same as registering any other domain extension.
Does a .my domain still mean “Malaysian business”?
The extension itself hasn't changed what it signals — a .my domain still reads as Malaysian-oriented to a visitor or a search engine the way it always has. What's changed is only who is now allowed to register one, not what registering one communicates. For a business that specifically wants the strongest possible signal of genuine local presence, .com.my remains the more precise choice, since it still requires a real Malaysian connection to register — the eligibility gap between .my and .com.my is, for the first time, actually meaningful in that direction.
Should a Malaysian business register a .my domain now?
If anything, this makes registering early more relevant, not less. A Malaysian brand that hasn't yet secured its own name as a .my domain is now competing with registrants worldwide for that same name, rather than only with other Malaysian-connected registrants. Registering the relevant .my (and, for businesses that want the stronger local signal, the matching .com.my) sooner rather than later avoids finding it taken by an unrelated registrant somewhere else once demand from the newly opened global market picks up.
Where Gotka Technologies fits
Gotka registers .my domains from RM120/year and .com.my domains from RM80/year, alongside hundreds of other extensions from RM10/year, through Gotka's domain registration service — every registration includes domain lock, WHOIS privacy protection and free transfer-in as standard. For help deciding between .my and .com.my specifically for a Malaysian business, see our guide on .my vs .com: which domain should a Malaysian business register, and once a domain is registered, domain lock, explained covers the one setting worth checking is switched on.
Can anyone register a .my domain now, or only Malaysians?
Anyone, anywhere in the world, can now register a plain .my domain — there is no requirement to be a Malaysian citizen, resident or business. That's a change from the domain's earlier rules, which required a genuine local presence in Malaysia before a .my domain could be registered.
What changed, and when?
On 20 June 2024, MYNIC — the registry that runs .my — relaunched the second-level .my domain and removed the requirement for a Malaysian presence, opening registration to the global market for the first time. Before that date, only individuals or businesses with a genuine connection to Malaysia could register one.
Does this apply to .com.my, .net.my and .org.my too?
No — this is one of the most commonly missed details. The change only applies to the plain second-level .my domain (yourname.my). The third-level extensions — .com.my, .net.my, .org.my and similar — still require a Malaysian presence, the same as before the change.
Why did MYNIC remove the local-presence requirement?
MYNIC has said the goal was to grow overall .my registrations by opening the domain to a global market, having previously set a public target of reaching 400,000 registered .my domains. Removing the eligibility restriction was one of the changes made toward that goal, alongside more competitive registration pricing.
Does a foreign business still need anything extra to register a .my domain?
No extra local presence, local address or Malaysian company registration is required to register a plain .my domain since the June 2024 change. A registrant still needs a valid registrant contact and, like any domain purchase, goes through a registrar such as Gotka to complete registration.
Is a .my domain still worth it for a Malaysian business specifically?
Yes — a .my domain still signals a Malaysian presence to visitors and search engines the way it always did; the rule change only affects who else is now allowed to register one, not what the extension itself communicates. For a Malaysian business, a .my domain, or a .com.my domain which still requires local presence, remains one of the clearest ways to show local credibility.
Does Gotka register .my domains?
Yes — Gotka registers .my domains from RM120/year, alongside .com.my from RM80/year and hundreds of other extensions from RM10/year, with domain lock, WHOIS privacy protection and free transfer-in included as standard on every registration.
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