A guide for partners on the Unified Identification and Authentication System (ESIA)

General Provisions

Identification Procedure for Different Client Categories

Trustee Service for Non-Residents of the Russian Federation Without a Gosuslugi (USIA) Account
Non-Resident RU-CENTER Partners
Certain Aspects of Interaction Between the Partner and the Registrar


 



 

General Provisions



About this document

This document is intended for the Registrar’s Partners and clarifies the procedures and capabilities regarding the mandatory identification of domain name holders in the .ru, .рф, and .su zones via Gosuslugi (USIA).


About the changes

From September 1, 2026, mandatory identification of registrants in the .ru, .рф, and .su zones will be introduced in Russia via the Gosuslugi (ESIA) portal. This requirement is set by Federal Law No. 569-FZ dated December 29, 2025.

Registering a new domain or renewing an existing one will only be possible after confirming your identity using a verified Gosuslugi account.

The Law establishes the key decision, while the specific implementation approach will be defined in the new .ru, .рф, and .su Domain Registration Policies. The document is currently undergoing regulatory impact assessment and may still change.

Categories of Customers Subject to the New Requirements

The requirements apply to all registrants — both new and existing — holding domain names in the .ru, .рф, and .su zones, including individuals, individual entrepreneurs, and organizations, including non-residents of the Russian Federation.

From September 1, 2026, only legal entities that are residents of the Russian Federation may act as Registrar Partners for domain names in the .ru, .рф, and .su zones.

Restrictions Applied to a Domain Name if Identification Is Not Completed by September 1, 2026

Without completing identification, the partner’s customer (the registrant) will not be able to:

  • register new domain names;
  • renew existing domain names;
  • change DNS servers;
  • transfer the domain name to another registrant;
  • transfer the domain name to another registrar.

After the current domain registration period expires, the domain name will enter the renewal grace period and will subsequently become available for registration by third parties.

Responsibility for Customer Identification

Under applicable legislation, the obligation to verify customers and provide identification methods rests with the Registrar (RU-CENTER). A Registrar Partner may not independently identify its customers, and the Registrar may not delegate customer identification responsibilities to a Partner.

Identification of Registrants in the .ru, .рф, and .su Zones

Identification of registrants is the procedure for verifying the information of registrants stored in the .ru, .рф, and .su domain name registries through the Gosuslugi (USIA) service using the Registrar’s infrastructure.

USIA (Gosuslugi) is a government-operated system used for authentication on Gosuslugi and other public services. It enables online verification of an individual’s identity or an organization’s details.

To complete identification, the registrant must have a verified Gosuslugi (USIA) account (standard or fully verified level). Verification can be completed through various methods, including via a bank, postal service, or Multifunctional Center (MFC). Full instructions and available verification methods are available here.

Identification is carried out separately for each customer agreement (account), even if all accounts belong to the same individual or organization.


Identification Procedure for Different Client Categories




Identification of Domain Registrants (Individuals or Individual Entrepreneurs)

To successfully complete identification, the domain registrant must:

1. Log in to their Registrar (RU-CENTER) Profile or follow the identification link sent by the Registrar to the registrant’s contact email address specified in the Registry.

2. Click the “Complete Identification” link located on the main page of the Profile.

3. The system will redirect the user to the authorization page of the Gosuslugi (USIA) service.

4. The registrant enters their credentials to log in to the Gosuslugi (USIA) service.

5. After authorization in the service, the registrant will be prompted to grant the permissions required for RU-CENTER’s system (NIC.RU Domains and Hosting) to obtain information from the service.

During the identification process, RU-CENTER does not receive access to the registrant’s account or login credentials for Gosuslugi — only the information required to verify the identity of the individual (full name, date of birth, TIN/SNILS, contact details) or organization (company name, PSRN, TRRC, contact details) is transmitted.

6. After receiving the registrant’s data from Gosuslugi (USIA), RU-CENTER verifies the data stored in the Registrar’s database and in the Registry.

If the data fully matches, identification is completed automatically, and the Registrar transmits the successful identification status to the Registry.

If the data partially matches, the identification review is escalated to a Registrar employee, who verifies the data. If the discrepancy is due to typographical errors, the Registrar employee confirms the identification and updates the Registrar’s database using the data received from Gosuslugi (USIA), after which the successful identification status is transmitted to the Registry. The Registrar employee may request additional documents from the registrant for data verification purposes.

If the data does not match, the identification is deemed unsuccessful. From September 1, domains associated with such data will become subject to restrictions. To discuss possible solutions, the registrant must submit a request to id@nic.ru; each case is reviewed individually.

Following completion of the identification review in any of the above cases, the registrant will receive a notification of the Registrar’s decision at the contact email address.


Identification of Domain Registrants (Legal Entities)

The identification procedure for domain registrants that are legal entities is carried out through the prior identification of an employee of the organization.

Accordingly, in order to identify a legal entity, the following is required:

1. The legal entity must have an active account in the Gosuslugi (USIA) service.

2. An employee of the organization (an individual) with a verified Gosuslugi (USIA) account must be linked to the organization’s Gosuslugi (USIA) account.

3. Identification of the legal entity must be completed by an employee linked to the organization.

The sequence of steps is identical to the identification procedure for individuals and individual entrepreneurs. After authorization in Gosuslugi (USIA), the employee will be prompted to select from the organizations to which they are linked. The employee must select the organization for which they wish to complete identification.


Identification of RU-CENTER Partners’ Clients for .ru, .su, and .рф via Gosuslugi

Please note:: 

  • RU-CENTER, as the accredited registrar in the .ru, .рф, and .su domain zones, is the registrar for domains serviced through RU-CENTER Partners.
  • RU-CENTER sends notifications containing individual identification links to the email address of the Partner’s client. This is necessary for the direct identification of the registrant.
  • During identification, the client grants access not to their entire Gosuslugi (USIA) account, but only to the data required for identity verification: full name, date of birth, SNILS/TIN, and contact information. RU-CENTER does not obtain full access to the client’s account.

We recommend that the Partner::

1. Conduct preliminary communication with its Clients regarding the regulatory changes affecting the .ru, .рф, and .su domain zones using the reference materials available at here.

2. Inform its clients about emails sent by RU-CENTER, the Registrar, to their contact email addresses containing notifications regarding the need to complete identification via the provided link.

How to successfully complete identification::

1. The Partner’s client will receive an email from the Registrar at the administrative email address containing a unique link for identification. The Partner’s client must follow this link.

2. On the opened page, the Partner’s client must click “Complete Identification”.

3. The Partner’s client will be redirected to Gosuslugi (USIA) using the account of the individual entrepreneur or individual to whom the domain is registered. If the domain is registered to a legal entity, authorization in Gosuslugi must be completed using the account of an employee linked to the organization’s profile in Gosuslugi.

4. The Partner’s client must confirm consent to grant RU-CENTER access rights to the information from the selected Gosuslugi account.

5. The identification result will be sent by the Registrar to the Partner client’s contact email address.

  • If the information in the Service Agreement and in the Gosuslugi account used by the Partner’s client for authorization matches, identification will be successfully completed.
  • If the information differs, RU-CENTER specialists will manually review the discrepancies. If they are caused by typographical errors, our specialist will confirm the identification.
  • If the domain registrant data in the Service Agreement and in Gosuslugi differs substantially, identification will be rejected, and the Partner’s client will need to contact RU-CENTER at id@nic.ru.

If identification is not completed successfully, key domain operations will be suspended starting from September 1. To consider possible solutions to this situation, the registrant will need to contact id@nic.ru. Each case will be reviewed individually.

As the obligation to conduct identification is imposed by law on the Registrar, in the event of issues during the identification process, the Registrar will interact directly with the Partner’s client as part of the identification procedure.


Identification of Domain Registrants Who Are Non-Residents of the Russian Federation

Foreign citizens can create an account on Gosuslugi, which means they can also complete the mandatory identification of a registrant.

Instructions for creating an account are available here.

All subsequent steps after obtaining a Gosuslugi account are identical to the identification procedure for residents of the Russian Federation.


Trustee Service for Non-Residents of the Russian Federation Without a Gosuslugi (USIA) Account

Although non-residents of the Russian Federation may complete identification by obtaining a non-resident account in the Gosuslugi (USIA) service, in practice this means that the registrant must have sufficient ties to the Russian Federation to complete the required procedures.

For legal entities and individuals that are non-residents of the Russian Federation, RU-CENTER offers the Trustee Service, which allows customers to retain their domain name and continue managing it without using Gosuslugi (USIA).

The Trustee Service is a local trust administration service similar to trustee/local presence mechanisms used in other country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs).

When the Trustee Service is activated, the domain for which the service is provided is transferred to a legal entity within our group of companies, which becomes the domain registrant in the Registry. At the same time, the RU-CENTER Customer or Partner Customer retains full control over the domain without additional risks.

From June 1 through August 31, 2026, the Trustee Service for .ru, .рф, and .su domains may be ordered via the Profile by:

  • a direct RU-CENTER customer (NIC-D account type) that is a non-resident without identification through Gosuslugi;
  • a RU-CENTER Partner (NIC-REG account type) on behalf of its customer (holding a NIC-D account) that is a non-resident without identification via Gosuslugi.

Trustee Service Fees

The fee for activating the Trustee Service for an existing customer domain is RUB 10,500.

Renewal of a domain with the Trustee Service enabled costs RUB 17,500; the domain renewal fee is included in the Trustee Service fee.

Upon activation, the service remains valid until the expiration date of the domain registration term and is subsequently renewed together with the domain name renewal.

Activating the Trustee Service

The service is available for activation from the Profile via the link.

After activation of the service, the registrant must provide the Registrar with identification documents within 7 business days; additional details are available here.

If the required documents are not provided, delegation of the domain name will be suspended until the identification documents are received and verified.

For Registrar Partners Using the API:

Подробности по ссылке

Service type for activating the service for an existing domain: tci_trustee_transfer

Service types for Trustee Service renewal:

  • domain_ru_trf_6
  • domain_rf_trf_6
  • domain_su_trf_6

Service Term and Renewal Terms

The Trustee Service remains valid until the expiration date of the domain registration term for the domain to which the service is connected at the time of ordering. For example, if the domain registration expires in 2 months, the Trustee Service will remain valid for 2 months.

The service must be renewed simultaneously with the domain renewal. When renewing the domain, the Trustee Service will be added to the order automatically. In order for the domain to be renewed, renewal of both services must be paid for. If either service remains unpaid, the domain will not be renewed and will be deleted. The service is renewed for 1 year, the same as the domain registration term.


Non-Resident RU-CENTER Partners

Operational Considerations and Recommended Actions Before September 1, 2026

To reduce the risk of losing the ability to manage domains of Partner Customers that are non-residents of the Russian Federation in the .ru, .рф, and .su zones, we recommend that our Partners follow the procedure below for categorizing their customer base and interacting with each customer group.

Step 1: The Partner should review its customer base and identify the following customer groups:

  • Group 1: Registrants that are individuals and residents of the Russian Federation;
  • Group 2: Registrants that are legal entities and residents of the Russian Federation;
  • Group 3: Registrants that are individuals/legal entities and non-residents of the Russian Federation.

Step 2: Customers belonging to Group 1 and Group 2 will receive a notification from the Registrar, RU-CENTER, containing a link to complete identification through the Gosuslugi service without the need to log in to the RU-CENTER Profile. Such customers will be able to complete identification because they already have a Gosuslugi account or are able to create and verify one.

Step 3: For customers belonging to Group 3, we recommend activating the Trustee Service in June 2026 as the simplest, fastest, and most straightforward solution for retaining management of the domain name.

You may activate the Trustee Service from the Profile for domains of non-residents of the Russian Federation under your management via the link.

Special Terms for Non-Resident Partners Regarding Activation of the Trustee Service

We understand that implementation of changes in local legislation is a complex process with tight deadlines, and we highly value our cooperation with our international partners.

If you encounter difficulties activating the service during June–July 2026 or require consideration of individual cases, please contact us at partner@nic.ru, and we will work with you to find suitable service terms and conditions.


Certain Aspects of Interaction Between the Partner and the Registrar

Is it still possible to transfer a domain to a resident of the Russian Federation?

Answer: Yes. This option remains available under the current version of the Policies. We recommend completing this operation before September 1, 2026, as from September 1 onward this operation will not be possible if the transferring party has not been identified through Gosuslugi (USIA). If you have any questions regarding the procedure, please contact our support team.

General instructions for completing registrant change are available via the link.

For non-residents of the Russian Federation, submission of copies of applications and documents is permitted; however, the Registrar reserves the right to request certified copies of documents where necessary.

How can an individual, individual entrepreneur, or legal entity complete identification via Gosuslugi (USIA)?

Answer: Please use the step-by-step instructions available at the following links:

For identification of a legal entity, before beginning the identification procedure it is necessary to verify that the company is registered in USIA and ensure that the employee responsible for the domain portfolio has been added to the company account. Identification can then be completed via the Profile..

What types of identification documents are required after activation of the Trustee Service, and requirements apply to them?

Answer:

Is it possible to transfer a domain from the Trustee Service model to another registrant?

Answer: Yes, this option remains available. To complete a registrant change for a domain with the Trustee Service enabled, an authorized request must be submitted from the Profile to the support team.

The receiving registrant must either activate the Trustee Service if they are a non-resident of the Russian Federation without a Gosuslugi (USIA) account, or be a resident of the Russian Federation who has completed identification via Gosuslugi (USIA).

Will any changes to API integration be required?

Answer: No changes are required before September 1, 2026. At the same time, Partners working through the API will be able to order the Trustee Service for domains of the Partner’s customers.

From September 1, 2026, when working through the API, update-type requests for domain names in the .ru, .рф, and .su zones will require additional confirmation from the registrant through authorization in Gosuslugi (USIA). The Registrar will send a confirmation link for the operation to the domain registrant’s contact email address. The operation will remain in pending status until identification is completed. For domains with the Trustee Service enabled, operations will be processed without additional confirmation from the domain registrant. Further details regarding API changes will be published in the documentation.

Is it possible to perform bulk identification of registrants or bulk activation of the Trustee Service?

Answer: Bulk identification is not possible, as each account must be identified individually.

Bulk activation of the Trustee Service is available from the Profile and via the API. If you require consultation regarding bulk activation, please contact us at partner@nic.ru.

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