South Africa opens a 10-year tender to run .co.za and related endings.

South Africa’s domain regulator has put the contract to run the country’s main commercial internet domain out to tender. ZADNA’s official request-for-proposal page describes RFPZA2026/05 as an invitation to bid for registry services for the commercial second-level domains co.za, web.za, net.za and org.za.

TechCentral reported on November 3, 2026 that the request was issued on Monday (November 2), ahead of the current operator’s agreement expiring in September 2027, and that the winning bidder would get a 10-year agreement once it has taken over from the incumbent. That incumbent, the report said, is the ZA Registry Consortium (Zarc), appointed in 2022 for five years from 1 October that year.

The registry operator handles the technical side — registrations, renewals, transfers, and the DNS that makes addresses resolve — while ZADNA keeps its regulatory, policy, and oversight role, according to TechCentral. The same report said the tender emphasises security, keeping infrastructure and registry data in South Africa, and a managed handover designed to avoid disruption for registrars and domain holders. Bidders must also show what they will contribute to localisation, skills development, and transformation.

ZADNA acting CEO Lerato Seema said, in a statement quoted by TechCentral, “Continuity of service is central to this procurement.” ZADNA’s tender listing sets a compulsory online briefing for 20 November 2026 and a proposal deadline of 14 December 2026 at 12:00 South African Standard Time.

What this does — and does not — change for site owners

Question	Plain answer
Is a new operator in place today?	No. A tender is a procurement process, not an appointment.
Do .co.za names need to be moved?	Not because of the RFP itself. TechCentral described a managed handover aimed at avoiding disruption.
Can you register .za on DNX?	No. DNX does not list .za. Use this as industry context.
Why cover it here?	Registry-operator tenders are a reminder that country-code namespaces are infrastructure under local policy, not just marketing labels.

Dates on the official calendar

• 2 November 2026: ZADNA issued RFPZA2026/05.
• 20 November 2026: compulsory briefing, listed on ZADNA’s tender page.
• 14 December 2026, 12:00 SAST: proposal submission deadline.
• September 2027: expiry of the current operator’s agreement, per TechCentral.

If you already use a .co.za (or related) name, the practical step is ordinary hygiene: keep registrar account access current and wait for formal notices if a handover is later awarded. Opening a tender is not a reason to migrate a working site.

Sources: ZADNA, “Request for Proposal (RFP) — Provision of Registry Services for the co.za, web.za, net.za and org.za Second-Level Domains,” RFPZA2026/05 (zadna.org.za); Staff Reporter, “Race opens to run South Africa’s .co.za domain,” TechCentral, Nov 3, 2026 (techcentral.co.za). See also tldlog’s summary of the same tender. DNX does not sell .za.