Membership FAQ

The whole process of election contains 3 parts:

1. Membership Registration
2. Candidate Nomination
3. Election and Voting

The HKIRC membership is divided into two classes :

1. Supply Class <Click to learn more>
2. Demand Class <Click to learn more>

Each Eligible party can only register as member of one of the classes only.

You can review the M & A at our website at <M & A page>.

Companies, associations, organizations or bodies residing in or registered under Hong Kong law or Hong Kong residents of age 18 or above currently maintaining a valid registration without expiration of one or more Internet domain names under “.hk” or “.香港” will be eligible to register as a member.

Interested parties can register as members by completing the online registration process on our membership website, provide required documents to us for vetting, and having the domain registrant confirm the membership application by clicking the link on the email HKIRC sent within the period specified.

* Please note that we will not accept the applicant to become a HKIRC member if the applicant completes the online registration process only.

If you are representing a company, you must be 18 years of age or above. Also, please ensure that you are authorized to apply for membership for your company and that it is in existence and solvent.

If you are an individual applicant, please ensure that the information you provided in the online application is correct.

Registering as a member is free of charge. You need to provide documents to HKIRC for vetting. The kinds of document required have been indicated in the process flow and on the application form you need to download.

Each organization or individual can register once only.

If the domain name was registered under your personal name and re-registration has been completed (click to check the re-registration status at “Whois“), you are eligible to register as members provided that the required Confirmation letter and necessary document have passed our verification.

An HKIRC member is entitled to the following :

1. Nominating candidates standing for election to the Board;
2. Seconding a nominated candidate standing for election to the Board;
3. One vote at a general meeting of the company; and
4. A number of votes, which is equal to the number of vacancies to the Board for the relevant class for the election of the Board of Directors. No Member may cast more than one vote in favour of each candidate

The HKIRC membership will not be terminated unless the registered domain name of the member is not activated, or the member fails to comply with the Rules of Membership, or the member refuses to accept changes made to the Rules of Membership by HKIRC.

Please go to the Home Page on our website and click ‘Forgot Login Name’ or ‘Forgot Password’ to get back or reset your password.

The membership is not transferable. However, if the domain name holder has transferred the related domain name to the transferee, the transferee will be eligible to register as new member.

You can contact us by phone at +852 23192303, by fax to +852 2319 2626, or via email to info@hkirc.hk regarding any membership issues.

The information you provide to us will be retained for as long as it remains necessary for one or more of the purposes for which it was collected. All personal information provided will be processed in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance.

You can follow the steps below to nominate a candidate:

1. Download the Director Nomination Form at < Director Nomination Form – Demand Class > for director representing Demand Class of Membership.
2. Complete all the information and print out the nomination form
3. Duly signed by the Candidate, authorized representatives of the Proposer and Seconder. If Proposer and/or Seconder are corporate member, company chop is required
4. Mail the copy of HKID or Passport and original copy of the nomination forms signed by the Candidate, authorized representatives of the Proposer and Seconder to HKIRC office at Unit 501, Level 5, Core C, Cyberport 3, 100 Cyberport Road, Hong Kong. Attn: CEO of HKIRC
5. Nomination deadline: 15 April 2024, HKT16:00.

A Candidate, who can either be a member or non-member, must be nominated by one Proposer and supported by one Seconder. The Proposer and Seconder must be valid members in the same class of membership. A valid member must have at least one .hk/.香港 domain name in active status and is unexpired as of the date of 2024 Annual General Meeting.

The Proposer of a particular class of membership, supported by the Seconder of the same class, can nominate one or more Candidates standing for election to the Board of Directors, but the number must equal to the number of Board vacancies of that particular class.

The Proposer, Seconder and Candidate will receive an email notification confirming the acceptance of the said nomination.

For any enquires, please contact us at 2319 2303 or by email hkirc.board@hkirc.hk.

• For the voting of resolution item(s), each member is allowed to cast one vote for each resolution item.
• Please read the instructions and IMPORTANT NOTES on the form before filling in the form.
• The postal voting form should be signed by the Member’s Authorised Representative or individual member. The form must be duly filled in and bear the signature of the Authorized Representative for organizational member or the signature of member per se for individual member, name of the Authorized Representative(if necessary), name of the member, and the date.
• The email voting form should be duly filled in. Please note that the deadline for email voting and postal voting is earlier than that of the on-site voting for one day.
• If multiple voting forms (either submitted by post or by email) have been received, only the first valid voting form received before the deadline will be counted.

You have to read the instructions on the voting form carefully before filling in the form. No confirmation on vote validity will be sent to the company representative of the member or to the individual member; HKIRC will only inform members by email acknowledging receipt of their voting forms after the auditor had duly received the voting forms.

You may view the names and personal profiles (if provided) of nominees on HKIRC’s website.

The election process is monitored and verified by the independent auditors. All voting forms will be sent to the independent auditors directly and to be handled by them to ensure the integrity of the election process.

The election results will be announced during the AGM and will also be posted on HKIRC’s website after the election.

Postal and email ballot are also accepted by HKIRC as valid voting methods; regardless of voting methods, only one valid vote would be counted. Note that once a member decides to cast a vote by post or by email, it subsequently renders the member ineligible to vote in person.