If the change is made in accordance with the procedure, the right continues. Article 26 of the Regulation on Official Announcements and Advertisements subjects name and domain name changes to a detailed permission process. A change made contrary to the procedure results, under Article 113(g), in termination of the right to publish.
The process: you cannot change without permission
| Step | Operation | Paragraph |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A request including the new name or domain name is sent to the Agency in signed form | Art. 26(3) |
| 2 | The Board of Directors has an examination carried out | Art. 26(4) |
| 3 | If the name or domain name is found suitable, permission for the change is granted | Art. 26(4) |
| 4 | After the decision arrives, the new name may be used by notifying the Agency at least 3 working days in advance | Art. 26(5) |
| 5 | The change is announced publicly in a visible area before it is made | Art. 26(5) |
| 6 | The change is announced and made within 1 month at the latest of notification of the permission decision | Art. 26(6) |
The content limit on the name
Article 26(1) imposes a content condition: the names of newspapers and the domain names of online news sites may not consist of words or abbreviations capable of running counter to the general understanding of morality or to public order. The Board of Directors’ permission rests on an assessment of compliance with that condition.
No domain name change where access is blocked
The second paragraph imposes an important prohibition: online news sites may not request a domain name change where an access-blocking decision has been given in respect of them by the competent authorities.
That provision closes off the route of evading an access block by changing the domain name.
A limit of two a year
The seventh paragraph limits frequency: newspapers and online news sites may not request more than two name or domain name changes within a calendar year, apart from changes of ownership.
A condition specific to online news sites: the content and system must be preserved
The eighth paragraph, added to Article 26 by the 2025 amendment, regulates the technical form of a domain name change and is quite binding:
- The domain name change must be made preserving the existing content management system and content.
- A new website may not be created during those operations.
- No transfer may be made to another website.
- The new domain name must be defined as the main domain name of the existing online news site.
Technically that means your content management system, your archive and your content identifiers must be preserved and only the main domain name change. Old addresses should be permanently redirected to the new one and the integrity of the archive left intact.
The consequence of irregularity
Article 113(1)(g) determines the consequence: the right to publish of newspapers or online news sites that change their names or domain names contrary to the procedures and principles in Article 26 comes to an end.
That is a ground of termination, not suspension. A change made without permission, past the deadline, or by setting up a new site, can lose the official announcement right altogether. All the grounds of termination are covered in the loss of right guide.
Do not forget the press law side
A name change also has a press law dimension. Under Article 7 of Law No. 5187 the name of the publication is stated in the declaration given for issuing a periodical; a change of name therefore also affects the declaration information.
The information in the masthead must likewise be kept current.
Conclusion
Changing a name or domain name is possible, and where it is done in accordance with the procedure the official announcement right continues. The process is subject to permission: a signed request, examination and permission by the Board of Directors, notification at least three working days before use, a public announcement, and implementation within one month of notification of the permission. At most two requests a year may be made.
For online news sites the change must be made preserving the existing content management system and content; no new site may be created and no transfer made. An irregular change terminates the right to publish.