Nominet is a private, not-for-profit company that has members rather than shareholders. Any organisation with an interest in the Internet can become a member of Nominet by paying a subscription fee. Members have voting rights and can have access to reduced domain name registration and renewal fees. For further information, see the Nominet Guide to Becoming a Member and Registrar.
The members of Nominet usually offer their customers a range of services that are not available from Nominet, such as web site design, hosting and email forwarding.
Nominet members contribute to the running of the company in a number of ways:
- by voting at Annual General Meetings
- by electing non-executive Directors to the Board
- by electing members to the Policy Advisory Board
- by participating in on-line discussion groups to share views and ideas on how Nominet should operate.
Nominet has a Board that is made up of two executive directors, and four non-executive directors who are elected by members. The Board makes strategic and policy decisions and is responsible for the actions of the company.
The Policy Advisory Body (PAB) acts as a bridge between Nominet's Board and Nominet members. The PAB meets every two months to develop policies and rules for consideration by the Board. The PAB comprises up to two of the non-executive directors, eight representatives of appointed organisations (such as the Confederation of British Industry and the Department for Business) and eight members who are elected by Nominet members.