Free business email in Sri Lanka: set up name@yourbusiness.lk

A Sri Lankan business usually has its registration from the Divisional Secretariat or the registrar (the company where you bought your domain, e.g. Namecheap or GoDaddy) of Companies, a TIN from the Inland Revenue Department and a bank account before it has an email address of its own. The address still ends up being a Gmail one, printed on quotations to apparel buyers, tour operators abroad and Colombo procurement teams who have learned to treat free webmail as a warning sign. A .lk domain costs a yearly fee in rupees, the mailboxes can be free, and the whole setup fits in an afternoon.

Quick answer

Register yourbusiness.lk at the LK Domain Registry (nic.lk) or a local hosting company, paying in rupees. Create a free OquMail workspace with no card, add the domain, paste four DNS records, click Verify and create your mailboxes. Then add the mailbox to the Gmail app or Outlook on your phone over IMAP.

Choosing your domain: .lk or .com

The .lk registry sells names directly under .lk and under second-level names such as .com.lk and .org.lk. Local buyers recognise both forms; .lk directly is shorter and the one most new businesses choose.

• .lk: the standard for Sri Lankan businesses; registered at nic.lk directly or through a local reseller, priced in rupees
• .com.lk: the older business form; fine if the plain .lk name is taken
• .com: sensible if most customers are overseas; a .lk beside it on the website signals a registered local business
• A .lk is paid in rupees, which sidesteps the limits many Sri Lankan cards have on foreign-currency payments

Why a domain address matters in Sri Lanka

Export is paperwork-heavy. Apparel factories, tea exporters and spice traders deal with buyers who verify suppliers before a first order, and the email domain is part of that check. Tourism is the same from the other side: a villa in Galle or a tour company in Kandy competing for foreign bookings is judged against operators with addresses on their own domain. IT and BPO firms serving clients in Australia, the UK and the Gulf lose the pitch before it starts if the proposal comes from a free address. Locally, bank relationship managers, Colombo corporates and government tender boards all respond faster to a company domain.

Step by step: from domain to working inbox

1. Register yourbusiness.lk at nic.lk or a local hosting company. The registry takes bank payment and local cards; the domain is usually active within a day.
2. Go to oqumail.com and create a free workspace with your name and a password. No card, no trial countdown.
3. In the dashboard choose Add domain and type yourbusiness.lk. OquMail shows the four DNS records to add.
4. Log in where the domain is managed, open the DNS or Zone editor, and add the MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC records exactly as shown. If the registrar provides no DNS editor, point the nameservers at a free DNS host such as Cloudflare and add the records there.
5. Return to OquMail and click Verify. The live check names any record still missing.
6. Create your mailboxes: info@, sales@, accounts@ and one per person. The free plan allows up to 15 mailboxes with 5 GB each.
7. Open webmail, send a test to a Gmail address, then add the account to the Gmail app or Outlook on your phone with the settings below.

The four DNS records OquMail needs

• MX — host @, value mail.oqumail.com, priority 10
• SPF (TXT at @) — v=spf1 MX (Mail Exchanger — where incoming email is delivered) a:mail.oqumail.com ~all
• DKIM (TXT at your selector ._domainkey) — v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=… (the exact key is shown in your OquMail dashboard)
• DMARC (TXT at _dmarc) — v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc@yourdomain.com

OquMail connection settings

• Incoming (IMAP): mail.oqumail.com, port 993, SSL/TLS
• Outgoing (SMTP): mail.oqumail.com, port 587, STARTTLS
• Username: your full email address (you@yourdomain.com)
• Password: the same password you use for OquMail webmail

What it costs in Sri Lanka

• The .lk domain: a yearly fee in rupees, set by the registry; two-year registrations are cheaper per year
• Mailboxes: free on OquMail, up to 15 with 5 GB each, 250 sends a day per mailbox
• No dollar card, no monthly fee, no hosting plan required

Mistakes common in Sri Lanka

• Taking the "free email" bundled with a web hosting plan and losing the mailboxes when the plan lapses. Keep the domain in your own name and the mail separate from the hosting.
• Letting a web designer register the domain under their account. Ask for the login and the registrant to be your business.
• Mobile networks and most home connections block outgoing port 25. Mail apps must use port 587, which works on Dialog, SLT-Mobitel and Hutch.
• Spelling names with Sinhala or Tamil characters in the address. Keep the mailbox name plain ASCII and put the full name in the display name.

Common questions

Can I pay for the domain without a card?

Yes. nic.lk accepts bank payment, and local resellers accept transfers in rupees. The mailboxes need no payment at all.

Does it work with Outlook and my phone?

Yes. Add an IMAP account with the settings above in Outlook, Apple Mail or the Gmail app, using your full address as the username.

What are the limits?

15 mailboxes, 3 domains, 5 GB per mailbox, no expiry. Extra mailboxes are added on request without touching DNS.

Want to see how your own domain is set up? Use the free SPF checker, DMARC checker and MX lookup: they run in your browser and store nothing.