If I register a domain, must I make the payment to aplus.net before the domain is registered and activated?

When registering a new domain name, the user determines the plan type and the registration period. Our system will then bill the new registration for the complete period the customer chooses. A new domain will be registered only after a payment is received. We accept two methods of payment: Credit card and check.

If it is a credit card you are paying with your domain will be activated immediately.
If you are paying by check it will take some time before your domain becomes active.

Note: It takes up to 48 hours for your domain information to propagate through all the DNS servers in the world.