.gov.uk domain name registration | renewal

[Bryan]

eUKhost Ltd provides registration / transfers / renewal for .gov.uk domain name.

Guidelines for registration of new .gov.uk domain names. This guide sets out the national rules and principles for registering and managing government domain names. The .gov.uk domain name is registered for minimum 2 years. The .gov.uk Naming & Approvals Committee is responsible for approving or rejecting all requests for:

• New .gov.uk domain names
• Change / Transfer of ownership of .gov.uk domain names
• Appeals against the above decisions of gov.uk domain names

Sarajane Brock, JANET (UK) - Current member of .gov.uk Naming & Approvals Committee from UK.

To reduce risk of public confusion the Committee has reserved some names and expressions for specific use. A copy of the current list is available on email request to - naming [@] coi.gsi.gov.uk.

Follow the steps before you finalize the domain and provide your information :
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1. Be aware of the conditions of use for a .gov.uk name.
2. Determine if you qualify to register a domain name.
3. Review the naming conventions and ensure that your proposed name complies.
4. Review the information required to successfully apply for a registration.

Rules for Domain Name Selection : Domain names must
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1. Contain only standard ASCII alpha numeric characters A to Z; numerals 0 to 9 and/or hyphens;
2. Not contain less than three characters;
3. Not begin or end with a hyphen (-);
4. Not coincide with internet protocols, such as, www, ftp, dns, whois;
5. Not include postal codes, or pseudo abbreviations, such as, ltd, plc, gov;
6. Not contain more than 64 characters.

Whois Lookup for .gov.uk domain name.

1. Certain types of public sector organisations are required to use a suffix (with or without the hyphen). Click here for more details.
2. Certain types of public sector organisations are required to use a prefix (unless the full title is used). Click here for more details.

All requests must be submitted by an Approved ISP unless the domain name request is being submitted by an organisation that is currently connected to the JANET network. If the organisation requesting the new domain name fits the eligibility criteria, then requests has to be submitted by using the online form here.

For any name submitted there are two possible outcomes:

a) ACCEPTED. This will mean that there is no objection to the name from the Naming Committee and the ISP will receive a positive acknowledgment from Janet (UK)
b) REJECTED. This will mean that the domain name is not acceptable to the Naming Committee for the following reason :

1. Wrong form used;
2. Sent to wrong e-mail address;
3. Insufficient information supplied;
4. Request does not fit into the domain's eligibility criteria;
5. Form not in plain text;
6. Frivolous or time-wasting requests.

There will be no charge for a request that produces a REJECTED outcome. However, JANET(UK) reserves the right to make a charge for frivolous, time-wasting or other requests which impose an undue use of resources to deal with. The ISP will receive a response in 5 days after the request is submitted to Janet (UK).

Like other Top Level domain names .gov.uk domain names are not automatically issued and not on a first come first served basis. There are conditions and conventions attached to the .gov.uk domain name registration. In practice this means that if you have a .gov.uk domain name it should be your principal domain name and not as a redirect to a non-public sector domain (eg, .co.uk, .org.uk, .info, .com). Of course the protective registration of a name in other Top Level and Second Level Domains that redirects to your .gov.uk name is common and the accepted practice.

Central government bodies must use the appropriate name within .gov.uk as their primary domain. Use of non-government domains (e.g. .co.uk, .org.uk, .org etc.) must only be for defensive purposes and must be redirected to the primary government domain.

When the .gov.uk website goes live you need to inform the .gov.uk Naming and Approvals Committee directly by email to naming [@] coi.gsi.gov.uk confirming the below standards :

(a) The .gov.uk URL of your home page
(b) The date it went live as a public website
(c) Confirm that the website complies with the information and will continue to comply with all mandatory terms.

Failure to comply with this may result in the name being withdrawn. It is recommended to the management of individual .gov.uk domain names creates and maintain a generic website team email address, for example, " mgmt@******.gov.uk " or " directors@******.gov.uk ".

To protect and secure the integrity of the .gov.uk domain name, registration/ownership is limited to:

a) UK government and legal administration departments and agencies;
b) Executive and advisory non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs);
c) Local and regional government bodies (including town and parish councils).

Non - Eligible organisations for .gov.uk domain name

• Individuals (including elected representatives);
• Associations representing public sector staff;
• Public sector pension funds;
• Standalone 'arms length organisations' where staff are not public servants, eg, they are employees of a private or public company;
• Charitable, voluntary and privately owned organisations;
• Companies and organisations registered by Companies House that is, private companies (limited by shares or guarantee), private unlimited companies and public liability companies;
• Public, privately owned or charitable organisations undertaking work or programmes within the public sector;
• Public, privately owned or charitable organisations undertaking work or programmes targeting the public sector;
• Internet management and network related companies, including Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and hosting companies;
• British overseas territories and international organisations.

Your application for a domain name must be submitted through an approved Internet Service Provider (ISP), who will act as your registration agent with JANET Customer Services, using the appropriate templates. You must outline the primary purpose and planned content of your proposed domain name, for example:

* An information website
* A transactional website
* A campaign website
* An educational website, eg, aimed at children/schools
* A redirect page
* For email purposes only

List of Approved ISP.

The following conditions may result in withdrawal of a .gov.uk domain name.

1. Non-agreement with any of the above principles and practice of the rules and conditions.
2. Persistent failure to maintain an accessible and functional website. For example, obsolete and de-commissioned domains - where there is persistent delivery of, for example, a code 404 page.
3. Persistent failure to meet the minimum technical standards for government websites, including accessibility and coding standards.
4. Failure to renew the name.
5. Change of status of the organisation or project that the domain name represents or change of status of the domain name owner. Please contact naming@coi.gsi.gov.uk to negotiate a suitable timescale for withdrawal.


Background to .gov.uk

Any Organization that wish to register a .gov.uk domain name can apply their registration through us. Please click here for the entire information you need to provide us for domain registration. Please fill in the complete information and send us to billing [ @ ] eukhost.com and eUKhost will help you register the domain name for you.

Please click here for the information that you need to provide eUKhost Ltd, so that eUKhost as an ISP would submit a request to Janet UK for registration of your .gov.uk domain name.

Required Information for .gov.uk domain.

[paul]

Thanks Bryan for sharing this information! It's very helpful, may I request you to please share similar information about registration of .ac.uk domain name?

[Bryan]

Thank you Paul !

I'm writing a detailed information about .ac.uk domain name registration and I will post the complete information in the next 2-3 days. I have also planned to post the complete information about registration / renewal / transfer for all the 128 TLD's we offer by the end of this Year.

Hope I may get Success to share this information with all our FORUM members..!

[bigonroad]

Hmm, Chris.gov.uk. Has a nice ring to it!

[Bryan]

I tried to browse the domain and it resulted to OpenSRS, I then checked the whois records for the domain and found that the domain is not yet registered. Would you like to register it ?

[Bryan]

Thanks Bryan for sharing this information! It's very helpful, may I request you to please share similar information about registration of .ac.uk domain name?

Hi Paul,

I have posted the complete information for .ac.uk domain name at the below link :

Guidelines for registration of new .ac.uk domain names.

I hope that makes clear for all the ones interested in registration of .ac.uk TLD....