DOMAIN NAME RULES

Domain Names have a variety of basic rules:

• .COM - originally intended for commercial sites, anybody can register these domains.
• .NET - originally intended for companies involved in Internet infrastructure, anybody can register these domains.
• .ORG - originally intended for not-for-profit organizations, anybody can register these domains.
• .INFO - anybody can register these domains.
• .BIZ - anybody can register these domains.
• Use only letters, numbers, or dash ("-")
• Cannot begin or end with a dash.
• Must have at least 3 characters, but no more than 63, not including .COM, .NET, .ORG, .BIZ or .INFO

• .US - can only be registered by U.S. citizens and residents, U.S. corporations and other U.S. organizations, and organizations with a presence within the United States
• Use only letters, numbers, or dash ("-")
• Cannot begin or end with a dash
• Must have at least 3 characters, but no more than 63, not including .US

• .COM.AU - Australian TLD for businesses and commercial sites.
• .NET.AU - recommended for Australian companies involved in Internet infrastructure.
• .ORG.AU - can only be registered by Australian charities and non-profit organisations.
• .ASN.AU - recommended for incorporated associations, political parties, trade unions, sporting and special interest clubs.
• Use only letters, numbers, or dash ("-")
• Cannot begin or end with a dash
• Must have at least 2 characters, not including .COM.AU etc.

• .CO.UK - UK TLD used for both commercial and personal sites
• .ORG.UK - UK TLD used for both commercial and personal sites
• Use only letters, numbers, or dash ("-")
• Cannot begin or end with a dash
• Must have at least 3 characters, but no more than 22, not including .CO.UK and .ORG.UK

• .TO - Tonga, to be used for commercial and personal sites
• Use only letters, numbers, or dash ("-")
• Cannot begin or end with a dash
• Must have at least 3 characters, but no more than 25, not including .TO

• .CO.NZ - New Zealand, intended organizations pursuing commercial aims & purposes
• .NET.NZ - New Zealand, intended organizations or services providers related to the NZ internet
• .ORG.NZ - New Zealand, intended for non-profit organizations
• Use only letters, numbers, or dash ("-")
• Cannot begin or end with a dash
• Must have at least 3 characters, but no more than 25, not including .CO.NZ, .ORG.NZ, and .NET.NZ

• .AT - Austria, to be used for both commercial and personal sites
• There is no residency requirement
• Use only letters, numbers, or dash ("-")
• Cannot begin or end with a dash
• Must contain at least one letter
• Must have at least 3 characters, but no more than 30, not including .AT

• .CO.ZA - South Africa, intended organizations pursuing commercial aims & purposes
• Use only letters, numbers, or dash ("-")
• Cannot begin or end with a dash
• Must have at least 3 characters, but no more than 25, not including .ZA

• .CO.IL - Israel, intended organizations pursuing commercial aims & purposes
• .ORG.IL - Israel, intended organizations pursuing commercial aims & purposes
• Use only letters, numbers, or dash ("-")
• Cannot begin or end with a dash
• Must have at least 3 characters, but no more than 25, not including .IL

• .TV - Tuvalu, to be used for commercial and personal sites
• Use only letters, numbers, or dash ("-")
• Cannot begin or end with a dash
• Standard names must have at least 4 characters, but no more than 59, not including .TV and cannot be generic.
• Premium names are available with 1,2 or 3 characters or generic words under special application. Please contact our Customer Service Team for more information.

• .WS - Samoa, to be used for commercial and personal sites
• Use only letters, numbers, or dash ("-")
• Cannot begin or end with a dash
• Standard names must have at least 4 characters, but no more than 59, not including .WS
• Premium names are available with 1,2 or 3 characters under special application. Please contact our Customer Service Team for more information.

• .CO.ZA - South Africa, to be used for commercial and personal sites
• There is no residency requirement
• Use only letters, numbers, or dash ("-")
• Cannot begin or end with a dash
• Cannot have more than 26 characters, including .CO.ZA

If you have specific questions, you can find more information in our Help Center.

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Last modified: Thursday, February 23, 2012