Cabinet Office
class="gem-c-govspeak govuk-govspeak govuk-!-margin-bottom-0">
When you choose your .gov.uk domain name you must make sure it is:
- available - you can check if a domain name is registered
- descriptive
- unique
- not confusing for users
Choose a descriptive domain name
Your proposed domain name must clearly describe your organisation or government initiative youre providing. Think about users of the domain name and make sure the name is not too long or complicated.
Your domain name must:
- be between 3 and 63 characters long
- contain only alphanumeric characters (0-9 and a-z) and the - (dash) symbol
Your domain name must not:
- be the same or substantially similar to an existing .gov.uk domain name
- use & (ampersands) or _ (underscores)
- include abbreviations like ltd, plc and gov
- include a postcode
You must use the full name of your organisation, government initiative or an appropriate suffix or abbreviation.
If you apply for an acronym, initialism, or abbreviation this must be descriptive, unique and clear to avoid user confusion. Applications for these terms will need approval from the Naming and Approvals Committee. Commonly-used abbreviations like DWP, HMRC or DVLA are acceptable as are abbreviations that are well-known to your users.
Example
A central department can use hmrc.gov.uk.
A county council can use northamptonshire.gov.uk.
A town council can use biggleswadetowncouncil.gov.uk, biggleswadetown.gov.uk or biggleswade-tc.gov.uk
A parish council can use bonbyparishcouncil.gov.uk, bonbyparish.gov.uk or bonby-pc.gov.uk. If your council uses an established abbreviation in its current domain name, you may be able to use it for a .gov.uk domain. Any domain applications using an abbreviation must end with -pc.gov.uk.
A geographical identifier your users will recognise.
Example
northyorks.gov.uk is acceptable.
Make your proposed domain name unique
If your proposed domain name is the same as another .gov.uk domain name you must choose another name.
If you apply for a generic word or combination of generic words for a .gov.uk domain name, the Domain Management team will refer this to the Naming and Approvals Committee. The committee may contact other government organisations who may have a claim on the generic words before they make their final decision.
Example
technology.gov.uk is generic and the Domain Management team would refer this request to the Naming and Approvals Committee.
Updates to this page
Published 7 October 2019Last updated 4 February 2025 +show all updates
-
Updated acronym rules for parish councils: "If your council uses an established abbreviation in its current domain name, you may be able to use it for a .gov.uk domain. Any domain applications using an abbreviation must end with -pc.gov.uk.
-
Clarified naming criteria for town and parish councils.
-
Clarifying that a domain name must use the full name of an organisation, government initiative, an appropriate suffix or abbreviation.
-
Separated what you must and must not include in a domain name to make it clearer. Updated abbreviation example to beis.gov.uk as mhclg.gov.uk has been retired.
-
The Domain Management team has now moved to the Central Digital and Data Office. This update removes any references to the Government Digital Service (GDS).
-
First published.