This list of Internet top-level domains (TLD) contains

top-level domain A top-level domain (TLD) is one of the domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical and distributed naming system for computers, services, and other resources in the ...

s, which are those domains in the DNS root zone of the

Domain Name System The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical and distributed naming system for computers, services, and other resources in the Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that use ...

of the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...

. A list of the top-level domains by the

Internet Assigned Numbers Authority The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is a standards organization that oversees global IP address An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label such as that is connected to a computer network that uses the I ...

(IANA) is maintained at the Root Zone Database. IANA also oversees the approval process for new proposed top-level domains for

ICANN The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN ) is an American multistakeholder group and nonprofit organization responsible for coordinating the maintenance and procedures of several databases related to the namespac ...

. , their root domain contains 1502 top-level domains. , the IANA root database includes 1589 TLDs. That also includes 68 that are not assigned (revoked), 8 that are retired and 11 test domains. Those are not represented in IANA's listing and are not in root.zone file (root.zone file also includes one root domain).

Types

IANA distinguishes the following groups of top-level domains: * infrastructure top-level domain (ARPA) *

generic top-level domain Generic top-level domains (gTLDs) are one of the categories of top-level domains (TLDs) maintained by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is a standards organization that oversees globa ...

s (gTLD) * generic-restricted top-level domains (grTLD) * sponsored top-level domains (sTLD) *

country code top-level domain A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is an Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It ...

s (ccTLD) * test top-level domains (tTLD)

Original top-level domains

Seven generic top-level domains were created early in the development of the Internet, and predate the creation of

in 1998. * Name: DNS names * Entity: intended use * Notes: general remarks * IDN: support for internationalized domain names (IDN) * DNSSEC: presence of DS records for

Domain Name System Security Extensions The Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) are a suite of extension specifications by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) for securing data exchanged in the Domain Name System (DNS) in Internet Protocol (IP) networks. The protoc ...

Infrastructure top-level domains

Country code top-level domains

As of 20 May 2017, there were 255 country-code top-level domains, purely in the Latin alphabet, using two-character codes. , the number was 316, with the addition of internationalized domains.

Proposed internationalized ccTLDs

Internationalised domain names have been proposed for

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

and

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern por ...

ICANN-era generic top-level domains

* Name: DNS name * Target market: intended use * Restrictions: restrictions, if any, on who can register, and how the domain can be used * Operator: entity the registry has been delegated to * IDN: support for internationalized domain names (IDN) * DNSSEC: presence of DS records for

English

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

Chinese

French

German

Hindi

Italian

Portuguese

Spanish

Internationalized generic top-level domains

All of these TLDs are internationalized domain names (IDN) and support second-level IDNs. * Notes: general remarks and intended use * DNSSEC: presence of DS records for

Arabic script The Arabic script is the writing system used for Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration w ...

Chinese characters Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanj ...

Cyrillic script The Cyrillic script ( ), Slavonic script or the Slavic script, is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking ...

Japanese characters

Other script

Geographic top-level domains

* Name: DNS name * Entity: Target geographic area * Notes: general remarks * IDN: support for internationalized domain names (IDN) * DNSSEC: presence of DS records for

Africa

Asia

Europe

North America

Oceania

South America

Internationalized geographic top-level domains

Brand top-level domains

* Name: DNS name * Entity: company and/or brand * Notes: general remarks * IDN: support for internationalized domain names (IDN) * DNSSEC: presence of DS records for

Internationalized brand top-level domains

Special-Use Domains

ICANN/IANA has created some Special-Use domain names which are meant for special technical purposes. ICANN/IANA owns all of the Special-Use domain names.

Non-IANA domains

Besides the TLDs managed (or at least tracked) by IANA or ICANN, other independent groups have created, or had attempted to create, their own TLDs with varying technical specifications, functions, and outcomes.

Blockchain-registered

Blockchain-based domains are registered and exchanged using a public blockchain like Ethereum. Often times, these domains serve specific functions such as creating human-readable references to smart contract addresses used in DApps or personal wallet addresses. Generally, these non-standard domains are unreachable through the normal DNS resolution process and instead require clients to use some sort of transparent web proxy or gateway to access them

Alternate roots

In the case of alternative DNS roots, organizations or projects make use of the same mechanisms of the DNS but instead take on the role of ICANN in managing and administering an entirely separate root zone, thus having the ability to create new TLDs independently. However, this doesn't make these domains any less isolated from the rest of the internet, though the ability for clients to resolve them theoretically only requires switching to a recursive DNS resolver that recognizes and serves records underneath the alternate root zone.

Explanatory notes

Citations

External links

IANA's list of TLDs in machine-readable format

The Internet Domain Survey

The Public Suffix List / PSL – Maintained by Mozilla

Registry Agreements
at

Registry Agreement Termination Info Page
at

{{Generic top-level domains Country codes International telecommunications Top-level domains Top-level domains