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domain name A domain name is a string that identifies a realm of administrative autonomy, authority or control within the Internet. Domain names are often used to identify services provided through the Internet, such as websites, email services and more. A ...
gov is a sponsored top-level domain (sTLD) in 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 or other Internet Protocol (IP) networks. It associates various information with domain names assigned ...
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 ...
. The name is derived from the word ''government'', indicating its restricted use by
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...
entities. The TLD is administered by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), a component of the United States Department of Homeland Security. .gov is one of the original six top-level domains, defined in RFC 920. Though “originally intended for any kind of government office or agency”, only U.S.-based government organizations may register .gov domain names, a result of the Internet originating as a U.S. government-sponsored research network. Other countries typically delegate a
second-level domain In the Domain Name System (DNS) hierarchy, a second-level domain (SLD or 2LD) is a domain that is directly below a top-level domain (TLD). For example, in , is the second-level domain of the TLD. Second-level domains commonly refer to the organ ...
for government operations on their country-code top-level domain (ccTLD); for example,
.gov.uk .uk is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the United Kingdom. It was first registered in July 1985, seven months after the original generic top-level domains such as .com and the first country code after .us. , it is the fift ...
is the domain for the
Government of the United Kingdom ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...
, and .gc.ca is the domain for the
Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...
. The United States is the only country that has a government-specific top-level domain in addition to its ccTLD ( .us). Beginning in 1997, the
General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gove ...
(GSA) began administering .gov. Responsibility for the TLD was transferred to CISA under the DOTGOV Online Trust in Government Act of 2020, part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. .gov domains are registered a
dotgov.gov


Use

Many governments in the United States use a .gov domain, though most use .us (e.g., leg.state.nv.us), .com (e.g., myflorida.com), .org (e.g., lacity.org), or other TLDs (e.g., senate.mn). The full list of registered .gov domains is published a
dotgov.gov/data
During GSA's administration of .gov, registration and annual renewal fees peaked at $400 per year. When CISA began managing the TLD in April 2021, all fees were removed. Federal Executive branch policy requires the use of .gov for civilian agencies, but some U.S. government-related websites use non-.gov domain names, including the
United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the ...
(e.g., usps.com) and various recruiting websites for armed services (e.g., goarmy.com). The
United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...
and its subsidiary organizations typically use the .mil sTLD instead of .gov.


Eligibility

U.S.-based government organizations and publicly controlled entities are eligible to obtain a .gov domain. This includes federal, state, local, or territorial government, as well as any tribal government recognized by the federal government or a state government. To register a .gov domain, an authorization letter must be submitted to CISA. The signer of the letter differs by entity type, but it is typically an agency's head, chief information officer (CIO), or highest-ranking or elected official. Historically, only U.S. federal government agencies were allowed to register a .gov domain. In May 2002, GSA proposed a change that would open registration to state, local, and tribal governments in the U.S., a change that went into effect in March 2003. In November 2019, before the transfer of .gov to CISA, GSA's authorization process was shown to be weak after someone impersonated the mayor of Exeter, Rhode Island in an authorization letter and successfully gained control of exeterri.gov. In response, GSA said it had implemented additional fraud prevention controls, and CISA advocated for transferring the TLD from GSA.


Policy

The DOTGOV Act requires that CISA maintain requirements that “minimize the risk of .gov internet domains whose names could mislead or confuse users”. These include: * Requested names must correspond with the requesting entity's organization's name or services. * Generic terms are reserved for federal agencies, though generic words can be combined with state or local municipality names. * Most non-federal domain types require a two-letter United States postal abbreviations or state name equivalent, though exceptions are made. Rules have been established for municipalities whose names are unique, who are well-known, or that are among the most populous cities and counties in the nation. The Act also requires that .gov domains not be used for political campaign or commercial purposes, and that domains are registered only by authorized individuals. .gov has been used to serve certain policy goals. As an action following Executive Order 13571, President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
restricted executive branch agencies from registering new .gov domains in an attempt to eliminate unnecessary, redundant, or outdated sites. US government agencies used the .gov registrar to make it easy for new registrants to opt-in to HTTPS preloading and to make it easier for the public to report potential security issues.


Use by states and territories

, all states, the District of Columbia, and all territories except for the Northern Mariana Islands have operational domains in ''gov'':


International equivalents

While the use of ''gov'' as a top-level domain is restricted to the United States, several other countries have
second-level domain In the Domain Name System (DNS) hierarchy, a second-level domain (SLD or 2LD) is a domain that is directly below a top-level domain (TLD). For example, in , is the second-level domain of the TLD. Second-level domains commonly refer to the organ ...
s of the same name or similar semantics for governmental purposes, including:


See also

* usa.gov * .us


References


External links


Official .gov registration site


* Domain Requirements (defined .com and the other original top-level domains) * U.S. Government Internet Domain Names
Complete list of .gov domains
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gov Sponsored top-level domains Domain names in the United States General Services Administration Computer-related introductions in 1985