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Frequently Asked Questions on .Us

What is .us?
It is the official country code top-level domain for the United States. Country codes are two-letter domain extensions designated by the International Organization for Standardization for each country. For example, Canada is .ca, Ireland is .ie, and the United Kingdom is .uk.

 

What makes .us unique, and why do I need it?
.US is the only way to establish a distinctly American address on the Internet. It allows U.S. residents, government entities, public service organizations and businesses to register a short, memorable domain name, such as www.janesmith.us, www.publicservice.us, or www.mycompany.us.
Individuals can use .us domains for e-mail or personal web sites. Government and public interest organizations can use .us addresses to serve the needs of Americans. Businesses can use .us domain names to promote themselves as American companies and encourage consumers to "buy American."

 

How much does a .us domain name cost to register?
Registration costs $24.95 USD per year for a minimum two-year registration.

 

Who can register a .us domain name?
Any U.S. citizen or resident, as well as any business or organization, including federal, state and local government with a bona fide presence in the U.S. can register a .us domain name. All registrants must meet the U.S. Nexus Requirements itemized below.

 

U.S. Nexus Requirements
All registrants for the .us domain must be either:

  • A natural person (i) who is a citizen or permanent resident of the United States of America or any of its possessions or territories or (ii) whose primary place of domicile is in the United States of America or any of its possessions, or
  • Any entity or organization that is incorporated within one of the fifty (50) U.S. states, the District of Columbia, or any of the United States possessions or territories or (ii) organized or otherwise constituted under the laws of a state of the United States of America, the District of Columbia, or any of its possessions or territories, or
  • An entity or organization (including federal, state, or local government of the United States, or a political subdivision thereof) that has a bona fide presence in the United States. See Section B.3.1 of the NeuStar (the .us registry) proposal to the Department of Commerce for details concerning what constitutes a "bona fide presence."
  • See complete Nexus Requirement Document as a PDF at www.neustar.us/policies/docs/ustld_nexus_requirements.pdf

 

Who is the registry for .us?
Neustar is the registry for the .us domain. DomainPeople is accredited by Neustar (http://www.neustar.us) to offer .us domain registration. DomainPurpose.com is a DomainPeople authorized reseller.

 

I've seen the .us domain before. Hasn't is been around for a while?
The .us top-level domain was established in 1985 as the country code top-level domain for the United States. Previously names were only available at the third level and above, as in www.county.arlington.va.us. Now .us registrations are available at the second level like the majority of web addresses. For example: www.johnsmith.us, www.publicservice.us or www.mycompany.us.

 

What will happen to existing .us domain names?
Existing .us registrants (domain name holders) will retain rights to their existing third-level webaddresses, such as www.arlington.va.us

 

What is the difference between .us and .usa?
.USA and .us are not the same domain. The .us top level domain is legitimate and has been authorized by ICANN, the organization accredited by the US government to license and regulate domains worldwide. .USA is a bogus domain, and the Federal Trade Commission has shut down the operators of this fraudulent domain.

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