What should I do, if I think I may have been entitled to a reserved .uk domain, but i’ve missed the deadline?
Unfortunately, you no longer have the rights to that domain name, and another party made it available for registration from 1st July.
In the first instance we advise that you contact your registrar, this is the person or company that manages your current domain, and they will be able to help you.
If you need any additional help or advice, please contact Nominet at the contact details above.
How was I made aware of the rights to my .uk domain over the last 5 years?
We have worked with registrars who in most cases have informed their customers about the right of registration. We have also emailed or written to registrants directly, and ran an awareness campaign. Registrants must contractually provide up-to-date contact details for each domain, and we have reached out to the named person.
Why is Nominet doing this?
We opened up the shorter .uk domain to increase choice for those seeking to register a domain in the .UK family.
We wanted to give existing customers a right to register the corresponding .uk domain. At the end of this 5-year period, our priority has been an orderly end of the reservation period. We have been working hard to raise awareness, without pressuring people to register a domain they may not need or want.
How many domains had rights reserved against them and how has this gone down over the last five years?
By the close of the rights period over 8 million rights holders out of the original 10 million have either taken up their rights to their equivalent .uk domain, or the rights expired.
If I haven’t taken up the corresponding .uk domain, what happens to my existing third-level registration, e.g. my .co.uk domain?
Your existing domain remains active and will continue to operate as usual. Remember to continue to renew your registration at each renewal anniversary.
I don’t have any rights but there is a .uk domain that was reserved for someone else I would like to register. When will all the previously reserved domains for which the right to register has NOT been taken up become available?
Starting from 1 July 2019, we released any previously reserved .uk domains that no one had registered. Making them available on a first-come, first-served basis through a two-stage process:
Stage One – now completed
This was a release process, running from the 1st to the 5th July inclusive, making previously reserved names available in batches (one batch per day).
Stage one is now complete, and you can find a list of registrars who participated in the release here.
Stage Two – 8th July to 12th July
All remaining .uk domains will become available in their respective batches one week after the initial release date.
So, if no one registers the domains released in batch 1 (1st July), registrars will make them generally available through the normal registration process one week later. For example, on 8th July between 14:00 and 14:30 BST (UTC+1). Batch 2 will become available on 9th July, batch 3 on 10th July, etc.
The release schedule for Stage Two is as follows:
- 8th July – Batch 1: Domains beginning 0-9, a-b
- 9th July – Batch 2: Domains beginning c-f
- 10th July – Batch 3: Domains beginning g-m
- 11th July – Batch 4: Domains beginning n-s
- 12th July – Batch 5: Domains beginning t-z
You can search for available domains here.
Why would I want a second level domain name?
Nominet expanded the namespace to offer new and shorter options for those seeking memorable domain names. This is in line with the changing use and appreciation of domain names.
I registered my .co.uk domain name in the last five years – would I have had a right to register the .uk equivalent?
No. Only domains registered before 23:59hrs on 28 October 2013 acquired the rights to the equivalent .uk domain. Of course, there’s nothing to stop you registering the .uk domain name if it is available.
When exactly did the rights expire?
06:00 BST (UTC+1) on 25th June 2019.
Isn’t it a problem that someone else can register a very similar domain?
It is a feature of the global domain name system that the same set of characters before the dot – known as the ‘string’, can appear in names with different suffixes. For example, different people might register ilovedomains.co.uk, ilovedomains.org.uk, ilovedomains.uk.co, or ilovedomains.com. It’s generally not problematic, and authorities have put safeguards in place to take action if anyone uses domains for illegitimate purposes.
I’m worried about someone taking a similar domain and using it to exploit my business. What can I do?
Those who breach our terms and conditions, including our abuse policy, will lose their registration. If you have any further issues with how someone is using a domain, you can lodge a complaint through Nominet’s Dispute Resolution Service.