| .US Domain FAQs What
is .us?
What makes .us unique, and why do I need it?
Who can register a .us domain name?
U.S. Nexus Requirements.
Who is the registry for .us?
I've seen the .us domain before. Hasn't is been
around for a while?
What will happen to existing .us domain names?
What is the difference between .us and .usa? 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." 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 http://www.neustar.us/policies/docs/ustld_nexus_requirements.pdf
Who
is the registry for .us?
Neustar is the registry for the .us domain. 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. Currently names are 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 fraudulent domain. | 
