Key facts
- Nominet is the registry for all .uk domains
- One .uk or .co.uk registration or renewal included yearly with the £1 a day + VAT plan
- .uk transfers use an IPS tag change, not an auth code
- If a registrar won't change the tag, the registrant can do it via Nominet for a small fee
- The reserved right to claim a matching .uk ended in June 2019
- .ltd.uk and .plc.uk must match a company registered at Companies House
- Extra .uk domains can be ordered at clients.dijitul.uk
The UK domain family
All UK domains are run by Nominet, the official .uk registry. The main options are:
- .co.uk: the long-standing choice for UK businesses.
- .uk: shorter, available since 2014.
- .org.uk: popular with charities, clubs and non-profits.
- .me.uk: aimed at individuals.
- .ltd.uk and .plc.uk: must match a company name registered at Companies House.
One registration or renewal on common extensions such as .uk, .co.uk and .org.uk is included each year with dijitul Complete Hosting.
Your .uk rights: what happened in 2019
When .uk launched in 2014, Nominet reserved each shorter .uk name for the owner of the matching .co.uk (or other third-level name) registered before the cut-off. That reserved right ran for five years and expired in June 2019. Names that weren't claimed were released to the open market in July 2019.
So today there is no automatic right. If your business is example.co.uk, someone else may own example.uk. Check it. If it's free, we'd recommend registering it and redirecting it to your main site.
Transferring a .uk domain: the IPS tag
.uk domains don't use auth codes. Each registrar has a Nominet IPS tag, and a transfer is simply a change of tag.
- Order hosting or a domain with dijitul and we'll give you our tag.
- Ask your current registrar to change the tag. Most have a button in their control panel or will do it on request.
- Once the tag changes, the domain appears in our account and we take over renewals and DNS.
If the old registrar won't co-operate, the registrant can change the tag themselves using Nominet's online services. Nominet charges a small fee for this, so check their current price. A tag change doesn't change ownership, move the website or move mailboxes. We do those parts as part of website migration.
Accurate registrant details matter
Nominet checks registrant details and can suspend a domain if they can't be verified. Make sure the registrant is your business or you personally, with a current address. If the name on the record belongs to a former designer or employee, sort it out before you need it. We register .uk domains in the customer's name.
DNS and renewals handled
We point your .uk domain at Cloudflare DNS and manage the records, including email records. Renewal of your included domain is part of your yearly plan, so there's no separate bill to chase. Extra domains are ordered through clients.dijitul.uk.
Frequently asked questions
Who controls .uk domain names?
Nominet is the official registry for .uk domains, including .co.uk, .uk, .org.uk and .me.uk. You register through a Nominet-accredited registrar or tag holder. dijitul registers and renews .uk domains and includes one a year with its £1 a day + VAT hosting.
What is an IPS tag?
An IPS tag is Nominet's identifier for the registrar that manages a .uk domain. To transfer a .uk domain, the current registrar changes the tag to the new registrar's tag. There's no auth code. The registrant can also change it through Nominet's online services for a fee.
Do I have the right to the .uk version of my .co.uk?
Not any more. Owners of matching .co.uk names had a reserved right to the .uk until June 2019. Unclaimed names were released in July 2019 and are now first come, first served. Check whether yours is still available.
Is .uk or .co.uk better for a business?
.co.uk is more familiar to UK customers, while .uk is shorter. Neither ranks better in Google by itself. Many businesses register both, use one as the main address and redirect the other so customers and email reach them either way.
Can a foreign company register a .co.uk domain?
Yes, .co.uk and .uk domains are open to registrants outside the UK, but Nominet expects accurate registrant details and can suspend domains with unverifiable data. Check current Nominet rules with your registrar if your business has no UK address.
How long does a .co.uk transfer take?
Once your current registrar changes the IPS tag, the transfer is usually almost immediate. Delays normally come from waiting for the old registrar to act. If they refuse, the registrant can change the tag via Nominet's online services.
Related
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