.brand: definition

A .brand TLD is a top-level domain named after a company’s trademark and run by that company for its own use. The public cannot register names in it. What makes it a .brand is a set of extra terms in the company’s contract with ICANN, not any technical difference.

What a .brand TLD is

ICANN writes the designation as “.Brand”. Under Specification 13 of the 2026 Registry Agreement The contract between ICANN and a gTLD registry operator. Full definition of Registry Agreement, a TLD qualifies when:

the string is identical to a registered trademark recorded in the TMCH Trademark Clearinghouse A database of verified trademarks used for sunrise and claims in new gTLDs. Full definition of TMCH (in the 2026 Round ICANN's second round of applications for new generic top-level domains. Full definition of 2026 Round, a .brand competing with another application for the same string may add words from its trademark’s list of goods and services);
the trademark was issued to the registry operator The organization that holds the contract or mandate for a TLD and sets its rules. Full definition of registry operator or an affiliate before it applied, and is used in a business other than running a registry The central database and system of a top-level domain, or loosely the organization that runs it. Full definition of registry;
only the operator, its affiliates or companies holding a written trademark licence hold names and control their DNS record One entry in a DNS zone, made of a name, a type, a TTL and data. Full definition of DNS record;
the string is not a generic word.

A string that matches a brand is not automatically a .brand: the applicant An organization that has applied to ICANN to run a new gTLD. Full definition of applicant must ask for the designation and pass an evaluation. A closed generic A TLD based on a common word that only its own registry may use. Full definition of closed generic, an exclusive TLD on an ordinary word, is not allowed, and ICANN’s guidebook states that .brand TLDs are not closed generics.

Why companies apply for one, and why some give it up

ICANN’s announcement of 30 April 2026 presents brand TLDs as giving control over who can register and stronger security. These are ICANN’s claims, not measured results.

As of 31 August 2026, ICANN counted 1,257 Registry Agreements signed in the 2012 round The first round of ICANN's New gTLD Program, which opened for applications in 2012. Full definition of 2012 round, 494 of them with Specification 13 The Registry Agreement section that gives brand TLDs their special status and terms. Full definition of Specification 13. Both figures are cumulative and are not reduced when an agreement later ends, so they do not show how many .brand TLDs are live. In the 2026 Round, ICANN’s snapshot of 7 October 2026 listed 333 brand applications out of 1,615; final numbers are due on 17 November 2026.

Any operator may end its agreement for any reason with 180 days’ notice. For a qualified .brand, ICANN may not hand the TLD to a new operator for two years without the brand’s consent, unless a transition is needed to protect the public interest. The string can still be applied for in a later round.

For example, on 8 June 2026 the operator of .juniper notified ICANN that it would end its agreement. ICANN found that .juniper qualified as a .brand and that moving it was not needed to protect the public interest, and on 15 September 2026 made a final determination not to transition it.

Special contract rules: Specification 13 and the Code of Conduct exemption

A committee of the ICANN Board ICANN's board of directors, which adopts policies and approves key decisions. Full definition of ICANN Board approved Specification 13 for the 2012 round on 26 March 2014. In the 2026 form, while the TLD qualifies, it gives:

automatic exemption from the Registry Code of Conduct Contract rules that stop a gTLD registry from favoring its own registrar. Full definition of Registry Code of Conduct (Specification 9);
no sunrise An early phase when trademark owners can register matching names first. Full definition of sunrise period, no trademark claims Warnings shown when someone registers a name matching a recorded trademark. Full definition of trademark claims service and no RPM Rights Protection Mechanism An ICANN tool that helps trademark owners protect marks in domains. Full definition of RPM fees (the 2012-round form still required claims);
a choice between all ICANN-accredited registrar A company that registers domain names for customers with the registry. Full definition of registrar and up to three exclusive ones;
the two-year protection described above;
a separate vote of brand operators on any change to Specification 13.

The Code of Conduct protects registrant The person or organization that holds a domain name registration. Full definition of registrant, for example by stopping a registry from favouring a registrar it is linked to. When the brand and its affiliates are the only registrants, there is no outside registrant to protect. The exemption can also be granted alone, without Specification 13: the operator or its affiliates must hold every name for their own use, the string must not be generic, and the Code must not be needed to protect the public interest. The request is open to public comment An open period when anyone can comment on ICANN drafts. Full definition of public comment.

Costs and obligations of running a .brand

As of October 2026, a 2026 Round application costs 227,000 US dollars (USD), plus USD 500 for the .Brand TLD Eligibility Evaluation and USD 400 for the Code of Conduct exemption ICANN permission for a single-user TLD to skip the registry Code of Conduct. Full definition of Code of Conduct exemption evaluation. The applicant must supply SMD file Signed Mark Data A signed file from the Trademark Clearinghouse showing that a trademark qualifies for sunrise. Full definition of SMD file, and the string must exactly match a mark in a file dated before the application. Recording marks in the Trademark Clearinghouse may take several months and involve its own fees.

As of October 2026, under the 2026 base agreement, the operator pays ICANN a fixed fee after signing (USD 6,437.50 per quarter as of 1 January 2025), with no per-transaction fee until the TLD exceeds 50,000 transactions in a quarter or over four consecutive quarters. The one-time RPM Access Fee of USD 5,000 is waived while the TLD qualifies.

The rest of the agreement still applies. The operator must also review the TLD at least once a year and, within 20 days after the year ends, send ICANN a certification signed by an executive officer, which ICANN may publish. If ICANN finds that the TLD no longer qualifies, the operator has 30 days to fix it or start dispute resolution. Otherwise the status ends, the Trademark Clearinghouse requirements apply and the RPM Access Fee is invoiced. Whether a given company qualifies is a legal question this text does not answer.

How a .brand TLD can be used

Names in a .brand TLD work like any other domain name A readable internet name made of labels separated by dots. Full definition of domain name. A company owning the mark “Example” that ran an imagined .example TLD could use shop.example for its online shop and support.example for help pages, and could let a licensed company use a name for products sold under the mark. Nobody else could register one. ICANN names .microsoft and .sky as examples of 2012-round TLDs for brands.

.brand