--- id: "cctld" kind: "glossary-term" title: "ccTLD" language: "en" category: "TLD types and programs" updated: "2026-10-10T10:28:55Z" canonical: "https://tldlog.com/glossary/cctld/" translations: es: "https://tldlog.com/es/glosario/cctld/" de: "https://tldlog.com/de/glossar/cctld/" fr: "https://tldlog.com/fr/glossaire/cctld/" it: "https://tldlog.com/it/glossario/cctld/" pt-BR: "https://tldlog.com/pt/glossario/cctld/" ru: "https://tldlog.com/ru/glossariy/cctld/" zh-Hans: "https://tldlog.com/zh/cihui/cctld/" --- # ccTLD country code top-level domain A TLD linked to a country or territory, usually two letters long, such as .es, .mx or .uk. Some, called IDN ccTLDs, use non-Latin scripts. Each ccTLD manager works under local arrangements and sets its own rules on eligibility, prices and disputes. ccTLD policies are not set by ICANN's gTLD contracts. A ccTLD is a top-level domain tied to a country or territory, such as .es for Spain or .uk for the United Kingdom. Each one is run by an organization in or linked to that place, which sets its own rules on who may register and how. Those rules differ a lot between countries, so a name that is easy to get under one ccTLD can be closed to you under another. ## What a ccTLD is and how country codes are chosen Most ccTLDs are two-letter codes taken from ISO 3166-1, a list of country and territory codes kept by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). IANA, which coordinates the top level of the domain name system, does not decide what counts as a country, as RFC 1591 already said in 1994. It follows the list, which the ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency normally changes only on information from United Nations Headquarters. There are exceptions. The ISO code for the United Kingdom is GB, yet the country uses .uk, which IANA keeps under its original eligibility, as it does .ac. The .eu domain is eligible because its code is exceptionally reserved in the ISO list. As of October 2026, the IANA Root Zone Database lists 316 country code entries: 255 two-letter codes and 61 IDN ccTLDs, written in non-Latin scripts. Seven of the two-letter codes are marked as not assigned. ## Who runs a ccTLD and under whose rules The organization that runs a ccTLD is its manager. RFC 1591 calls the manager a trustee for the nation and the global Internet community, not an owner, and requires it to treat every applicant equally. As of October 2026, IANA lists Colombia's Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies (MinTIC) for .co, a ministry of Tuvalu for .tv, Red.es, a Spanish public business entity, for .es, Nominet UK for .uk and a company, Internet Computer Bureau Limited, for .io. IANA, operated by PTI, decides on and publishes requests to assign a ccTLD to a manager (delegation) or move it to a new one (transfer, once called redelegation). Verisign, as Root Zone Maintainer, then makes the change in the root zone. Among other things, IANA checks that the code is eligible, that the proposed manager is resident or incorporated in the territory (unless the government formally decides otherwise), that the local Internet community supports it, and that the government supports it or does not object. A transfer also needs the current manager's consent and a plan that keeps the domain stable and explains how existing registrants are affected. ICANN's gTLD contracts do not set the registration rules of a ccTLD. Those come from national law in some countries, from European Union (EU) law for .eu, or from the registry's own terms. ## Local presence and eligibility rules Three European examples show how much the requirements vary: - **.es** allows people and organizations with interests in or ties to Spain, read broadly: residents, those who target the Spanish market and those with cultural, historical or social ties to Spain. - **.eu** is open to EU citizens wherever they live, other residents of a Member State, and undertakings or organizations established in the Union. - **.de** has no residence condition at registration. As of October 2026, if DENIC asks, after a third party's request in a dispute, a holder outside Germany must name a representative in Germany within two weeks to receive official or court documents. These rules change, so check the registry's own rules before you register. ## Open ccTLDs used as generic names (.co, .io, .tv) Many ccTLDs let anyone register, and some, such as .co, .io and .tv, are used for meanings unrelated to their country because the letters read like a word or an abbreviation. Under IANA rules they remain the ccTLDs of Colombia, the British Indian Ocean Territory and Tuvalu, open to retirement like any other. ## Second-level structures such as .com.es or .co.uk Some countries put generic categories at the second level, as RFC 1591 already noted; others list names directly under the country code. A fixed label such as .co.uk or .com.es is called a ccSLD. Spain offers both: a name directly under .es, or a third-level name. The categories .com.es, .nom.es and .org.es are open, with no prior check; .gob.es (Spanish public administrations) and .edu.es (officially recognized teaching and research bodies) are restricted and checked before a name is assigned. As of October 2026, a second-level .es name must have at least three characters, a third-level one at least two, and both at most 63. ## What happens when a country code disappears When a country or territory is removed from ISO 3166-1, its ccTLD loses its eligibility and must be retired. The ICANN Board adopted a Policy for the Retirement of a ccTLD on 22 September 2022; before that, IANA and each manager discussed retirements case by case. As of October 2026, the procedure works like this: 1. IANA issues a Notice of Removal. 2. By default, the ccTLD is removed five years later. 3. The manager can ask for an extension within 12 months of the notice. Extensions add at most five years, so the longest possible period is ten years. 4. A wish to keep the domain is not a reason for an extension. The manager may retire the domain earlier. Managers typically stop new registrations as soon as possible and limit renewals that would run past the domain's remaining life. Two retired examples are .an (Netherlands Antilles) and .tp (Portuguese Timor). ## Example: .es compared with other European ccTLDs Red.es acts as the allocation authority for .es under [Orden ITC/1542/2005](https://www.boe.es/buscar/doc.php?id=BOE-A-2005-8902), a ministerial order in force since 1 June 2005. A resolution published in Spain's Official State Gazette (BOE) on 5 October 2026 confirms that this order, Law 34/2002 and the procedure rules of Red.es still make up the .es registry policy. Names are assigned first come, first served, and holders accept an out-of-court dispute resolution system. A .eu name instead follows an EU regulation, and a .de name the terms of DENIC, a cooperative: three ccTLDs, three different sets of rules. ## Sources - [RFC 1591: Domain Name System Structure and Delegation](https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc1591.txt) - [Delegating or transferring a country-code top-level domain (ccTLD)](https://www.iana.org/help/cctld-delegation) - [Retirement of a Country-code Top-level Domain (ccTLD)](https://www.iana.org/help/cctld-retirement) - [DENIC Domain Terms and Conditions](https://www.denic.de/en/domain-terms-and-conditions) ## related terms - [TLD](https://tldlog.com/glossary/tld/) - [gTLD](https://tldlog.com/glossary/gtld/) - [ccTLD manager](https://tldlog.com/glossary/cctld-manager/) - [ccNSO](https://tldlog.com/glossary/ccnso/) - [IANA](https://tldlog.com/glossary/iana/)