--- id: "gtld" kind: "glossary-term" title: "gTLD" language: "en" category: "TLD types and programs" updated: "2026-10-10T10:28:55Z" canonical: "https://tldlog.com/glossary/gtld/" translations: es: "https://tldlog.com/es/glosario/gtld/" de: "https://tldlog.com/de/glossar/gtld/" fr: "https://tldlog.com/fr/glossaire/gtld/" it: "https://tldlog.com/it/glossario/gtld/" pt-BR: "https://tldlog.com/pt/glossario/gtld/" ru: "https://tldlog.com/ru/glossariy/gtld/" zh-Hans: "https://tldlog.com/zh/cihui/gtld/" --- # gTLD generic top-level domain A TLD not tied to a country code, such as .com, .org or .shop. Most gTLD registries have a contract with ICANN, sell through ICANN-accredited registrars and follow ICANN consensus policies. Some gTLDs are open to all. Others are restricted or used by one brand. A gTLD is a domain ending that is not tied to a country, such as .com, .org or .shop. What makes it a gTLD is contract, not technology: most gTLDs run under an agreement with ICANN, sell through ICANN-accredited registrars and follow rules the ICANN community writes. ## What a gTLD is In March 1994, RFC 1591 split top-level domains into two groups: the generic TLDs (.edu, .com, .net, .org, .gov, .mil and .int), each for a general category of organizations, and the two-letter country codes. ICANN counts as gTLDs the general-purpose domains such as .com and .org and the names added through its New gTLD Program, including names in other alphabets. A gTLD under ICANN has three features: - its registry operator signs a Registry Agreement with ICANN; - names are sold through accredited registrars, all with equal access; - the operator follows ICANN's consensus policies, including later ones on the topics the agreement lists. The IANA Root Zone Database labels gTLDs only as "generic", "sponsored" or "generic-restricted" (.biz, .name, .pro). New, geographic, community and brand gTLDs appear as "generic". ## Legacy gTLDs versus new gTLDs Legacy TLD is the industry's informal name for gTLDs created before 2012: the original seven and those added in 2000 and 2003, such as .info, .biz and .asia. New gTLDs come from the New gTLD Program, which opened in January 2012 and received 1,930 applications; as of October 2026, more than 1,200 have been delegated. The practical difference is the contract. New gTLDs sign the standard base agreement; as of October 2026, its current version is the one the ICANN Board approved on 12 March 2026. Legacy gTLDs have their own agreements. Some have moved to base terms, as .org and .info did on 30 June 2019. Others have not: as of October 2026, the .com agreement of 1 December 2024 sets a starting maximum price of US $10.26, which may rise by up to 7% in each of the last four pricing years of every six-year period. It runs to 30 November 2030. The base agreement has no price cap. As of October 2026, it requires 30 days' notice of a price increase for new registrations, 180 days' notice for renewals, and uniform renewal pricing. It also builds in rights protection mechanisms: the TMCH for sunrise and claims, the URS, the PDDRP and the RRDRP. ## Sponsored, community and geographic gTLDs An sTLD serves a specific community whose sponsor sets the TLD's own rules. ICANN says sponsored TLDs may be required to follow consensus policies only in some instances. As of October 2026, ICANN lists .aero, .coop, .post, .jobs and .asia as sponsored. IANA still calls .museum sponsored, while ICANN's agreement of 11 March 2025 lists it as community, non-sponsored. A community TLD is applied for on behalf of a defined community. Its contract adds Specification 12: registration rules that match the application, and community participation in the TLD's policies. .berlin, .cat and .coop have it. When several applicants want the same string, a community applicant can ask for Community Priority Evaluation. Under the 2026 Round Applicant Guidebook, it needs at least 12 of 16 points to win priority. A geoTLD is named after a place, such as .berlin, .madrid or .tokyo. Under the same guidebook, as of October 2026, country and territory names are refused. Capital cities, subdivisions such as the provinces listed in the international standard ISO 3166-2 of country subdivision codes, and certain world regions need documented support or non-objection from the governments concerned; other city names need it only if the TLD will be used for city purposes. A geoTLD is still a gTLD, not a ccTLD. A .brand TLD uses Specification 13, which lifts the duty to run sunrise and claims. A dictionary-word TLD, by contrast, may not keep registrations for a single company and its affiliates. ## Rules every gTLD must follow under ICANN Consensus policies include the UDRP, the Domain Name Transfer Policies, the Expired Domain Deletion Policy, the Expired Registration Recovery Policy and the Registration Data Policy, in effect since 21 August 2025. The .com agreement binds its operator to them too. The base agreement adds: - no preference for any registrar; - registrant contracts that ban malware, phishing, fraud, infringement and similar abuse, plus periodic registry checks for DNS abuse; - data escrow and monthly reports; - fees to ICANN: as of October 2026, the latest published amounts (1 January 2025) are $6,437.50 a quarter, plus $0.2575 per transaction once the TLD exceeds 50,000 transactions in a quarter or in four consecutive quarters; - a ten-year term, renewable for equal periods. ## How gTLDs differ from ccTLDs in practice ccTLDs are managed locally, set their own rules and are not ICANN contracted parties. Disputes show the gap: every gTLD under an ICANN agreement is bound by the UDRP, while each ccTLD chooses its own policy. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) lists .es, .eu and .fr as using a variation of the UDRP, and .co as using the UDRP itself. In Spain, .es is run by Red.es under Spanish rules, while .madrid, .barcelona and the language and culture TLDs .cat, .eus and .gal are gTLDs. ## Examples across the main types Legacy: .com, .net, .org, .info. Sponsored: .aero, .coop, .post. New and open: .shop, .app. Geographic: .berlin, .paris, .tokyo. A worked example: example.com sits in .com, a legacy gTLD that Verisign runs under an agreement with a maximum price; any accredited registrar can sell names in it, and a trademark owner can bring a UDRP complaint about one. A name under .shop follows the base agreement instead: no price cap, but 180 days' notice of a renewal price increase. For a specific case, check the current terms with the registrar or registry. ## Sources - [2026 Base Registry Agreement - Approved 12 March 2026](https://www.icann.org/en/contracted-parties/registry-operators/registry-agreements/base-agreement/2026) - [Consensus Policies](https://www.icann.org/en/contracted-parties/consensus-policies) - [Root Zone Database](https://www.iana.org/domains/root/db) - [New gTLD Program: 2026 Round Applicant Guidebook (V3-2026.10.07)](https://newgtldprogram.icann.org/sites/default/files/documents/new-gtld-program-2026-round-applicant-guidebook-current-en.pdf) ## related terms - [TLD](https://tldlog.com/glossary/tld/) - [ccTLD](https://tldlog.com/glossary/cctld/) - [New gTLD Program](https://tldlog.com/glossary/new-gtld-program/) - [Registry Agreement](https://tldlog.com/glossary/registry-agreement/) - [.brand](https://tldlog.com/glossary/brand-tld/)