Buy your .ngo domain today

.ngo is limited to genuine non-governmental organizations, which makes it one of the few endings with real eligibility rules. The registry sets out seven characteristics an applicant must meet.

In summary the organization must act in the public interest, be non-profit-making, operate with limited government influence, be independent rather than a political party or part of government, be structured with bylaws or a code of conduct, be lawful, and be active.

Two exclusions catch people out: organizations formed under the laws of the People's Republic of China are treated as failing the independence tests, and anyone caught by OFAC sanctions is barred.

No, a .ngo domain is issued on your own certification rather than on documents checked up front. You confirm at registration that you meet the requirements and the name is issued straight away.

Verification happens afterwards and only if prompted. If the registry receives a complaint it audits the registration and asks your registrar for evidence such as government listings, articles of incorporation or tax records, with thirty days to respond.

The practical step is to keep those documents to hand and keep your registrar contact address monitored, so a thirty-day request never goes unanswered.

.ngo and .org come from the same registry and follow opposite rules, which is the most useful thing to know when choosing. Both are operated by Public Interest Registry.

.org is completely open. Anyone can register one, including a for-profit company, and nothing about charitable status is checked. Its association with good causes is convention rather than policy.

.ngo is restricted, certified and auditable. If you want an address that carries a claim the registry will stand behind, that is the reason to choose it; if your group has no formal structure, .org is the safer option.

Yes, a .ngo domain suits a registered charity or foundation well, because the eligibility rules mean the ending signals something a generic extension cannot.

For a donor deciding about an unfamiliar organization, that is a small but real trust signal. It matters most for organizations working internationally, where a local country code would narrow how the work is understood.

No, .ngo and .ong are no longer sold as a pair, and this is where most published advice is out of date. The bundle was discontinued in May 2022.

Before that, registering one gave you the other automatically, and many registrar pages still describe it that way. Today each is a separate registration with a separate fee.

If you serve Spanish, Portuguese or French speaking audiences, register .ong deliberately and check its availability separately rather than assuming it comes with the .ngo.

No, parking is not permitted on a .ngo domain, and the requirement is written into the eligibility rules rather than merely encouraged. Registrants must actively use the name in the DNS, meaning a developed website or working email.

So a name held empty to stop someone else taking it is, on the face of the policy, in breach. Register when you are close to launching and point the name at something real from the start, even a single page with your mission and contact details.

Yes, a .ngo name has to relate to your organization, under a naming policy that sits alongside the eligibility rules. You cannot register an unrelated word simply because it is available.

What is allowed is broad: your organization's name, a name you trade under, an acronym, a descriptive name, or a name related to your mission. If the name you want is a stretch, have the mission link clear before you register.

Yes, a .ngo domain can be withdrawn if the organization stops qualifying or fails an audit, and the registry reserves the right to cancel, transfer or modify a registration.

There is no re-certification at renewal, so nothing routine will catch you out. The exposure is a complaint-triggered audit at any point, plus the standing obligation to keep the name in use.

For an established organization this is low risk and easily managed: keep documents available, keep the registrar contact monitored, and keep the site live.

A .ngo domain costs more than a mainstream extension and renews above its first-year rate, so budget on the standing renewal.

Set against that, the eligibility rules mean fewer unrelated registrants competing for names, so the address you want is more likely to be available. Compare renewals across registrars before committing.

Yes, a .ngo domain supports custom email, so an organization could use addresses such as press@ or donate@ on its own name.

It also helps satisfy the active-use requirement, since working email counts alongside a developed website as evidence the name is genuinely in use. Set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC so appeals and donor receipts reach the inbox.