Buy your .uk domain today

A .uk domain is the United Kingdom's country-code address, so it is a natural fit for UK businesses, freelancers, charities and individuals. Online shops, agencies, tradespeople and consultants can use it to show visitors the site belongs to the UK.

If your audience is mostly outside the UK, keep a more general domain as the main address and use the .uk as a local one.

Yes, the registry rules say any person may register a .uk name, and names are issued first come, first served. Nominet does not vet who applies or how many names a holder has.

That makes the choice about your audience rather than eligibility. Registration still goes through an accredited registrar, so you give your name, address and contact details when you register.

A .uk domain is registered directly at the second level, while a .co.uk domain sits under the co second level that was created for commercial sites. Both are open to any person, so the choice comes down to what your customers expect.

If you already run a .co.uk, keep it active and renew it as normal, and register the .uk alongside it to protect your name.

No, an existing .co.uk does not give you rights to the matching .uk name today. The reserved rights window ended on 25 June 2019, and unclaimed names were released to everyone on a first come, first served basis from July 2019.

That means someone else may hold the .uk version of your name. Search for it now, and if it is taken, check what the holder uses it for before you decide what to do.

A .uk domain can use the letters a-z, digits and hyphens, but the registry's current rules do not offer accented or international characters. A name cannot start or end with a hyphen.

Pick a spelling that works without accents and say it aloud before you commit. If you need an accented form for marketing, register the plain spelling as well.

A .uk dispute goes through Nominet's Dispute Resolution Service, and anyone with enforceable rights such as a trade mark can file. You must show that you hold rights in a name identical or similar to the domain and that the registration is abusive.

The process includes a response period, optional free mediation and then an expert decision, and the outcome can be transfer, suspension or cancellation. If the name matters to your brand, registering it first is simpler than a dispute.

A .uk domain tells Google your site is meant for UK users, because Google reads country-code domains as a strong geographic signal. Google's guidance does not name .uk, so treat it as one signal among several.

A country-code domain can target only one country. If you also sell abroad, keep a general domain as your main address and point the .uk at it, and add local details such as a UK address and phone number to the site.