.US Locality Domains

.US Locality Domains are available to register for free by individuals, businesses, non-profit organizations and other entities qualified to register a .us domain name.

Example

The website for the City of Portland is accessible at http://www.ci.portland.or.us/ (although that URL is automatically redirected to http://www.portlandonline.com/). To take a peek at the registration information for portland.or.us, type the domain into the Neustar's .US WHOIS Search field, or click on this link to view the domain registration info provided by DomainTools.

Registering A .US Domain Name

“	So, would YOU like a free domain name like mine? Can you still get one? Well, that is a very good question.	”
	— What the Web Doesn't Know . . . About Itself.

According to Neustar's .US Compliance Report, "To register a domain in a delegated zone, the registrant completes a copy of the current .US Domain Template." This document points to a dead link for the US Domain Template v2.0 template, which is actually found here. Available FAQ pages also don't seem to provide much help with understanding how to register a .US Locality domain name.

But a response to an email to Neustar refers to an earlier registration template. Neustar's email response goes on to explain the basics for registering a .US locality domain (shown below, with slight editing for clarity, brevity and to fix typos).

-- Begin Neustar Instructions --

First, check to see if the domain you want is available to register by going to Neustar's .US WHOIS Search and typing in your desired domain name.

Editor's Note: Neustar's .US WHOIS appears to not find registration info for at least some fourth-level .US locality domains (the level that Neustar claims it's able to register). For example, the 4th-level .US locality domain, owen.sj.ca.us, fails to yield any registration information when typed into the Neustar's .US WHOIS search field. However, registration information for SJ.CA.US (to the 3rd-level of the domain) does appear after the domain is typed into the Domain Tools Whois search field.

Next, follow the instructions shown below.

At this time (Neustar has) not been given permission to register Locality Based Domain Names in the third level, only fourth. The fourth level domain names must start with:

ci. for city (example: ci.portland.or.us)
co. for county (example: co.multnomah.or.us)
twp. for townships or town (example: twp.eagle-creek.or.us)
vil. for villages (example: vil.cascadia.or.us)

If you wish to register a domain name in the fourth level please follow the simple directions below.

There are no charges for .US Locality based domain names. However we need three separate documents from you or the locality you represent:

1. Sign the .US Domain registration agreement. Please review, sign and include this agreement with the two documents below.

With all of the .US locality based domains now reflected in our WHOIS, we now require the following for contact/name server changes or new domain names. This is to protect your domain name from being taken by another party.

2. A city/organization letterhead cover letter.

3. A completed Delegated Manager Update template signed by a notary public.

Once you have completed the above documents, please send them to the postal address below.

.US Locality Registry
Neustar Customer Service
1650 Lyndon Farm Ct.
Suite 300
Louisville, KY 40223-5005

Once we have reviewed and approved the requested documents, you will be issued a password to make future changes without having to send us the above paperwork again, unless it is for a different domain name.

Please note that you must have two (2) authoritative nameservers set up for the domain in order for us to complete the domain set up. You will need to work with a hosting company to do so. Neustar does not provide hosting.

-- End Neustar Instructions --

(See actual text of Neustar's email response / registration instructions here.)

.US Domain Registration By Small Businesses & Individuals

Small entities like individuals or small businesses can also register locality based .US domain names.

Examples shown below are fourth-level domain names:

1. Zuckys.Santa-Monica.CA.US (a restaurant)
2. owen.sj.ca.us (a family name)

External Links

• Network Working Group: The US Domain (1480); A. Cooper, J. Postel; June 1993
• Neustar's .US WHOIS Search
• Locality-Based Name Registrations
• .US Policies - General .US Policies (Jump to "Other Documentation for the Locality Delegated Managers.")
• .US Locality Domain Name Registration Terms and Conditions
• .US DELEGATED MANAGER AGREEMENT
• .US Locality Compliance Report
• Locality-based namespaces (Wikipedia)
• HOWTO - US Domain Names
• Domain Names: Frequently Asked Questions About: .us TLD Locality Domains and Delegated Managers
• HOW TO OBTAIN THE GEOGRAPHIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES (Somewhat dated material.)