.uk

This article describes the procedures and requirements of .uk domain names.
Click on the subject below to open the dropdown for more information.

Successful domain registration via RCP or XML API or REST API requires:

  • two or more nameservers or a nameserver group
  • registrant data needs to be real and valid. Fake / non verified* data may lead to suspension by the registry.
  • "Reseller in whois" optional. Make sure the fields "Company URL" and "Tradingname" are present in the selected handle. (How to add these details)


*After registration, registry Nominet will validate the owner's details against online resources.
If the data could not be validated, Openprovider may ask you for additional proof.
If this proof cannot be delivered within 30 days, the domain may be rendered unresolvable until the data can be validated.

You can check this in the whois, if the status is "suspended" you need to provide the information requested above.

Additional Information for second level domains :

Domains that end with a .ltd.uk have different rules of registrations placed on them, for example, they can only be registered by a registered company (i.e. ltd, plc, etc) and must be an exact match for the company name as it appears on Companies House.

Further information can be found in Nominet's Rules of Registration (Section 11).

So in case, the company name should be "Company LTD" corresponding to the domain company.ltd.uk or "Companies LTD" corresponding to the domain companies.ltd.uk.

Note
You can just have one contact (owner/registrant) held against a .uk domain registration. The admin, billing and tech contacts are only for a registrar account not required for an individual domain registration at the registry.

Do you want to see an example video of a .uk / co.uk transfer? Go to this separate article on .uk transfers

Successful domain transfer via RCP or XML API or REST API requires:

  • the domain's contact handles (owner, administrative, etc.)
  • two or more nameservers or a nameserver group
  • NO authorisation code!
  • "Reseller in whois" optional. Make sure the fields "Company URL" and "Tradingname" are present in the selected handle. (How to add these details)

 

Follow the steps below:

  1. Request the transfer. This must always be the first step, as without an active incoming transfer request in your control panel, our system will not accept the incoming transfer!
  2. Once the request is done, contact your current provider and request to change the so-called IPS tag from the domain to REGISTRAR-EU.
  3. Once the current provider has changed the IPS tag of the domain the transfer will be completed within a few hours.


Additional notes on a .uk transfer

  • IPS tag: the current provider should change the so-called IPS-tag into REGISTRAR-EU. This has to be done within 45 days, otherwise the transfer will time out and automatically fail.
  • Once the IPS-tag has been changed the transfer will finalize momentarily.
  • If no registrar is shown in the whois, the domain is detagged. In that case the owner can change the IPS tag himself. More information can be found on Nominet's website.
  • If the domain name has a transfer lock applied (clientTransferProhibited), the current registrar cannot change the IPS tag. However, the domain holder can do so himself through the Online Services panel of Nominet.
  • After the transfer has been completed, Nominet will send an e-mail confirmation to the domain holder.
  • After a transfer, the expiration date remains unchanged. The transfer will be free of charge, but take care of a possible quick renewal.
  • If a transfer is completed after the domain expired at the previous registrar, we will enable auto-renewal for this domain so that it does not expire. This does not depend on your account settings for auto-renewal. You can change this from the domain details.


We've explained this procedure a bit further in a separate article on .uk transfers, because it is quite different from other TLDs.

Authorization code required no
Method of confirmation registrarpush
Registration period after transfer unchanged
Average transfer time Up to 45 days
Advanced and simple transfers available Contact our Sales department to check if easy transfer of 100 or more .uk domains is available.
  • To transfer a domain to another registrar, you first need to get that new registrar's so-called IPS tag. Once you have received this information
  • Navigate to the domain's details page and enter the IPS tag under the section
  • Change registrar tag. Be sure to copy/paste the full tag and leave upper- and lowercase unchanged. Clicking Submit tag change will send the tag change request to the registry.

  • Note that the new registrar still needs to accept the incoming domain. If an outgoing transfer does not succeed after submitting the new IPS tag, please contact the new registrar for more information.

  • Please note that once a TAG is submitted, it can not be undone. If you enter the wrong TAG you need to wait 5 days untill the current requetst times our or contact the Registrar to reject the current Tag change request.
  • Did you receive the error : "Transfer release failed: The tag 'XXXX' is unrecognized" In that case, the TAG is not correct. Be sure to copy/paste the full tag and leave upper- and lowercase unchanged. You can find an overview of all correct tags of all registrars here: https://registrars.nominet.uk/uk-namespace/registrar-agreement/list-of-registrars/

Note: When a domain is suspended by Nominet or locked (transfer lock enabled), IPS Tag change is not allowed, the following error may pop-up.

Error :

Object Status prohibits operation; V195 The following domain names may not be released due to a Nominet Process.

Owner change (trade)

  • requested as a normal domain update via RCP or XML API or REST API
  • A trade of a .uk domain is done by updating the domain's owner contact.
  • Owner change is not allowed for .ltd.uk domains.
  • Nominet will send an e-mail to the current and new domain holder to inform them about the trade. Note that a new validation process may start, if Nominet was not able to verify the address automatically.

Other update

  • requested via RCP or XML API or REST API
  • A change of contact details can be done by updating the associated handles in the control panel. After saving the changes the domain name will be updated realtime.
  • If the e-mail address changes, Nominet may send a registration notice to the new domain holder, stating the domain names registered and their registration dates.

Delete

  • If a domain name expires, it will be unavailable for a period of 90 days:
  • the first 30 days a general notice will be shown, after 30 days the domain name will be suspended and 60 days later the domain name becomes available for registration again.
  • The registrant will receive an e-mail from Nominet.
  • An explicit delete of a domainname will cause it to become detagged. This means that the contractual relationship will change towards the registry directly.
  • The domain will remain functional up to its original expiration date, after which it will expire.
  • After Quarantine, the domain will stay in a 5 day pendingDelete Period where the domain will br frozen by the registry before being purged from the registry database and becomes available for re-registration.

Restore / reactivate

  • If your .co.uk domain name expired on it's own you can restore it via RCP or XML API or REST API 
  • If it was deleted manually, it will be detagged and reactivating it will need to be done by the registrant via the website of Nominet.
Registry
Technical information
  • Available second level domains: .co.uk, .me.uk, .ltd.uk
  • DNSSEC support: yes
  • Minimum length: 3 characters
  • Maximum length: 63 characters
  • Allowed characters: a-z 0-9 - (The first or last Characters of a Third Level Domain may not be a hyphen)
  • IDN characters: n/a
  • Registration period: 1 - 10 years
  • Renewal date offset: 0 days
    The number of days before the registry's expiration date, that Openprovider requires the domain to be renewed or expired. More info.
    Note that the dates as shown in your Openprovider account are always leading, even if they do not match the renewal date offset mentioned here.
  • Soft quarantine period: 88 days
    During this period, following after an expiration, the domain can be restored for free. This period does not apply if the domain is deleted explicitly. More info.
  • Quarantine period: 0 days
    During this period, an expired or deleted domain name can be reactivated at an additional fee.
Restrictions
  • Local presence required? no
  • Does Openprovider provide local presence services? n/a
  • Local activity required? no
  • Correct nameserver configuration required? no
  • All contact information will be checked for completeness and contact information (Name, Organization, Address) will be validated by Nominet. 

  • If the data could not be validated, Openprovider may ask you for additional proof. If this proof cannot be delivered within 30 days, the domain may be rendered unresolvable until the data can be validated.
  • You can check this in the whois, if the status is "suspended" you need to provide the information requested above. 

Policies
Registration agreement The registry requires that a registration agreement is in place between the provider and the domain holder. The text of this registration agreement and any required supplements is the following:


Due to the regular changes in registry rules and configuration or missing information from registry side, and despite our effort to keep our knowledge base up-to-date, information in the knowledge base may be outdated or incorrect. If you encounter some issue, please report it through the "HotJar" feedback collector on the bottom right, or (if it is blocked by your browser) by clicking the "Submit a request" link below. No rights can be derived from the information in this knowledge base. If there is discrepancy between the knowledge base and the process in Openprovider, the process in Openprovider is leading.

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