Benefits of .gov domains
.Gov helps the public identify official, trusted information
For a fee, anyone can register a .com, .org, or .us domain. This can make it hard for the public to know if the people behind an online service are who they claim to be.
.Gov domains are different because they’re only available to U.S.-based government organizations. It should be easy to identify governments on the internet. The public shouldn’t have to guess whether the site they’re on, or the email in their inbox, is genuine. Use of the .gov top-level domain can help reduce uncertainty.
Only verified U.S. government organizations can register a .gov domain
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), manages the .gov top-level domain. We verify the identity of everyone who requests a .gov domain, and we make sure that their organization meets the criteria for having a .gov domain.
.Gov domains are free
.Gov domains are available to eligible organizations for free!
Organizations at all levels of government are eligible for .gov domains
Federal, state, local, and other publicly-controlled entities are eligible for .gov domains. This includes cities, towns, counties, election offices, tribal governments, courts, and more.
We use the U.S. Census Bureau’s criteria for classifying governments to help us determine eligibility.
Read more about eligibility for .gov domains.
.Gov domains are critical infrastructure for governments at all levels
.Gov domains support access to public services. We make .gov a trusted, secure space by:
- Using multi-factor authentication for all accounts in the .gov registrar
- Preloading all new domains. This action requires browsers to use a secure HTTPS connection with your website. This ensures that the content you publish is exactly what your visitors get.
- Administering our domain requirements to protect the integrity of .gov
- Publishing the complete list of .gov domains
- Recommending security best practices for .gov domain holders
- Continuously improving how we secure the .gov namespace
We offer support for your .gov domain
What we offer
Domain registration: Start a .gov domain request or learn about the information you'll need to complete your request.
Requirements for requesting a .gov domain
- You must be a government employee, or be working on behalf of a government organization, to request a .gov domain.
- You must have a Login.gov account. Login.gov provides a simple and secure process for signing in to many government services with one account.
- Before you request your first .gov domain, you must verify your identity with Login.gov. This is a necessary layer of security that requires you to prove you are you, and not someone pretending to be you. Get help with Login.gov.
If you have the information you need, requesting your domain might take around 15 minutes.
Domain name consultation: If you need help coming up with your .gov domain name, contact us.
Domain management support: Once your .gov domain is up and running we’ll support you.
- Check the status of your domain requests and manage your registered domains.
- Stay informed about domain security best practices.
- Edit information about your contacts or your domain (like changes to your DNS settings) anytime.
What we don’t offer
While we’re continuously improving our services, you’ll need some services to get online that we don’t offer.
- We don’t offer DNS hosting.
- We don’t host .gov websites or email.
