Eligibility for .gov domains

Only verified U.S. government organizations can register and operate a .gov domain

For a fee, anyone can register a .com, .org, or .us domain. .Gov domains are different because they’re only available to U.S.-based government organizations, and they’re free.

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.

Government organizations at all levels are eligible for .gov domains

If you’re eligible to have a .gov domain, we want you to get one. The types of government organizations eligible for .gov domains include:

Federal: an agency of the U.S. government’s legislative, executive, or judicial branches
Interstate: an organization of two or more states
State or territory: one of the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands
Tribal: a tribal government recognized by the federal or a state government
County: a county, parish, or borough
City: a city, town, township, village, etc.
Special district: an independent government that delivers specialized, essential services
School district: a school district that is not part of a local government

How we determine eligibility

After you request a .gov domain, we'll review the information you provided about your organization. We use the U.S. Census Bureau’s criteria for classifying governments to help determine eligibility. In some cases, we’ll ask for more information (such as legislation, a charter, or bylaws) to verify eligibility.

You must have approval from a senior official within your organization

Your senior official is a person within your organization who can authorize your domain request. This person must be in a role of significant, executive responsibility within the organization.

When you request a .gov domain, we’ll ask for information about your senior official (role, contact information). We typically don’t reach out to them, but if contact is necessary, our practice is to coordinate first with you, the requestor.

Read more about senior officials for:

Executive branch federal agencies
Judicial branch federal agencies
Legislative branch federal agencies
Interstate organizations
U.S. states and territories
- States and territories: executive branch
- States and territories: judicial and legislative branches
Tribal governments
Counties
Cities
Special districts
School districts

Executive branch federal agencies

Domain requests from executive branch federal agencies must be authorized by the agency’s CIO or the head of the agency.

See OMB Memorandum M-23-10 for more information.

Judicial branch federal agencies

Domain requests for judicial branch federal agencies, except the U.S. Supreme Court, must be authorized by the director or CIO of the Administrative Office (AO) of the United States Courts.

Domain requests from the U.S. Supreme Court must be authorized by the director of information technology for the U.S. Supreme Court.

Legislative branch federal agencies

U.S. Senate

Domain requests from the U.S. Senate must come from the Senate Sergeant at Arms.

U.S. House of Representatives

Domain requests from the U.S. House of Representatives must come from the House Chief Administrative Officer.

Other legislative branch agencies

Domain requests from legislative branch agencies must come from the agency’s head or CIO.

Domain requests from legislative commissions must come from the head of the commission, or the head or CIO of the parent agency, if there is one.

Interstate organizations

Domain requests from interstate organizations must be authorized by someone in a role of significant, executive responsibility within the organization (president, director, chair, senior technology officer, or equivalent) or one of the state’s governors or CIOs.

U.S. states and territories

States and territories: executive branch

Domain requests from states and territories must be authorized by the governor or someone in a role of significant, executive responsibility within the agency (department secretary, senior technology officer, or equivalent).

States and territories: judicial and legislative branches

Domain requests from state legislatures and courts must be authorized by an agency’s CIO or someone in a role of significant, executive responsibility within the agency.

Tribal governments

Domain requests from federally-recognized tribal governments must be authorized by the tribal leader the Bureau of Indian Affairs recognizes.

Domain requests from state-recognized tribal governments must be authorized by the tribal leader the individual state recognizes.

Counties

Domain requests from counties must be authorized by the commission chair or someone in a role of significant, executive responsibility within the county (county judge, county mayor, parish/borough president, senior technology officer, or equivalent). Other county-level offices (county clerk, sheriff, county auditor, comptroller) may qualify, as well, in some instances.

Cities

Domain requests from cities must be authorized by someone in a role of significant, executive responsibility within the city (mayor, council president, city manager, township/village supervisor, select board chairperson, chief, senior technology officer, or equivalent).

Eligibility for .gov domains

Requirements for requesting a .gov domain