.Gov registrar transition update

By Cameron Dixon

October 13, 2023

Program updates

We posted a few weeks ago about changes coming to .gov. Here's a quick update on our progress and a recap of what's happening.

A look ahead

A new registrar

We built a new way to request and manage .gov domains – a new .gov registrar. We'll retire our current platform and open the new one for domain managers in November 2023.

If you have a .gov domain and you've created a Login.gov account with the same email address you're using in our current platform, you can manage your domain in our new registrar in November.

Once you've created an account, you're all set for now: we'll email you when the new registrar is available.

A pause on new .gov domain requests

Starting October 13, 2023, new requests for .gov domains are paused until January 2024.

If you've submitted a request before today, it will be reviewed before the move to our new registrar.

If you have any concerns about this pause, please contact us with your feedback. If you are an election office (or other government office that directly supports the IT of election infrastructure) and need assistance, please reach out to [email protected].

Reducing paperwork

Government organizations at all levels in the U.S. are eligible for a .gov domain. This includes cities, towns, counties, election offices, states, tribal governments, courts, federal agencies, and more.

One important change is to a part of government work that we're excited to reduce: paperwork. The current request process requires a signature, typically from the senior elected or highest-ranking official in your organization. For many governments, this inflexibility led to unnecessary bureaucracy that caused delays. The new request process will be fully digital, won't require a physical signature, and requests can typically be approved by an individual with significant, executive responsibility in your organization, like a senior technology officer or chief administrative official.

How these changes impact governments

If you want a .gov domain

Though we won't accept new requests for a time, you can prepare for reopening by reviewing the new process to request a .gov domain on the beta version of our new .gov website. The work-in-progress site will help you learn about .gov and why governments should use it.

If you requested a .gov domain

If you've submitted a request to us before today, it will be reviewed before the move to our new registrar. You don't need to do anything else, though we may reach out if we have additional questions.

If you already have a .gov domain

You'll need a Login.gov account that is linked to the same email address you're using in our current system to access the new registrar. If you manage a .gov domain but didn't receive an email from us about these changes, let us know you can also read the email online.
Our contact details are changing. We'll begin using [email protected] for email correspondence and will end phone support in November 2023.
Current domains will be automatically extended by a year and we will no longer perform certificate validation. See our last email for more details.

What we heard from you

Thank you for your questions and comments! Here are responses to what we heard.

Does this mean that all .gov websites will shut down for three months?
Can we launch new subdomains on .gov sites?
What if some .gov domain managers don't create Login.gov accounts?

Does this mean that all .gov websites will shut down for three months?

No! We are pausing requests for new .gov domains from October 2023 until January 2024. This pause will not impact existing government websites or other online infrastructure.

If you have concerns about this pause, please let us know. If you are an election office (or other government office that directly supports the IT of election infrastructure) and need assistance, please reach out to [email protected].

Can we launch new subdomains on .gov sites?

Yes! We don't manage subdomains of your .gov domains. You can create subdomains in accordance with your organization's policies.

Users who don't create Login.gov accounts will not be able to access the new registrar. We plan to launch the new registrar's domain management features in late fall 2023.

Each domain manager will need to create a Login.gov account to manage your domain in the new registrar.

If you have several users associated with one domain, each user will need to create their own Login.gov account to manage your domain in the new system.
If only one user creates a Login.gov account, only that user will be able to manage your domain in the new system.