.gov

Last updated

.gov
Dotgov-tld.svg
IntroducedJanuary 1, 1985;39 years ago (1985-01-01)
TLD type Sponsored top-level domain
StatusActive
Registry Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
Sponsor Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
Intended use Governmental entities
Actual useOnly the United States government; formerly only federal government but later expanded to include state and local government
Registration restrictionsMust meet eligibility requirements and submit authorization letter
StructureRegistrations at second level permitted
Documents RFC 920; RFC 1591; RFC 2146
Dispute policiesNone
DNSSEC yes
Registry website get.gov

The domain name gov is a sponsored top-level domain (sTLD) in the Domain Name System of the Internet. The name is derived from the word government, indicating its restricted use by government entities. The TLD is administered by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), [1] a component of the United States Department of Homeland Security.

Contents

.gov is one of the original six top-level domains, defined in RFC 920. [2] Though "originally intended for any kind of government office or agency", [3] only U.S.-based government entities may register .gov domain names, a result of the Internet originating as a U.S. government-sponsored research network.

Other countries typically delegate a second-level domain for government operations on their country-code top-level domain (ccTLD); for example, .gov.uk is the domain for the Government of the United Kingdom, and .gc.ca is the domain for the Government of Canada. The United States is the only country that has a government-specific top-level domain in addition to its ccTLD (.us), and this distinction is due to the Internet itself originating as a project of the government of the United States.

.gov domains are registered at get.gov.

History

gov is one of the original top-level domains created in 1984 [4] (the other five being com , org , edu , mil , and arpa ). The first site registered was css.gov in June 1985. [5]

Beginning in 1997, the General Services Administration (GSA) began administering .gov. In February 2011, the GSA selected Verisign to manage the registry services, replacing Native Technologies, Inc. [6]

Responsibility for the TLD was transferred to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) under the DOTGOV Online Trust in Government Act of 2020, [7] part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021.

In January 2023, CISA selected Cloudflare to replace Verisign in providing registry services. Cloudflare will also provide authoritative DNS services for the .gov domain. [8]

Use

Many governments in the United States use a .gov domain, though most use .us (e.g., leg.state.nv.us), .com (e.g., myflorida.com), .org (e.g., lacity.org), or other TLDs (e.g., senate.mn). [9] The full list of registered .gov domains is published at get.gov/data. [10]

During GSA's administration of .gov, registration and annual renewal fees peaked at $400 per year. [11] When CISA began managing the TLD in April 2021, all fees were removed. [12]

Federal Executive branch policy requires the use of .gov for civilian agencies, [13] but some U.S. government-related websites use non-.gov domain names, including the United States Postal Service (e.g., usps.com) and various recruiting websites for armed services (e.g., goarmy.com). The United States Department of Defense and its subsidiary organizations typically use the .mil sTLD instead of .gov.

Eligibility

U.S.-based government organizations and publicly controlled entities are eligible to obtain a .gov domain. This includes federal, state, local, or territorial government, as well as any tribal government recognized by the federal government or a state government. [14]

To register a .gov domain, an authorization letter must be submitted to CISA. The signer of the letter differs by entity type, but it is typically an agency's head, chief information officer (CIO), or highest-ranking or elected official.

Historically, only U.S. federal government agencies were allowed to register a .gov domain. In May 2002, GSA proposed a change that would open registration to state, local, and tribal governments in the U.S., [15] a change that went into effect in March 2003. [16]

In November 2019, before the transfer of .gov to CISA, GSA's authorization process was shown to be weak after someone impersonated the mayor of Exeter, Rhode Island in an authorization letter and successfully gained control of exeterri.gov. In response, GSA said it had implemented additional fraud prevention controls, and CISA advocated for transferring the TLD from GSA. [17]

Policy

The DOTGOV Act requires that CISA maintain requirements that “minimize the risk of .gov internet domains whose names could mislead or confuse users”. [18] These include:

The Act also requires that .gov domains not be used for political campaign or commercial purposes, and that domains are registered only by authorized individuals.

.gov has been used to serve certain policy goals. As an action following Executive Order 13571, [20] President Barack Obama restricted executive branch agencies from registering new .gov domains in an attempt to eliminate unnecessary, redundant, or outdated sites. [21] US government agencies used the .gov registrar to make it easy for new registrants to opt-in to HTTPS preloading [22] and to make it easier for the public to report potential security issues. [23]

Use by states and territories

As of February 2014, all states, the District of Columbia, and all territories except for the Northern Mariana Islands have operational domains in gov:

State or territoryDomain
Alabamaal.gov and alabama.gov
Alaskaak.gov and alaska.gov
American Samoaas.gov and americansamoa.gov
Arizonaaz.gov and arizona.gov
Arkansasar.gov and arkansas.gov
Californiaca.gov and california.gov
Coloradoco.gov and colorado.gov
Connecticutct.gov
Delawarede.gov and delaware.gov
District of Columbiadc.gov
Floridaflorida.gov and fl.gov (redirects to myflorida.com)
Georgiaga.gov and georgia.gov
Guamguam.gov
Hawaiihawaii.gov ehawaii.gov and hi.gov
Idahoid.gov and idaho.gov
Illinoisil.gov and illinois.gov
Indianain.gov and indiana.gov
Iowaia.gov and iowa.gov
Kansasks.gov and kansas.gov
Kentuckyky.gov and kentucky.gov
Louisianala.gov and louisiana.gov
Maineme.gov and maine.gov
Marylandmd.gov and maryland.gov
Massachusettsma.gov mass.gov and massachusetts.gov
Michiganmi.gov and michigan.gov
Minnesotamn.gov and minnesota.gov
Mississippims.gov and mississippi.gov
Missourimo.gov and missouri.gov
Montanamt.gov and montana.gov
Nebraskane.gov and nebraska.gov
Nevadanv.gov and nevada.gov
New Hampshirenh.gov and newhampshire.gov
New Jerseynj.gov and newjersey.gov
New Mexiconm.gov and newmexico.gov
New Yorkny.gov
North Carolinanc.gov and northcarolina.gov
North Dakotand.gov and northdakota.gov
Ohiooh.gov and ohio.gov
Oklahomaok.gov and oklahoma.gov
Oregonoregon.gov
Pennsylvaniapa.gov and pennsylvania.gov
Puerto Ricopr.gov
Rhode Islandri.gov and rhodeisland.gov
South Carolinasc.gov and southcarolina.gov
South Dakotasd.gov
Tennesseetn.gov and tennessee.gov
Texastx.gov and texas.gov
Utahutah.gov
Vermontvt.gov and vermont.gov
Virgin Islandsvi.gov
Virginiavirginia.gov
Washingtonwa.gov and washington.gov
West Virginiawv.gov
Wisconsinwi.gov and wisconsin.gov
Wyomingwy.gov and wyoming.gov

International equivalents

While the use of gov as a top-level domain is restricted to the United States, several other countries have second-level domains of the same name or similar semantics for governmental purposes, including:

Country or TerritoryDomainNotes
Afghanistangov.af
Albaniagov.al
Algeriagov.dz
Andorragov.ad
Angolagov.ao
Anguillagov.aiBritish overseas territory
Armeniagov.am
Arubagov.awPart of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Argentinagob.ar
Austriagv.at
Australiagov.au
Ålandgov.axPart of Finland
Azerbaijangov.az
Bahamasgov.bs
Bangladeshgov.bd
Barbadosgov.bb
Belarusgov.by
Belgiumgov.begov.be is for national matters, the Belgian Federal Government is using fgov.be and belgium.be
Bulgariagov.bgOnly the Council of Ministers uses this site.
Bosnia and Herzegovinagov.ba
Brazilgov.br
Chilegob.cl or gov.cl
Canadagc.caAll other provinces and territories of Canada: gov.{xx}.ca where '{xx}' is the applicable province or territory's postal abbreviation, except Quebec, which uses gouv.qc.ca, and New Brunswick, which uses gnb.ca
          Quebecgouv.qc.caPart of Canada
Chinagov.cn
          Hong Konggov.hkPart of China
          Macaugov.moPart of China
Colombiagov.co
Croatiagov.hr
Cyprusgov.cy
Czechiagov.cz
Egyptgov.eg
El Salvadorgob.sv
Greecegov.gr
Finlandgov.fi
Francegouv.frStands for the French word gouvernement
Hungarygov.hu
Indiagov.in
Indonesiago.id
Irangov.ir
Iraqgov.iq
          Kurdistan Regional Governmentgov.krdPart of Iraq
Irelandgov.ie
Israelgov.il
Italygov.it
Japango.jp
Kazakhstangov.kz
Kenyago.ke
Latviagov.lv
Lebanongov.lb
Lithuaniagov.lt
Malaysiagov.my
Maltagov.mt
Mexicogob.mx
Moldovagov.md
Moroccogov.ma
Myanmar (Burma)gov.mm
Nepalgov.np
New Caledoniagouv.ncPart of French overseas
New Zealandgovt.nz
Nigeriagov.ng
North Koreagov.kp
Paraguaygov.py
Perugob.pe
Pakistangov.pk
Philippinesgov.ph
Polandgov.pl
Portugalgov.pt
Romaniagov.ro
Russiagov.ru
Singaporegov.sg
Slovakiagov.sk
Sloveniagov.si
South Africagov.za
South Koreago.kr
Spaingob.es
Sri Lankagov.lk
Swedengov.se
Switzerlandadmin.ch
Taiwan (Republic of China)gov.tw
Thailandgo.th
Trinidad and Tobagogov.tt
Turkeygov.tr
Ukrainegov.ua
United Kingdomgov.uk
          Scotlandgov.scotPart of the United Kingdom
          Walesgov.walesPart of the United Kingdom
          Guernseygov.ggBritish Crown dependency
          Jerseygov.jeBritish Crown dependency
          Isle of Mangov.imBritish Crown dependency
          Bermudagov.bmBritish Overseas Territory
          British Virgin Islandsgov.vgBritish Overseas Territory
          Cayman Islandsgov.kyBritish Overseas Territory
          Falkland Islandsgov.fkBritish Overseas Territory
          Pitcairn Islandsgovernment.pnBritish Overseas Territory
          Turks & Caicos Islandsgov.tcBritish Overseas Territory
Uruguaygub.uy
Venezuelagob.ve
Vietnamgov.vn

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">.org</span> Generic top-level domain

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References

  1. ↑ "Delegation Record for .gov". Internet Assigned Numbers Authority . Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  2. ↑ Postel, John; Reynolds, Joyce (October 1984). "RFC 920 - Domain Requirements". Ietf Datatracker. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  3. ↑ Postel, John (March 1994). "RFC 1591 - Domain Name System Structure and Delegation". Ietf Datatracker. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  4. ↑ RFC 920, Domain Requirements, J. Postel, J. Reynolds, The Internet Society (October 1984)
  5. ↑ Zakon, R. (November 1997). Hobbes' Internet Timeline. Network Working Group. doi: 10.17487/RFC2235 . FYI 32. RFC 2235.
  6. ↑ Lipowicz, Alice (February 3, 2011). "GSA selects VeriSign to manage .gov domain name registry". GCN. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  7. ↑ "DOTGOV Act of 2020". December 27, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  8. ↑ Murphy, Kevin (January 16, 2023). "Verisign loses prestige .gov contract to Cloudflare". DomainIncite. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  9. ↑ Schreiber, Paul (April 4, 2021). "State legislature websites, compared" . Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  10. ↑ ".gov data". get.gov. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Gov Domain Fee Increase FAQs" (PDF). General Services Administration. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 1, 2016. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  12. ↑ "A new day for .gov". get.gov. April 27, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Memorandum 17-06: Policies for Federal Agency Public Websites and Digital Services" (PDF). Office of Management and Budget. §9, "Use Only Approved Domains". Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Eligibility, .gov domain requirements". get.gov. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  15. ↑ "GSA Proposes Rule to Make Dot-Gov Domain Available to Non-Federal Government Entities". General Services Administration . Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Federal Management Regulation; Internet GOV Domain". Federal Register . Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  17. ↑ Krebs, Brian. "It's way too easy to get a .gov domain name". KrebsOnSecurity.com . Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  18. ↑ "6 USC 665" . Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  19. ↑ ".gov domain requirements". get.gov. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Executive Order 13571". April 27, 2011. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  21. ↑ Phillips, Macon (June 13, 2011). "TooManyWebsites.gov" . Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  22. ↑ Dixon, Cameron; Fox, Marina (October 29, 2018). "GSA steps up security for .gov". Digital.gov. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  23. ↑ "Binding Operational Directive 20-01". Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. September 2, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
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