.ee

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.ee
Estonian Internet Foundation logo.svg
Introduced3 June 1992
TLD type Country code top-level domain
StatusActive
Registry Estonian Internet Foundation
Intended useEntities connected with Estonia
Actual useVery popular in Estonia, now available globally.
Registered domains160,059 (2023-08-11) [1]
StructureRegistrations are taken directly at the second level, or at the third level beneath various second-level labels
Dispute policiesDomain Disputes Committee
Registry website Estonian Internet Foundation

.ee is the internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) of Estonia, operated by the Estonian Internet Foundation.

Contents

Second-level domain names

The Estonian Internet Foundation recognizes 4 second-level "general" domains under the top-level .ee domain, using them to group websites with "similar traits": [2]

In addition, as of January 2026, the previous administrator (EENet) still supports several other second-level domains:


History

The top-level domain .ee was introduced in 1992 and was operated by EENet until July 2010. The administrator of the .ee domain was Endel Lippmaa.

There was a limit of one domain name per legal entity, and registrations of additional names to protect trademarks were specifically denied. From the pre-2010 FAQ:

The domain name has no trademark status. As domains under .ee are meant to be the institution's identification on the Internet (similar to the register code in the commercial register), the registration of additional domains to protect a trademark or a name form is not possible. [7]

Valid registrations were free of charge. [7]

Domain reform

On 5 July 2010, the Estonian Internet Foundation (EIF) took over .ee ccTLD registry functions from EENet. [8] [9] Instead of directly handling domain name requests, the EIF created a new system in which they accredit a number of domain name registrars, and the domain name registrars then actually register new domains. [2]

The EIF also promulgated a number of new rules, among them:

After the reform

On 13 June 2011, the registration of domains with diacritics (õ, ä, ö, ü, š and ž) was enabled for the .ee domain, allowing URLs which covered the entire Estonian alphabet. [11]

On 18 July 2013, the tasks of managing the .ee domain were handed over to EIS internationally. By the decision of the board of directors of ICANN, EIS was entered into the international database of top-level domains as the administrator or sponsoring organization of the .ee domain. With the status of a sponsoring organization, all administrative tasks related to the .ee domain in front of both the domestic and the international Internet community are concentrated in one institution.

On 6 January 2014, [12] EIS, in cooperation with accredited registrars, launched the DNSSEC service - a system of security keys that ensures that the user is directed to the web page whose address is entered in the web browser. For example, DNSSEC ensures that entering the web address of your online bank in the address bar of a web browser does not redirect the user to a similar-looking page set up by fraudsters to steal data and passwords.

In 2023, several one-character domain names, which had previously be reserved, were auctioned off. "s.ee" fetched €41,000, making it the most expensive domain auctioned off by the Estonian Internet Foundation at that time. [13]

Domain hacks

Criticism

The new order of domain registering in 2010 was met with great controversy.

The relaunch of the registry was at one point delayed to be reassessed. [14] When the relaunch was finalized, the annual fee for a .ee domain was announced to be 285 Estonian kroons (18.20 euros) plus tax, which was met with significant backlash. [15]

A list of shortcomings was presented in a public notice to Estonian Internet Foundation by Tõnu Samuel and Jaan Jänesmäe, mentioning that the .ee domain had become the most expensive TLD in Europe. [15] Their cause gained over 800 supporters on Facebook. [16]

The NGO Estonian Internet Community was founded partly as a reaction to the controversial domain reform with 22 founding members. [16] Its board is made up of Tõnu Samuel, Elver Loho and Heiti Kender.

In 2010 it noted on its blog that several of its members had lost faith in the possibility of any sort of compromise and had independently written e-mails to IANA asking them to step in to resolve the controversy. [17]

Over the following years the annual fee has gradually dropped, [18] reaching 6 euros on 1 January 2017. [19]

References

  1. ↑ "Statistics". Estonian Internet Foundation. 11 August 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  2. 1 2 "FAQ — Estonian Internet Foundation". Estonian Internet Foundation. Archived from the original on 28 November 2025. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
  3. ↑ "EENet » edu.ee". EENet (in Estonian). Archived from the original on 10 November 2025. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
  4. ↑ "EENet » lib.ee". EENet (in Estonian). Archived from the original on 10 July 2025. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
  5. ↑ "EENet » org.ee". EENet (in Estonian). Archived from the original on 18 October 2025. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
  6. ↑ "EENet » vil.ee". EENet (in Estonian). Archived from the original on 27 April 2025. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
  7. 1 2 "EENet » FAQ (.ee domain)". www.eenet.ee. Archived from the original on 17 March 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  8. ↑ Võhmar, Timo (6 July 2010). "New domain system comes into effect in Estonia". Estonian Internet Foundation. Retrieved 3 January 2026.
  9. ↑ "EENet » .ee registration". www.eenet.ee. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  10. ↑ "New domain system comes into effect in Estonia — Estonian Internet Foundation". Estonian Internet Foundation. Archived from the original on 14 November 2025. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
  11. ↑ "Täpitähtede tulek - „päikesetõus"". Eesti Internet (in Estonian). 2 May 2011. Archived from the original on 12 October 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
  12. ↑ "Eesti Internet SA". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  13. ↑ Vahtre, Mare (31 October 2023). "S.ee is now the most expensive domain auctioned by the Estonian Internet Foundation". internet.ee. Archived from the original on 15 October 2025. Retrieved 25 January 2026.
  14. ↑ "Läheb käima, ei lähe käima" (in Estonian). ZONE.ee. 13 April 2010. Archived from the original on 17 April 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
  15. 1 2 "Infoturbe spetsialist: domeenireform on läbikukkunud" (in Estonian). Eesti Päevaleht. Archived from the original on 14 July 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
  16. 1 2 "List of EIC's goals". Estonian Internet Community. Archived from the original on 30 October 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
  17. ↑ "Kui kodus ei saa asju aetud..." (in Estonian). Estonian Internet Community. Archived from the original on 27 February 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
  18. ↑ "Price for .ee domains to be slashed by 11.8% in 2013". Estonian Internet Foundation. 30 November 2012. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  19. ↑ "Price for .ee Domain Lowered to 6 Euros". Estonian Internet Foundation. 4 January 2017. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
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