DOTGOV

To maintain domain name integrity, eligibility is limited to qualified government organizations and programs. Having a managed domain name such as .gov assures your customers that they are accessing an official US Government Site.

Domain Name requests must follow the registration process listed on the registration tab.

The cost of a domain name $125 annually for each .gov domain name. Please review your registered domain names and verify you wish to keep them active. Please note that if your domain name(s) are not kept current, they will be removed from active status. If your .gov domain name(s)  are  removed from active status any services attached to such domain name(s) may experience issues.

Domain names will not be active in the .gov zone until the nameservers assigned to the domain are answering authoritatively. You do not need to enter nameserver details when initiating the registration. However, they will need to be entered within 90 days of the registration request being made. Otherwise, your request may become deactivated and the domain name released for others to use.

Only a registered POC on a domain may request deletion of a domain by sending an email to the .GOV registrar.  Once a domain is deleted, the entire registration process must be initiated in order to resurrect that domain.  Please be certain a domain name deletion is definitely desired as it is irreversible.

DS records can be assigned to domain names at registration, as well as after the domain name is active. Prior to your DS records being published in the .gov zone, they will be tested and verified.

Each domain must have 3 Points of contact for the domain.  There will be no one single point of contact.

Change Procedures:
All POC’s must have authority to have an account on the Registration System. An email must be received from a POC that is currently on the domain to authorize a Change or Delete for the domain. 

To change a single POC on the account, the Administrative POC will send an email to the Registrar, email Registrar@dotgov.gov, and request the change of POC for the account. If the new POC already has an account on the system, please provide the Username for the account and which POC the user will replace. If the new POC does not currently have an account, please send the name and contact information so an account can be set up for them. For federal level domains the email must come from a Government employee.

If all three POC’s have left the domain, The Authorizing Authority will assign 3 more POC’s in a new authorization letter.

The Guidelines for the Gov Domain section 1, h., states:
It is the registrant’s responsibility to provide all requested information and keep all account information current; to include POC information, DNS information and it is the registrant’s responsibility to ensure the account is paid in full each year. Government domains / websites can be very large, complex and support important business operations. The process to address policy violations will allow for coordination across organizational boundaries and involve persons with the authority to make decisions on the appropriate course of action and in the timeframe required.  The Administrative POC is the person who controls the content of the domain and is the manager of the operations of the domain.  The Technical POC is the person that operates the DNS and takes care of technical operations such as security patches, programming etc. The Billing POC is the person that pays for the domain. The Authorizing Authority (AA) is the highest IT official or highest elected official that authorizes the domain to operate and contain information reference to their government responsibilities. The AA for Federal Agency domains is the CIO.  The AA for State level domains is the Governor or their appointed CIO.  The AA for local governments and Native Sovereign Nations is the highest elected official or the highest IT official.

SSL Certificate Authorities may contact the .GOV Helpdesk at 877-734-4688 to verify Administrative POC information prior to issuing an SSL Certificate for a .GOV domain name. Due to security reasons, this information can only be provided verbally. The information cannot be provided in writing.