View source for .gov

{{Short description|Internet top-level domain used by the US government}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox Top level domain
|name          = gov
|background    = #FC0
|image         = Logo_for_.gov_TLD.svg
|caption       = 
|introduced    = {{start date and age|1985|1|1}}
|type          = [[Sponsored top-level domain]]
|status        = Active
|registry      = [[Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency]]
|sponsor       = [[Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency]]
|intendeduse   = [[Governmental]] entities
|actualuse     = Only the [[Government of the United States|United States government]]; formerly only [[Federal government of the United States|federal government]] but later expanded to include [[State governments of the United States|state]] and [[Local government in the United States|local government]]
|restrictions  = Must meet eligibility requirements and submit authorization letter
|structure     = Registrations at second level permitted
|document      = RFC 920; RFC 1591; RFC 2146
|disputepolicy = None
|website       = {{url|https://get.gov/}}
|dnssec        = yes
}}
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),<ref>{{cite web |title=Delegation Record for .gov |publisher=[[Internet Assigned Numbers Authority]]
 |url=https://www.iana.org/domains/root/db/gov.html |access-date=2021-07-11}}</ref> a component of the [[United States Department of Homeland Security]].

gov is one of the original six top-level domains, defined in RFC 920.<ref name="RFC 920">{{cite news |title=RFC 920 - Domain Requirements |url=https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc920 |last1=Postel |first1=John |last2=Reynolds |first2=Joyce |newspaper=Ietf Datatracker |date=October 1984 |access-date=20 June 2021}}</ref> Though "originally intended for any kind of government office or agency",<ref name="RFC 1591">{{cite news|title=RFC 1591 - Domain Name System Structure and Delegation |url=https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc1591 |last=Postel |first=John |newspaper=Ietf Datatracker |date=March 1994 |access-date=20 June 2021}}</ref> only U.S.-based government entities may register gov domain names, a result of the Internet originating as a [[ARPANET|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|gov.uk]] is the domain for the [[Government of the United Kingdom]], and [[.gc.ca|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|us]]), a direct result of the United States federal government's role in the [[History of the Internet|creation of the Internet]].

gov domains are registered at [https://get.gov get.gov].

==History==
gov is one of the original top-level domains created in 1984<ref>[[rfc:920|RFC 920]], ''Domain Requirements'', J. Postel, J. Reynolds, The Internet Society (October 1984)</ref> (the other five being {{mono|[[.com|com]]}}, {{mono|[[.org|org]]}}, {{mono|[[.edu|edu]]}}, {{mono|[[.mil|mil]]}}, and {{mono|[[.arpa|arpa]]}}). The first site registered was {{mono|css.gov}} in June 1985.<ref>{{cite IETF |title=Hobbes' Internet Timeline |rfc=2235 |fyi=32 |last1=Zakon |first1=R. |authorlink1=Paul Hoffman (VPNC) |date=November 1997 |publisher=Network Working Group |doi=10.17487/RFC2235}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lipowicz |first1=Alice |title=GSA selects VeriSign to manage .gov domain name registry |url=https://gcn.com/cloud-infrastructure/2011/02/gsa-selects-verisign-to-manage-gov-domain-name-registry/283030/ |access-date=16 January 2023 |work=GCN |date=3 February 2011}}</ref> 

Responsibility for the TLD was transferred to the [[Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency]] (CISA) under the DOTGOV Online Trust in Government Act of 2020,<ref name="DOTGOV Act of 2020">{{cite web |title=DOTGOV Act of 2020 |url=https://uscode.house.gov/statviewer.htm?volume=134&page=2297 |date=December 27, 2020 |access-date=20 June 2021}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Murphy |first1=Kevin |title=Verisign loses prestige .gov contract to Cloudflare |url=https://domainincite.com/28517-verisign-loses-prestige-gov-contract-to-cloudflare |access-date=16 January 2023 |work=DomainIncite |date=16 January 2023}}</ref>

==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).<ref name="State legislature websites, compared">{{cite web |title=State legislature websites, compared |url=https://paulschreiber.com/blog/2021/04/04/state-legislature-websites-compared/ |last=Schreiber |first= Paul |date=April 4, 2021 |access-date=5 August 2021}}</ref> The full list of registered gov domains is published at [https://get.gov/data get.gov/data].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://get.gov/data/ |title=.gov data |publisher= get.gov |access-date=5 February 2023}}</ref>

During GSA's administration of gov, registration and annual renewal fees peaked at $400 per year.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dotgov.gov/portal/c/document_library/get_file?p_l_id=132757&folderId=136944&name=DLFE-23312.pdf |title=Gov Domain Fee Increase FAQs |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201205114/https://www.dotgov.gov/portal/c/document_library/get_file?p_l_id=132757&folderId=136944&name=DLFE-23312.pdf |publisher=[[General Services Administration]] |access-date=5 August 2021 |archive-date=December 1, 2016}}</ref> When CISA began managing the TLD in April 2021, all fees were removed.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://get.gov/posts/2021-04-27-a-new-day-for-.gov/ |title=A new day for .gov |publisher=get.gov |date= 27 April 2021 |access-date=3 September 2024}}</ref>

Federal Executive branch policy requires the use of gov for civilian agencies,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/memoranda/2017/m-17-06.pdf#page=11 |at=§9, "Use Only Approved Domains" |title=Memorandum 17-06: Policies for Federal Agency Public Websites and Digital Services |publisher=[[Office of Management and Budget]] |access-date=5 August 2021 |archive-date=October 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011071723/https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/memoranda/2017/m-17-06.pdf#page=11 |url-status=dead }}</ref> but some U.S. government-related websites use other 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|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://get.gov/registration/requirements/#eligibility |title=Eligibility, .gov domain requirements |publisher=get.gov |access-date=5 February 2023}}</ref> 

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.,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/newsroom/news-releases/gsa-proposes-rule-to-make-dotgov-domain-available-to-nonfederal-government-entities |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905195217/https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/newsroom/news-releases/gsa-proposes-rule-to-make-dotgov-domain-available-to-nonfederal-government-entities |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 5, 2021 |title=GSA Proposes Rule to Make Dot-Gov Domain Available to Non-Federal Government Entities
 |publisher=[[General Services Administration]] |access-date=2 October 2021}}</ref> a change that went into effect in March 2003.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2003/03/28/03-7413/federal-management-regulation-internet-gov-domain|title=Federal Management Regulation; Internet GOV Domain |date=March 28, 2003 |publisher=[[Federal Register]] |access-date=19 September 2021}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://krebsonsecurity.com/2019/11/its-way-too-easy-to-get-a-gov-domain-name/|title=It's way too easy to get a gov domain name|access-date=5 August 2021|last=Krebs |first=Brian |publisher=[[KrebsOnSecurity.com]]}}</ref>

==Policy==
The DOTGOV Act requires that CISA maintain requirements that "minimize the risk of gov Internet domains whose names could mislead or confuse users".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:6%20section:665%20edition:prelim)|title=6 USC 665|access-date=5 August 2021}}</ref> These include:

* Requested names must correspond with the requesting entity's organization's name or services.
* Generic terms are reserved for federal agencies, though generic words can be combined with state or local municipality names.
* Most non-federal domain types require a two-letter [[United States postal abbreviations]] or state name equivalent, though exceptions are made. Rules have been established for municipalities whose names are unique, who are well-known, or that are among the most populous cities and counties in the nation.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://get.gov/registration/requirements/ |title=.gov domain requirements |publisher=get.gov |access-date=5 February 2023}}</ref>

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,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2011/04/27/executive-order-13571-streamlining-service-delivery-and-improving-custom |title=Executive Order 13571 |date=April 27, 2011 |access-date=5 August 2021}}</ref> President [[Barack Obama]] restricted executive branch agencies from registering new gov domains in an attempt to eliminate unnecessary, redundant, or outdated sites.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2011/06/13/toomanywebsitesgov |title=TooManyWebsites.gov |last=Phillips |first=Macon |date=13 June 2011 |access-date=5 August 2021}}</ref> US government agencies used the gov registrar to make it easy for new registrants to opt-in to HTTPS preloading <ref>{{cite web |url=https://digital.gov/2018/10/29/gsa-steps-up-security-for-dotgov/ |title=GSA steps up security for .gov |date=29 October 2018 |access-date=5 August 2021 |last1=Dixon |first1=Cameron |last2=Fox |first2=Marina |publisher=Digital.gov}}</ref> and to make it easier for the public to report potential security issues.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cyber.dhs.gov/bod/20-01/#enable-receipt-of-unsolicited-reports|title=Binding Operational Directive 20-01|publisher=[[Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency]] |date= 2 September 2020 |access-date=5 August 2021}}</ref>

==Use by states and territories==
{{As of|2025|8}}, all states, the District of Columbia, and all territories except for the Northern Mariana Islands have operational domains in ''gov'':
{| class=wikitable
!State or territory || Domain
|-
|Alabama
|al.gov and alabama.gov
|-
|Alaska
|alaska.gov
|-
|American Samoa
|americansamoa.gov
|-
|Arizona
|az.gov and arizona.gov
|-
|Arkansas
|ar.gov and arkansas.gov
|-
|California
|ca.gov
|-
|Colorado
|co.gov and colorado.gov
|-
|Connecticut
|ct.gov
|-
|Delaware
|de.gov and delaware.gov
|-
|District of Columbia
|dc.gov
|-
|Florida
|fl.gov, florida.gov and myflorida.gov
|-
|Georgia
|ga.gov and georgia.gov 
|-
|Guam
|guam.gov
|-
|Hawaii
|hawaii.gov and ehawaii.gov
|-
|Idaho
|idaho.gov
|-
|Illinois
|illinois.gov
|-
|Indiana
|in.gov and indiana.gov
|-
|Iowa
|iowa.gov
|-
|Kansas 
|kansas.gov
|-
|Kentucky
|ky.gov and kentucky.gov
|-
|Louisiana
|la.gov and louisiana.gov
|-
|Maine
|maine.gov
|-
|Maryland
|md.gov and maryland.gov
|-
|Massachusetts
|ma.gov, mass.gov and massachusetts.gov
|-
|Michigan
|mi.gov and michigan.gov
|-
|Minnesota
|mn.gov and minnesota.gov
|-
|Mississippi
|ms.gov and mississippi.gov
|-
|Missouri
|mo.gov and missouri.gov
|-
|Montana
|mt.gov and montana.gov
|-
|Nebraska
|ne.gov and nebraska.gov
|-
|Nevada
|nv.gov and nevada.gov
|-
|New Hampshire
|nh.gov
|-
|New Jersey
|nj.gov and newjersey.gov
|-
|New Mexico
|nm.gov and newmexico.gov
|-
|New York
|ny.gov
|-
|North Carolina
|nc.gov and northcarolina.gov
|-
|North Dakota
|nd.gov and northdakota.gov
|-
|Ohio
|ohio.gov
|-
|Oklahoma
|ok.gov and oklahoma.gov
|-
|Oregon
|oregon.gov
|-
|Pennsylvania
|pa.gov
|-
|Puerto Rico
|pr.gov
|-
|Rhode Island
|ri.gov
|-
|South Carolina
|sc.gov
|-
|South Dakota
|sd.gov
|-
|Tennessee
|tn.gov and tennessee.gov
|-
|Texas
|texas.gov
|-
|Utah
|utah.gov
|-
|Vermont
|vt.gov and vermont.gov
|-
|Virgin Islands
|vi.gov
|-
|Virginia
|virginia.gov
|-
|Washington
|wa.gov
|-
|West Virginia
|wv.gov and westvirginia.gov
|-
|Wisconsin
|wi.gov and wisconsin.gov
|-
|Wyoming
|wy.gov, wyo.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 domain]]s of the same name or similar semantics for governmental purposes, including the following. Note that the governments of some jurisdictions use alternate domains in public communications (for example, the [[Government of Canada]] adopted ''canada.ca'' as its main public-facing URL in the 2010s, and some Canadian provinces have made similar changes).

{| class=wikitable
!Country or Territory || Domain || Notes
|-
|Afghanistan
|gov.af
|
|-
|Albania
|gov.al
|
|-
|Algeria
|gov.dz
|
|-
|Andorra
|gov.ad
|
|-
|Angola
|gov.ao
|
|-
|Armenia
|gov.am
|
|-
|Aruba
|gov.aw
|Part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
|-
|Argentina
|gob.ar
|
|-
|Austria
|gv.at
|
|-
|Australia
|gov.au
|
|-
|Åland
|gov.ax
|Part of Finland
|-
|Azerbaijan
|gov.az
|
|-
|Bahamas
|gov.bs
|
|-
|Bangladesh
|gov.bd
|
|-
|Barbados
|gov.bb
|
|-
|Belarus
|gov.by
|
|-
|Belgium
|gov.be
|gov.be is for national matters, the [[Belgian Federal government|Belgian Federal Government]] is using fgov.be and belgium.be
|-
|Bulgaria
|gov.bg
|Only the Council of Ministers uses this site.
|-
|Bosnia and Herzegovina
|gov.ba
|
|-
|Brazil
|gov.br
|
|-
|Chile
|gob.cl or gov.cl
|
|-
|Canada
|gc.ca
|
|-
|{{space|10}}New Brunswick
|gnb.ca
|Part of Canada. The previous ''gov.nb.ca'' remains active but deprecated due to the province's [[Language policies of Canada's provinces and territories#New Brunswick|official bilingualism]].
|-
|{{space|10}}Quebec
|gouv.qc.ca
|Part of Canada
|-
|{{space|10}}Other provinces and territories
|gov.{xx}.ca
|Parts of Canada. '{xx}' is the applicable province or territory's postal abbreviation.
|-
|China
|gov.cn
|
|-
|-
|{{space|10}}Hong Kong
|gov.hk
|Part of China
|-
|-
|{{space|10}}Macau<!--https://www.gov.mo/en/-->
|gov.mo
|Part of China
|-
|-
|Colombia
|gov.co
|
|-
|Croatia
|gov.hr
|
|-
|Cyprus
|gov.cy
|
|-
|Czechia
|gov.cz
|
|-
|Egypt
|gov.eg
|
|-
|El Salvador
|gob.sv
|
|-

|Greece
|gov.gr
|
|-
|Finland
|gov.fi
|
|-
|France
|gouv.fr
|Stands for the French word ''gouvernement''
|-
|Hungary
|gov.hu
|
|-
|India
|gov.in
|
|-
|Indonesia
|go.id
|
|-
|Iran
|gov.ir
|
|-
|Iraq
|gov.iq
|
|-
|{{space|10}}Kurdistan Regional Government
|gov.krd
|Part of Iraq
|-
|Ireland
|gov.ie
|
|-
|Israel
|gov.il
|
|-
|Italy
|gov.it
|
|-
|Japan
|go.jp
|
|-
|Kazakhstan
|gov.kz
|
|-
|Kenya
|go.ke
|
|-
|Latvia
|gov.lv
|
|-
|Lebanon
|gov.lb
|
|-
|-
|Lithuania
|gov.lt
|
|-
|Malaysia
|gov.my
|
|-
|Malta
|gov.mt
|
|-
|Mexico
|gob.mx
|
|-
|Moldova
|gov.md
|
|-
|Morocco
|gov.ma
|
|-
|Myanmar (Burma)
|gov.mm
|
|-
|Nepal
|gov.np
|
|-
|New Caledonia
|gouv.nc
|Part of French overseas
|-
|New Zealand
|govt.nz
|
|-
|Nigeria
|gov.ng
|
|-
|North Korea
|gov.kp
|
|-
|Palestine
|gov.ps
|
|-
|Paraguay
|gov.py
|
|-
|Peru
|gob.pe
|
|-
|Pakistan
|gov.pk
|
|-
|Philippines
|gov.ph
|
|-
|Poland
|gov.pl
|
|-
|Portugal
|gov.pt
|
|-
|Romania
|gov.ro
|
|-
|Russia
|gov.ru
|
|-
|Senegal
|gouv.sn
|Stands for the French word ''gouvernement''
|-
|Singapore
|gov.sg
|
|-
|Slovakia
|gov.sk
|
|-
|Slovenia
|gov.si
|
|-
|South Africa
|gov.za
|
|-
|South Korea
|go.kr
|
|-
|Spain
|gob.es
|
|-
|Sri Lanka
|gov.lk
|
|-
|Sweden
|gov.se
|
|-
|Switzerland
|admin.ch
|
|-
|Taiwan (Republic of China)
|gov.tw
|
|-
|Thailand
|go.th
|
|-
|Tonga
|gov.to
|
|-
|Trinidad and Tobago
|gov.tt
|
|-
|Turkey
|gov.tr
|
|-
|Ukraine
|gov.ua
|
|-
|United Kingdom
|gov.uk
|
|-
|{{space|10}}Scotland
|gov.scot
| rowspan="2" |Part of the United Kingdom
|-
|{{space|10}}Wales
|gov.wales
|-
|{{space|10}}Guernsey
|gov.gg
| rowspan="3" |Crown dependency
|-
|{{space|10}}Jersey
|gov.je
|-
|{{space|10}}Isle of Man
|gov.im
|-
|{{space|10}}Anguilla<!--https://www.gov.ai/-->
|gov.ai
| rowspan="7" |British overseas territory
|-
|{{space|10}}Bermuda
|gov.bm<!--https://www.gov.bm/-->
|-
|{{space|10}}British Virgin Islands
|gov.vg<!--https://www.gov.vg/-->
|-
|{{space|10}}Cayman Islands
|gov.ky<!--https://www.gov.ky/-->
|-
|{{space|10}}Falkland Islands
|gov.fk<!--https://www.falklands.gov.fk/-->
|-
|{{space|10}}Pitcairn Islands
|government.pn<!--https://www.government.pn/-->
|-
|{{space|10}}Turks & Caicos Islands
|gov.tc
|-
|Uruguay
|gub.uy
|
|-
|Venezuela
|gob.ve
|
|-
|Vietnam
|gov.vn
|
|}

==See also==
* [[usa.gov]]
* [[.us|us]]

==References==

{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://get.gov Official gov registration site]
* [https://www.iana.org/domains/root/db/gov.html IANA gov whois information]
* {{IETF RFC|920}} Domain Requirements (defined the original top-level domains)
* {{IETF RFC|2146}} U.S. Government Internet Domain Names
* [https://get.gov/data Complete list of gov domains]

{{United States top-level domains}}
{{GTLD}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gov}}
[[Category:Sponsored top-level domains]]
[[Category:Domain names in the United States]]
[[Category:General Services Administration]]
[[Category:Internet properties established in 1985]]