FAQs

A top-level domain (TLD) is last part of any web address and is a vital part of the domain name system. There are two different kinds of TLD – country-codes (ccTLD) and generic (gTLD). ccTLDs are always two letters long and are given to areas listed in the International Standardization Organisation’s list 3166-1 Alpha 2; e.g FR for France, IE for Ireland etc. gTLDs are always at least three characters long and can be used to represent organisations, communities and concepts; e.g. CAT for the Catalan online community, COOP for co-operatives, ORG for organisations etc.

No. .scot is a community gTLD for the worldwide family of people who have a shared commitment to Scottish identity and culture.

.scot domains are for the use of the Scots community of interest online, wherever they are in the world. The Scots community of interest is made up of all individuals and organisations whose online activities:

• Contribute to Scottish social, cultural, business or academic life
• Utilise the spoken and visual languages of Scotland
• Explore Scottish heritage
• Have made Scotland their home

.scot domains will operate in a manner that is not inconsistent with both the principles and statutes of Scots law. Additionally, they must not provoke hatred or intolerance of any individual or group within or outwith Scotland.

gTLD strings must be at least THREE characters long. The string ‘scot’ was decided on after research demonstrated a strong preference for it over other potential strings like ‘sco’.

Yes, research conducted among Scottish-based and international groups and organisations by the Scottish Government found strong demand for the concept of a gTLD as an online indication of Scottish affinity and identity.

We believe that the .scot gTLD should operate for the benefit of the Scottish community of interest online and not for private profit for any individuals or businesses. Not-for-profit community orientated enterprises are a well established area of the domain industry. The Scottish Government shares this vision.

Not Yet! .scot domains will only be available after we have successfully applied to ICANN, the international regulatory body, which announced that they will welcome applications early in 2012. Currently we are estimating that .scot domains could be available by early to mid-2013. It is not possible to pre-order .scot domains. This website will publish updates as the situation develops.

Dot Scot Registry (SC366311) was incorporated on September 30th 2009, is a not-for-profit company that has been created to apply for and operate a .scot domain to represent an online identity for the worldwide family of Scots. The Directors are listed on the about us page.

More details on the ICANN process can be found at ICANN’s new gTLD programme.

If you have any further questions you can contact us on info@dotscot.net.