The .UK extension launched in 2014, joining .co.uk, .org.uk and .me.uk as part of the UK domain family. At that time, Nominet (the Registry for the UK domain family), reserved the matching .uk for registrants of existing .co.uk domains registered before 28th October 2013. For example, as we’d registered “names.co.uk” before that date, the matching domain ‘names.uk’ was reserved for us for 5 years. Now, that five years is nearly up!
Helping you claim your .uk
Over the last few years, we’ve actively encouraged all of our customers to register their matching .uk domains. In September 2017 we gave all of our customers the best chance to get their .uk for FREE, more recently in March 2019, we checked for any new customers that had transferred to us and also gave them the same chance to get their .uk for FREE. We even sent those of you that had opted out a reminder.
Where possible, we redirected the newly registered .uk domains to their equivalent .co.uk website, taking the hard work out of managing the newly added domain(s).
Why did we do all this?
For two reasons – firstly to help protect our customers against fraudsters and cybersquatters who may use the matching .uk as an opportunity to strike. And secondly, it’s super important to us that our customers get the most out of their online presence, so if a customer typed the .uk by accident we want to make sure you don’t miss out.
So, what happens now?
If you still have a .co.uk domain registered before 28th October 2013, you have until the 25th June 2019 to register your reserved, matching .uk. After this, any remaining reserved .uk domains will be released to the open market in a phased process.
Starting from 1st July 2019, any .uk domains that haven’t been snapped up will be published in a list by Nominet and released in batches. These can be registered by anyone, on a first come, first served basis. Only a few registrars are involved in this release process. We’re not taking part as we’re confident we’ve done all we can to help our customers, who have the right of registration, to secure their matching .uk domain.
As of 12th July 2019, all remaining .uk domains will be on the open market without restrictions – you can grab any .uk you want. But why wait? If the .uk domain you have your eye on is available, snap it up now.
Find out more and register yours here
What are the benefits of .uk?
If you’re in the UK or looking to target the UK market, .uk is the perfect domain. It’s easy to remember and is a great way to establish your business online. If you already own another .uk domain, such as .co.uk, .org.uk etc, it’s also a great way of protecting your brand to prevent any competitors or cybersquatters getting hold of your brand name – here’s how:
- gets straight to the point
- is easier to remember and type than .co.uk
- puts more focus on your website name, not the extension
- has greater international appeal
- is a trusted, versatile domain
Please don’t hesitate to contact us, if you have any questions. You can get in touch by raising a support ticket directly from your Online Control Panel at or simply give us a call us on 0345 363 3632.
