Country extensionUnder .uk
.ltd.uk domain registration
The extension for limited companies registered in Britain only: a name in it is derived from the company’s official name, telling whoever reads it there’s a real company in the British companies register behind it.
Score card
.ltd.uk in six cells
Our score out of five, as we see it when we help a customer choose.
- Trust
- 5 out of 5
- Easy to remember
- 3 out of 5
- Global reach
- 2 out of 5
- Price stability
- 5 out of 5
- Short names available
- 4 out of 5
- Local meaning
- 5 out of 5
Overview
What is .ltd.uk
.ltd.uk sits under .uk, the extension that entered the internet’s root in 1985 for the United Kingdom, and its manager in the IANA record is Nominet UK. The part ltd is short for limited, the word that limited companies registered in the British companies register carry in their names.
It is restricted: only a limited company registered in Britain may register it, and the name is derived from its official name by Nominet’s rules, dropping the word limited and writing spaces as hyphens or joining them. The company number and full name are required, Nominet reviews the application, and if the company changes its name or is dissolved, Nominet may amend or cancel the name.
That is why most of our customers in Iraq can’t register it: it is for a British company, not a brand. But if you have a limited company there, it is its official name that no one else can register, at a price lower than .com and fixed every year, with DNSSEC signing and no names in Arabic.
- Type
- Country extension (ccTLD)
- Parent extension
- .uk
- In the root since
- July 24, 1985, with .uk
- Name’s origin
- limited + United Kingdom
- Responsible body
- Nominet UK
- Who may register
- Limited companies registered in the UK
- DNSSEC
- Supported
- Names in Arabic
- Not supported
Who it suits
For your field: is .ltd.uk the best fit?
Every field has an extension that says something about it. Here is what .ltd.uk says in each, and which extension completes it.
A limited company in Britain
Excellent · The first choice
Your company’s official name in an address no one else can register; add .co.uk for your brand.
Register it with.ltd.uk.co.uk
A company guarding its name
Good · A good fit with .co.uk
Your site on .co.uk, and .ltd.uk leading to it under the company’s name as registered, reassuring whoever checks it.
Register it with.co.uk.ltd.uk
A brand with another name
Consider another · Consider .co.uk
The name here is derived from the company’s official name, so it has no room for a brand with another name; .co.uk or .uk does.
Register it with.co.uk.uk
A sole trader in Britain
Consider another · Consider .co.uk
A sole trader isn’t a limited company, so isn’t eligible; .co.uk is open to them, and .me.uk for their personal name.
Register it with.co.uk.me.uk
An exporter from Iraq to Britain
Consider another · Consider .co.uk
It’s only for a company registered in Britain; .co.uk is open to you in Iraq with no conditions.
Register it with.co.uk.com
A local business in Iraq
Consider another · Consider .com
Your customers are in Iraq, and .com tells them you’re a company with no condition and no country.
Register it with.com.company
What it does for you
What you gain when you register it
Your company’s name as registered
basra-shipping.ltd.uk matches the registered name, so whoever reads it knows it’s a real company.
No one else can register it
The name is derived from your company’s official name, so no competitor can impersonate it.
Official company email
accounts@basra-shipping.ltd.uk for invoices and contracts, in the company’s name as it is.
Matches your papers
The name in the address is the name on contracts, on invoices and in the register.
And where its value shows
On contracts and invoices
A name matching the registered company.
With banks and suppliers
An address saying a real company stands behind it.
In tenders
An official name that needs no explaining.
In your email signature
The company’s name as in its register.
Pros and cons
What you should know before you register
Frankly, as we’d tell a customer who asks us before registering.
Pros
- 01Only a limited company registered in Britain may register it
- 02The name matches the company’s official name
- 03Lower-priced than .com with us, and fixed every year
- 04Under .uk, which entered the internet’s root in 1985
- 05Supports DNSSEC signing
Cons
- 01Most of our customers in Iraq can’t register it
- 02No room for a brand named unlike the company
- 03May be canceled if the company changes its name or is dissolved
- 04Doesn’t support names in Arabic
Rules
Registration terms for .ltd.uk
What the registry requires and what we add, in one place.
- Who may register
- Limited companies registered in the UK
- Documents
- The company’s name and number on the UK register, and proof of incorporation if asked
- Name length
- Up to 63 characters
- Characters
- a–z, digits and hyphens, never first or last
- Names in Arabic
- Not supported
- Registration term
- 1 to 10 years
- DNSSEC
- Supported
- Privacy protection
- Your name and address don’t show in WHOIS unless you agree
- Transfer
- By a tag change at Nominet, free and with no change to the expiry date; with a transfer code from February 9, 2027
Life cycle
From registration until the name is free again
What happens to your name if it isn’t renewed, and when you can still get it back.
- 01Registration1 to 10 yearsThe name is yours from the moment you pay, for the term you chose.
- 02After expiryThe first 30 daysThe website and email keep working, and you can renew it.
- 03SuspensionUntil day 90The name stops working, but it can still be renewed.
- 04DeletionUntil day 95It can’t be renewed after day 90, and is free again on day 95.
Tips
Before you register
- 1Write the company name as registeredWith its number and full name, since the name is derived from it and Nominet reviews it before approval.
- 2Plan the alternative if you rename the companyThe name is tied to it, so if its name changes, Nominet may amend the address or cancel it.
- 3A short name, read as it’s writtenIf it needs spelling out on the phone, it’s too long or too complicated.
- 4No digits or hyphens that need explainingEvery hyphen or digit has to be said, and what has to be said gets forgotten.
- 5Renew automatically, or register for yearsUp to 10 years at once, so you never miss a date.
- 6Make sure the name isn’t someone else’s trademarkA registered trademark’s owner can recover the name from whoever registered it first.
Nearby extensions
If your name is taken in .ltd.uk
- .co.ukOpen to all, for your brand.$15 first year
- .ukThe shorter form, open to all.$15 first year
- .ltdSays “limited” with no British condition.$25 first year
- .limitedThe full word, for any company in any country.$45 first year
- .comThe best known, for customers everywhere.$17 first year
- .companySays “company” as the full word, for any country.$27 first year
FAQ5 questions
Frequently asked questions about .ltd.uk
Didn’t find your answer? Our technical support team is with you around the clock.
Contact support$15 a year, for the first year and every renewal: the price you see when you search, with no other fees at registration.
Only limited companies on the UK companies register, and the name is derived from the company’s official name. The full company name and number are required, and Nominet reviews each application by hand.
Yes. Until February 9, 2027 a transfer is a “tag” change at Nominet, free and with no change to the expiry date; from that day it takes a transfer code valid for 14 days, with an optional renewal at transfer.
Under Nominet’s current rules the name keeps working for 30 days after it expires and can be renewed; then it stops until day 90 and can still be renewed; then it is deleted and is free again on day 95. From February 9, 2027, .uk follows grace periods like the generic extensions’.
No. IANA’s repository of internationalized names (IDN) holds no Arabic table for .uk, so names in it use Latin letters, digits and hyphens.
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