Classic generic extensionSince 1985
.org domain registration
The extension of associations, initiatives and non-profit projects: one of the internet’s first, and it tells whoever reads it at first sight that your aim is serving people, not profit.
Score card
.org 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
- 5 out of 5
- Global reach
- 4 out of 5
- Price stability
- 4 out of 5
- Short names available
- 2 out of 5
- Local meaning
- 1 out of 5
Overview
What is .org
.org entered the internet’s root in 1985 alongside .com and .net, among its first extensions, and its name comes from organization. People link it with associations, charities, community initiatives and open projects, so they read it as “non-profit” before they even open the site.
Its manager in the IANA record is Public Interest Registry (PIR), itself a non-profit. .org supports DNSSEC signing, but it has no table for Arabic letters in IANA’s records, so a name in it is written in Latin letters, digits and hyphens only.
Because it is old and trusted, its short words were taken years ago. And what people read in it cuts both ways: it reassures donors and volunteers that you are a non-profit, but it doesn’t look like a store or a company that sells, so a shopping cart under .org surprises the visitor.
- Type
- Classic generic extension (gTLD)
- In the root since
- January 1, 1985
- Name’s origin
- organization
- Responsible body
- Public Interest Registry (PIR)
- Who may register
- Anyone, person or organization, from any country
- DNSSEC
- Supported
- Names in Arabic
- Not supported
Who it suits
For your field: is .org the best fit?
Every field has an extension that says something about it. Here is what .org says in each, and which extension completes it.
An association or charity
Excellent · The first choice
Donors and volunteers understand from the extension alone that you are a non-profit; add .com so whoever forgets your extension doesn’t reach someone else.
Register it with.org.com
A community or volunteer initiative
Excellent · The first choice
It says your aim is people, not profit, and gives a small team a serious presence from the first link; add .community to say it belongs to the people of your city.
Register it with.org.community
An open-source project
Good · A good fit
Familiar for a project owned by its community rather than a company, and it tells contributors the work is open to them.
Register it with.org.io
A school or learning center
Good · A good fit
It says you serve learners rather than sell to them; .education says “learning” outright.
Register it with.org.education
A company or brand
Consider another · Consider .com
Customers read .org as a non-profit, so prices and offers surprise them; .com says you are a company.
Register it with.com.company
An online store
Consider another · Consider .store
A shopping cart under a non-profit extension raises a question for the buyer; .store or .com is clearer.
Register it with.store.com
What it does for you
What you gain when you register it
Says who you are before you speak
The visitor understands from the extension alone that you work to serve people, not for profit.
An institution’s presence for a small team
One of the internet’s first extensions, giving your young initiative the seriousness of a long-standing body.
Email that reassures donors
Thank-you notes and receipts from info@sanabel-erbil.org are read and believed, and raise no suspicion with mail filters.
Your association’s name protected
Register its name in .org before someone impersonating it does and collects donations in its name.
And where its value shows
In donation campaigns
A link that reassures donors before they give.
On posters and banners
Read as “dot org,” and its meaning understood.
In letters to partners and donors
The address of a serious body, not a passing page.
On social media
A bio link saying you’re an initiative, not a store.
Pros and cons
What you should know before you register
Frankly, as we’d tell a customer who asks us before registering.
Pros
- 01One of the internet’s first extensions in 1985, trusted everywhere
- 02Tells the visitor you serve people rather than sell to them
- 03Three letters said as “dot org” with no explaining
- 04Its manager is itself a non-profit
- 05Supports DNSSEC signing
Cons
- 01Doesn’t support names in Arabic
- 02Short and common words were taken years ago
- 03Doesn’t look like a store or a company that sells
- 04Renewal costs more with us than the first year
Rules
Registration terms for .org
What the registry requires and what we add, in one place.
- Who may register
- Anyone, person or organization, from any country
- Documents
- None required
- 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
- Optional, for a separate fee
- Transfer
- 60 days after registration or the last transfer, with an EPP code; adds a year to its term
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.
- 02Before expiry31 days, then 8 days beforeWe remind you twice by email; auto-renewal saves you the reminder.
- 03After expiryDays 1–8The website and email stop; renew within these days at the regular renewal price.
- 04AuctionFrom day 10The name may go to auction; if it sells, it passes to its buyer.Domain recovery policy
- 05Redemption30 daysIf the registry offers it after deletion: a $200 redemption fee plus a year’s renewal.
- 06Final deletion5 daysThen the name is free again for anyone to register.
Tips
Before you register
- 1Write its Arabic name on the page.org takes no Arabic letters in the name, so write your association’s Arabic name in the page title and its content, for those searching in their own language to find it.
- 2Register your association’s name in .com tooWhoever forgets the extension types .com, so don’t leave its name there for an impersonator.
- 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 .org
- .netIts sibling among the internet’s first extensions.$20 first year
- .comThe original for commercial work.$17 first year
- .globalFor an organization whose work spans countries.$96 first year
- .communitySays “community” for an initiative that brings people together.$41 first year
- .educationFor an educational or training body.$39 first year
- .infoFor a site that publishes information and guidance.$7 first year
FAQ5 questions
Frequently asked questions about .org
Didn’t find your answer? Our technical support team is with you around the clock.
Contact support$14 for the first year with an offer, then $16 for each renewal. Look at the renewal price before you register: it’s what you’ll pay every year after the first.
Anyone, person or organization, from any country, with no documents or conditions; the contact details in the owner’s name just need to be accurate.
Yes, once 60 days have passed since it was registered or last transferred. Ask your current provider for the transfer (EPP) code and open a transfer request with us; a full year is added to the domain’s term.
We remind you by email 31 days and 8 days before expiry, and 3 days after it. After expiry the website and email stop, and you can renew in the first eight days at the regular renewal price; from day 10 it may go to auction. If it is deleted and the registry allows redemption within 30 days, the redemption fee is $200 plus a year’s renewal.
No. IANA’s repository of internationalized names (IDN) holds no Arabic table for .org, so names in it use Latin letters, digits and hyphens.
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