Here’s a little background on how domains started.
Originally derived from ‘commercial’, .COM was one of the first top-level domains in the Internet used when the Domain Name System was implemented in 1985. Since then, it has grown to become the largest top-level domain, with over 88 million .COM domains registered. .COM domains are registered in more than 350 languages worldwide, and are globally recognized. The .COM registry is operated by VeriSign.
.NET (from “network”) is one of the original top-level domains introduced in 1985, and has remained a popular extension throughout its history. Like .COM, there are no restrictions on .NET registrations. As of 2009, it is the fourth most popular domain. The .NET extension is operated by VeriSign.
.ORG (from ‘organization’) is one of the original top-level domains established in 1985. Operated by the Public Interest Registry (PIR), .ORG is popular among both commercial and noncommercial organizations, including community groups, sports teams, cultural institutions, and open source software projects. There are no restrictions on who can register a .ORG domain.
Launched in 2001, .BIZ (from “business”) is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) intended for domains to be used by businesses as an alternative to .COM. As of December 2009 there were over 2 million .BIZ registrations, making it one of the top ten TLDs.
Launched in 2001, .INFO (for ‘information’) was the first unrestricted TLD since .COM. It was one of seven new TLDs introduced, and is operated by Afilias. Like .COM and .NET, .INFO domains are unrestricted, meaning anyone can register a .INFO domain for any purpose.
.NAME is a generic TLD introduced in 2001 and managed by VeriSign. It is intended for use by individuals, specifically for representation of their personal names. .NAME domains can be registered at both a second level and third level, and are IDN-compatible.
NEXUS Requirements
Prospective registrants in the usTLD must fall in one of three U.S. Nexus categories and must certify that they have a “bona fide presence in the United States.” Prospective registrants must indicate their use of the domain by selecting one of the following categories: Note: By agreeing to the policies of the registry, registrants agree to having one of the requirements below. Nothing further is required from the reseller to prove the registrant has a legitimate registration.
Nexus Category 1
A natural person (i) who is a United States citizen, (ii) a permanent resident of the United States of America or any of its possessions or territories, or (iii) whose primary place of domicile is in the United States of America or any of its possessions.
Nexus Category 2
An United States entity or organization that is (i) incorporated within one of the fifty (50) U.S. states, the District of Columbia, or any of the United States possessions or territories or organized, or otherwise constituted under the laws of a state of the United States of America, the District of Columbia or any of its possessions or (including a federal, state, or local government of the United States, or a political subdivision thereof, and unincorporated organizations based in the United States).
Nexus Category 3
An entity or organization (including a federal, state, or local government of the United States, or a political subdivision thereof) that has a bona fide presence in the United States of America or any of its possessions or territories.
- If foreign entity, Applicant must state country of citizenship.
- Check from category list, basis for compliance with Nexus requirement – regularly sells goods in the United States; regularly provides services in the United States; regularly engages in business activities, trade or other business (commercial or non-commercial including not-for-profit) relations in the United States;
- Maintains an office or other property within the United States.
The registry operator conducts weekly random checks for US nexus requirements. They select a small sample (approximately 0.5% of new registrations) and send the selected registrants a Nexus confirmation email.
Each selected registrant will have 30 days to respond to the registry operator. If the registrant fails to respond, the registry operator will attempt a second contact with the registrant. If there is no response to the second contact, the registry operator will delete the domain name. The registry operator is not refunding registration fees for deleted names.
Tucows will receive a copy of any Nexus Confirmation emails sent to domain names registered under our accreditation. We anticipate this will affect only small numbers of registrants