.UK

Name: .UK — TLD Knowledge Base
Creator: Nominet

United Kingdom

Nominet · ccTLD · Updated 2026-09-10

Open

Specifications

Zone: .uk
Registration: Real-time
Registration period: 1-10 years
Character length: 1-63
DNSSEC: Yes
IPv6: Yes
Nameservers: 2-7 nameservers
Transfer time: Immediate
Auth code format: N/A
Redemption period: 60 days
Handle updates: Yes
WHOIS update: Real-time
WHOIS server: whois.nic.uk
Connection: Direct
Data set: ccTLD

Eligibility & Restrictions

Open to anyone worldwide. No residency requirement. Legal type of registrant contact required (pre-configuration mandatory). Businesses cannot use WHOIS opt-out; individuals can opt out at registration.

Registration

1-10 years.

Transfer Procedure

Manual transfer process. No auth code used by this registry.

Pushing TAG is irreversible. Verify gaining registrar TAG before pushing. Cannot be cancelled once pushed.

📘 ICANN Transfer Policy (IRTP) — See ICANN Transfer Policy for the full IRTP framework, auth code rules, 60-day lock periods, and TEAC.

Registrant Change

Registrant change (name/organisation) must be done at Nominet Online Services portal directly. Registrar systems do not automatically sync all registrant changes. .UK WHOIS info must match associated .CO.UK/.ORG.UK/.ME.UK information.

📘 ICANN OwnerChange (COR) — See ICANN OwnerChange for COR triggers, FOA/DA modes, 60-day lock, and opt-out.

Renewal & Deletion

Standard renewal. Domain suspended 60 days after expiry. Nominet sends final cancellation notice 53 days into suspension. After 60-day suspension: domain deleted and available for registration.

📘 ICANN ERRP — See ICANN ERRP for the standard gTLD expiry lifecycle (Auto-Renew Grace → RGP → Pending Delete → Released).

Restore / Redemption Grace Period

Restore possible during 60-day suspension period after expiry.

📘 ICANN ERRP — See ICANN ERRP for RGP details and standard restore fees.

WHOIS / Privacy

Minimal data public by default. Individuals: can opt out. Companies: cannot opt out. WHOIS transitioning to RDAP (port 43 being phased out from Jan 2025).

📘 ICANN Registration Data Policy — See Registration Data Policy for RDP 2025, RDAP, redaction defaults, and privacy/proxy rules.

NIS2 Compliance

UK is not subject to EU NIS2. Nominet operates under UK regulations.

📘 NIS2 Compliance — See NIS2 Compliance for Article 28 requirements, registry implementation status, and operational impact.

Known Error Codes & Notes

Irreversible TAG push: TAG change is irreversible. Cannot be cancelled once pushed. Must contact new registrar or Nominet.
Data quality lock: Applied after 29 days if contact not validated. Domain suspended and stops resolving.
Registrant min chars: Registrant name/organization: minimum 4 characters with at least 3 letters. Street must contain non-numerical characters.
.UK WHOIS match: .UK WHOIS must match parent .CO.UK/.ORG.UK data.

Data controllers

Nominet UK (org) Minerva House, Edmund Halley Road, Oxford Science Park, Oxford OX4 4DQ, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)
Nominet UK — TLD Registry Services Management (admin) Minerva House, Edmund Halley Road, Oxford Science Park, Oxford OX4 4DQ, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)

Error codes

EF01017
EF03019
EF03008
EF00512
EF01008
EF01009
EF03005
EF03018
EF03007
EF03017
EF03006
EF01075
EF03011
EF01055
EF02111
EF03041
EF02094
EF03010
EF01095
EF01074
EF0103118
EF02070

Required fields

techc/email
ownerc/email
adminc/email

Restrictions

Restore is only possible after domain has expired, not after the explicit deletion of the domain.
Domains can be registered without restrictions.
In case of an ownerchange please contact support for details.

Root nameservers

DNS1.NIC.UK
DNS2.NIC.UK
DNS4.NIC.UK
NSA.NIC.UK
NSB.NIC.UK
NSC.NIC.UK
NSD.NIC.UK
DNS3.NIC.UK

Tasks (API)

renew · available · chargeable · automatic
create · available · chargeable · automatic
transit · available · automatic
delete · available · automatic
ownerchange · available · chargeable · automatic
restoreNE · available · automatic
update · available · automatic
transfer · available · chargeable · automatic
restoreARGP · available · automatic
preack · available · automatic

API

Domain Create

POST https://api.autodns.com/v1/domain

{
  "name": "example.uk",
  "ownerc": {
    "id": 23142212
  },
  "adminc": {
    "id": 23142212
  },
  "techc": {
    "id": 23142212
  },
  "nameServers": [
    {
      "name": "ns1.example.com"
    },
    {
      "name": "ns2.example.com"
    }
  ],
  "confirmOrder": false,
  "extensions": {
    "uk": {
      "registrantType": ""
    }
  }
}

⚠ IPS TAG system for transfers, not auth codes.

Domain Transfer

POST https://api.autodns.com/v1/domain/_transfer

{
  "name": "example.uk",
  "_note": "IPS TAG push via registrar. No auth code."
}

⚠ IPS TAG push. No auth code. Irreversible. Transfer does NOT extend period.

Domain Restore

POST https://api.autodns.com/v1/domain/example.uk/_restore

⚠ 60-day suspension period. Restore possible during suspension.

TLD Extension Parameters

extensions.uk.registrantType: string — Legal type of registrant. Pre-configuration mandatory.