Retirement of a Country-code Top-level Domain (ccTLD)

This document provides a guide to the process of retiring a country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) when the underlying country or territory no longer exists or is otherwise removed from the relevant standards.

General Principles

  • ccTLD eligibility is determined by the associated country or territory being assigned in the ISO 3166-1 standard. When countries or territories are removed from the standard, their eligibility expires, and they need to be retired from use after an orderly transition period.

  • When a ccTLD is no longer eligible, IANA will notify the ccTLD manager that the ccTLD is due for retirement. By default the ccTLD will be removed after five years. The ccTLD will be publicly advertised as under retirement with the target removal date.

  • A ccTLD manager may apply for an extension with appropriate justification. Extensions are limited to a maximum of five additional years, therefore the maximum possible period for a retirement is 10 years.

  • ccTLD managers may retire domains earlier at their discretion.

Initial Process

IANA will identify when there is a change to a ccTLD's eligibility that necessitates its retirement. IANA will notify the ccTLD manager on file that it intends to issue a Notice of Removal. The ccTLD manager will have the opportunity to designate an alternate point-of-contact for the purposes of retirement-related notifications.

The Notice of Removal will be subsequently issued to the ccTLD manager or their designated contact. It will additionally be published as correspondence on the ICANN website. The Root Zone Database will reflect the status of the domain as due for retirement, along with the planned retirement date.

Managing an Orderly Shutdown

The policy states that there is a “good faith obligation ... to ensure an orderly shutdown of the retiring ccTLD which takes into consideration the interests of its registrants and the stability and security of the DNS”. In developing an approach, the ccTLD manager must consider a number of factors that will vary depending on how the existing domain is used.

Such a process typically involves:

  • Arranging for any successor ccTLD to be established for the country or territory, and as appropriate, providing pathways for impacted parties to migrate their domains to those successors.

  • Ceasing new registrations as quickly as possible to limit the impact of the removal, and adjusting business practices to limit registration renewals that would exceed the remaining lifespan of the domain.

  • Transparently communicating to all impacted parties that the domain is undergoing retirement as it no longer reflects an eligible country or territory, and raising awareness of the steps they need to take.

  • Performing these actions on a timeline that does not unduly delay or hinder the orderly shutdown of the domain, and minimizes reliance on the domain by its shutdown date.

ccTLD Managers should develop a retirement plan that articulates its approach to these and other factors. IANA can provide advice upon request should ccTLD managers want assistance based on experience with previous retirements.

Extensions

ccTLD Managers may request an extension for up to an additional five years beyond the default five year retirement period. A request for an extension, or a request for an extension on such a request, must be lodged within 12 months of the Notice of Removal.

Any request for extension must be accompanied by a retirement plan as described above. IANA will perform an assessment of the plan and decide on the extension request based on the unique circumstances described in the plan, and the demonstrated need.

Factors that will be considered, described as “reasonable requirements” in the associated policy, include:

  • Any unique consequences associated with removal within the default five year period that could not reasonably be anticipated by the general policy.

  • Specific and material problems that will arise that cannot be mitigated within the 5 year period, but would be mitigated successfully with additional time. Such problems should be tendered with an impact analysis that demonstrates the scope of the issue, and an explanation of why an extension is the appropriate solution as opposed to alternative mitigation measures. Alternative mitigation measures that were considered need to be explained.

  • A timeline that demonstrates meaningful activity toward decommissioning the domain early in the process, rather than delaying until toward the end of the retirement period. The timeline should describe key milestones and objectives throughout the process.

  • A description of accountability mechanisms that will report progress appropriately on minimizing harms associated with removal of the domain.

Any preferences to retain the domain, or otherwise delay transition to the maximum extent possible, will not be considered a factor in any analysis. It is understood that, generally speaking, registries and registrants would have a preference to retain their existing domains rather than transition to an alternative namespace.

If ccTLD Managers need extra time to prepare their retirement plan as a basis for extension requests, they may make a request with IANA.

Removal

On the identified date for the removal, IANA will remove the delegation from the DNS root zone.

Oversight and Reviews

IANA operates a Complaint Resolution Process if you wish to lodge a complaint or seek an escalation, such as if you feel the policy has not been applied accurately or fairly. You may also use ICANN’s existing accountability mechanisms, such as the ICANN Ombudsman.

Background

The “Policy for the Retirement of a ccTLD” was adopted by the ICANN Board of Directors on 22 September 2022. The procedures described here implement this policy. Prior to this policy, retirements were bilaterally discussed between IANA and the ccTLD manager, and relied upon the good faith efforts of ccTLD managers to decommission and retire their domains in a reasonable timeframe.

References

The adopted Policy for the Retirement of a ccTLD is contained within pages 15-20 of the Proposed Policy for the Retirement of ccTLDs Board Report.

Published 2023-08-17, last revised 2024-03-03.