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{{short description|Domain that is directly below a top-level domain}}{{redirect-distinguish|2LD|2LDK}}In the Domain Name System (DNS) hierarchy, a second-level domain (SLD or 2LD) is a domain that is directly below a top-level domain (TLD). For example, in {{mono|example.com}}, {{mono|example}} is the second-level domain of the {{mono|.com}} TLD.Second-level domains commonly refer to the organization that registered the domain name with a domain name registrar. Some domain name registries introduce a second-level hierarchy to a TLD that indicates the type of entity intended to register an SLD under it. For example, in the .uk namespace a college or other academic institution would register under the {{mono|.ac.uk}} ccSLD, while companies would register under {{mono|.co.uk}}. Strictly speaking, domains like .ac.uk and .co.uk are second level domain themselves, since they are right below a TLD. A list of the official TLDs can be found at icann.org and iana.org. An ordinal-free term to denote domains under which people can register their own domain name is public suffix domain (PSD).

Country-code second-level domains

Algeria

Australia

Austria

In Austria there are two second-level domains available for the public:

• .co.at intended for commercial enterprises
• .or.at intended for organizations.WEB, Useful information about .or.at domains,www.easyname.com/en/or.at-domain, 29 October 2014,

The second-level domain

• .priv.at is restricted to Austrian citizens only, while
• .ac.at and .gv.at are reserved for educational institutions and governmental bodies respectively.WEB, Domain registration,www.nic.at/en/print/uebernic/company_details_imprint/internet_foundation_austria_ipa/principles_and_grants/, 29 October 2014, WEB, Principles and Grants,www.nic.at/en/print/uebernic/company_details_imprint/internet_foundation_austria_ipa/principles_and_grants/, 29 October 2014,

Bangladesh

• .com.bd, .net.bd and .org.bd is open for registration for all Bangladeshi citizens and companies.
• .edu.bd and .ac.bd is open for all kinds of educational institutions in Bangladesh.
• .info.bd is restricted for personal use.
• .co.bd is open for companies or agencies. But presently not available for registration.
• .gov.bd is restricted to the government entities.
• .mil.bd is restricted for military use.
• .tv.bd is open for broadcasting and media agencies.

Brazil

France

In France, there are various second-level domains available for certain sectors, including

• .avocat.fr for attorneys,
• .aeroport.fr for airports and
• .veterinaire.fr for vets.WEB, Sector-based .fr domains,www.afnic.fr/en/products-and-services/the-fr-tld/sector-based-fr-domains-4.html, 31 October 2014,

Hungary

New Zealand

Nigeria

• .com.ng
• .gov.ng

Pakistan

India

{{As of|2005}}, liberalised policies for the {{mono|.in}} domain allow unlimited second-level registrations under {{mono|.in}}. Unlimited registrations under the previously structured existing zones are also allowed:

• {{mono|.in}} (available to anyone; used by companies, individuals, and organisations in India)
• {{mono|.co.in}} (intended for banks, registered companies, and trademarks)
• {{mono|.com.in}} (available to anyone; used by companies, individuals, and organisations in India)
• {{mono|.firm.in}} (intended for shops, partnerships, liaison offices, sole proprietorships)
• {{mono|.net.in}} (intended for Internet service providers)
• {{mono|.org.in}} (intended for nonprofit organisations)
• {{mono|.gen.in}} (intended for general/miscellaneous use)
• {{mono|.ind.in}} (intended for individuals)

Zones reserved for use by qualified institutions in India:

• {{mono|.ernet.in}} (Older, for both educational and research institutes)
• {{mono|.ac.in}} (Academic institutions)

Before the introduction of liberalised registration policies for the {{mono|.in}} domain, only 7000 names had been registered between 1992 and 2004. {{as of|2010|March}}, the number had increased to over 610,000 domain names with 60% of registrations coming from India and the rest from overseas. By October 2011, the number had surpassed 1 million domain names. {{as of|2016|March}}, the number has more than doubled to over 2 million domain names.

Israel

Japan

Russia

South Africa

South Korea

Spain

Sri Lanka

Registrations are taken at the second level and also at the third level beneath various categorized second level names. A second-level registration automatically blocks the name from registration by anybody else under any of the third-level names.

• .com.lk: Commercial entities
• .org.lk: Noncommercial organizations
• .edu.lk: Educational sites
• .ngo.lk: Non-governmental organizations
• .soc.lk: Registered societies
• .web.lk: Web sites
• .ltd.lk: Limited liability companies
• .assn.lk: Associations
• .grp.lk: Groups of companies
• .hotel.lk: Hotels

Thailand

Trinidad and Tobago

• co.tt
• com.tt
• org.tt
• net.tt

• travel.tt
• museum.tt
• aero.tt
• tel.tt
• name.tt
• charity.tt
• mil.tt
• edu.tt
• gov.tt

Türkiye

In Türkiye, domain registrations, including the registration of second-level domains is administrated by TRABÄ°S.WEB, Overview,www.trabis.gov.tr/page/6, 29 October 2014, There 17 active second-level domains under the .tr TLD.WEB, Who could register which domain name?,www.trabis.gov.tr/ozet, 17 May 2024, The registration of domains is restricted to Turkish individuals and businesses, or foreign companies with a business activity in Turkey.WEB, Can an individual or a company in abroad register a ”.tr” domain name?,www.trabis.gov.tr/page/2, 17 May 2024, Second-level domains include .com.tr for commercial ventures, .edu.tr for academic institutions and .name.tr for personal use.WEB, Who could register which domain name?,www.trabis.gov.tr/ozet, 17 May 2024,

Ukraine

Ukraine second-level domains include:

• .gov.ua – available for government agencies.
• .com.ua – for commercial use.
• .in.ua – for commercial use.
• .org.ua – intended for non-profit organizations.
• .net.ua – intended for Internet providers.
• .edu.ua – for academic institutions.

There are also numerous geographic names.

United Kingdom

United States

A two-letter second-level domain is formally reserved for each U.S. state, federal territory, and the District of Columbia.

Zambia

Historic second-level domains

There are several second-level domains which are no longer available.

Australia

Second-level domains under .au which are no longer available include: {{Not a typo|.conf.au}} originally intended for conferences; {{Not a typo|.gw.au}} for the Australian Academic and Research networks; {{Not a typo|info.au}} for general information, {{Not a typo|.otc.au}} and {{Not a typo|.telememo.au}} for the X.400 mail systems.WEB, the australian second level domain name system,www.bladesplace.id.au/australian-domains.html, 31 October 2014,

Canada

Prior to 12 Oct 2010 there were second level domain based on province:.ab.ca — Alberta, .bc.ca — British Columbia, .mb.ca — Manitoba, .nb.ca — New Brunswick, .nf.ca — Newfoundland, .nl.ca — Newfoundland and Labrador, .ns.ca — Nova Scotia, .nt.ca — Northwest Territories, .nu.ca — Nunavut, .on.ca — Ontario, .pe.ca — Prince Edward Island, .qc.ca — Quebec, .sk.ca — Saskatchewan, .yk.ca — Yukon {{citation needed|reason=the specificity of the claim seems like this was an announced policy, but it doesn’t appear that way.|date=February 2016}}Since 2010, some have been replaced (for example, alberta.ca) while others have remained under the provincial two letter SLD (e.g., Calgary Board of Education www.cbe.ab.ca) and others were moved to more traditional subdomains (www.transportation.alberta.ca).WEB,cira.ca/sites/default/files/public/policy/general_registration_rules_version_3.21_february_5_2015.pdf, General Registration Rules, Version 3.21, February 5, 2015, 18 November 2017,web.archive.org/web/20171201034053/https://cira.ca/sites/default/files/public/policy/general_registration_rules_version_3.21_february_5_2015.pdf, 2017-12-01,

France

Historic second-level domains for France included:.tm.fr (for brands), .com.fr (for commercial use) and {{Not a typo|.asso.fr}}. WEB, Useful information about .fr domains,www.easyname.com/en/fr-domain, 31 October 2014, WEB, ICANN-Registrar: French Domains with Accents,www.domainregistry.de/fr-domain.html, 31 October 2014,

The Netherlands

Historic second-level domains for the Netherlands included:.co.nl (for commercial use)WEB, Commercial, national & international character with a .co.nl domain name,domain.co.nl/en, 25 January 2016, WEB, .Co.NL WhoIS,whois.co.nl, 25 January 2016,

Yugoslavia

In 2006 the {{Not a typo|.yu}} ccTLD was replaced by {{Not a typo|.rs}} (for Serbia) and {{Not a typo|.me}} (for Montenegro).Second-level domains under {{Not a typo|.yu}} included:{{Not a typo|.ac.yu}} – for academic institutions, {{Not a typo|.co.yu}} for commercial enterprises; {{Not a typo|.org.yu}} for organizations and {{Not a typo|.cg.yu}} for residents of Montenegro.Only legal entities were allowed to register names under {{Not a typo|.yu}} and its second-level domains.WEB, .RS - Republic of Serbia .ME - Republic of Montenegro (Former parts of Yugoslavia) Formerly .YU and .CS Country Codes.,tldv.com/Dot-yu-Yugoslavia.htm, 31 October 2014,

Tuvalu

Historic second-level domains for Tuvalu included:co.tv

Legal issues

As a result of ICANN’s generic top-level domain (gTLD) expansion,WEB, Delegated strings,newgtlds.icann.org/en/program-status/delegated-strings, 29 October 2014, the risk of domain squatting has increased significantly. For example, based on current regulations, the registration of the gTLDs {{Not a typo|.olympics}} or {{Not a typo|.redcross}} is not allowed; however, the registration of sites such as {{Not a typo|olympics.example}} or {{Not a typo|redcross.example}} is not controlled.JOURNAL, Easton, Catherine R., ICANN’s core principles and the expansion of generic top-level domain names., International Journal of Law and Information Technology, 2012, 20, 4, 273–290, 10.1093/ijlit/eas013, Experts say {{who|date=May 2021}} that further restrictions are needed for second-level domains under the new gTLD {{Not a typo|.health}}, as well. For example, second-level domains under {{Not a typo|.tobacco.health}} or {{Not a typo|.diet.health}} can be easily misused by companies and therefore are a potential threat to Internet users.JOURNAL, Mackey, TK, Liang, BA, Kohler, JC, Attaran, A, Health Domains for Sale: The Need for Global Health Internet Governance, J Med Internet Res, 5 March 2014, 16, 3, 10.2196/jmir.3276, 24598602, 3961808, e62, free,

See also

• Single-letter second-level domains
• Domain Name System
• Top-level domain
• Country code top-level domain
• Subdomain
• Private sub-domain registry
• Public Suffix List
• .ac (second-level domain)
• .edu (second-level domain)

References

{{Reflist}}{{course assignment | course = Education Program:University College London/MSIN1003 Information World (Autumn 2014) | term = 2014 Q3}}