.UK Direct - The New Shorter and Sharper .UK Domain

On June 10th, 2014, second-level .UK domains (mydomain.uk) will be available for registration!  This highly anticipated release of the second-level .UK domains is already generating lots of inquires and demand.  For those with existing third-level .UK domains like co.uk, please read the details blow on the grandfathering rights process.  And for those looking to register open second-level .UK domains, now is the time to pre-register for these valuable domain names.

In addition to the release of second-level .UK domains, Nominet, the registry operator, will implement stricter data quality rules for information submitted by registrants as of May 7, 2014.  In a nutshell, registrant data that can't be verified by the registry will result in domain registrations being suspended and possibly revoked (loss of registration).  Please read the new rules on data quality below.

Rights to Reserve: Existing .UK Domain Registrants

Those with existing "third-Level" .UK domain names will automatically be given the opportunity to register their equivalent shorter and more direct "second-Level" .UK domain under certain conditions:

• Automatic rights to the shorter "second-Level" .UK domain are affected by whether the third-Level registration was before or after the cut-off time/date of 23:59hrs on 28 October 2013.
• For the exact automatic rights schedule for a domain name string, please use Nominet's Rights Lookup Tool
• Generally but not absolutely, those holding the co.uk domain will be given first right to the equivalent shorter .UK domain
• Generally but not absolutely, those holding the org.uk domain will be given second right to the equivalent shorter .UK domain
• Generally but not absolutely, those holding the me.uk domain will be given third right to the equivalent shorter .UK domain
• All other third-Level extensions like net.uk, plc.uk, and ltd.uk must use the Rights Lookup Tool to determine the rights schedule.
• For more information please visit our direct .UK page at https://www.hexonet.net/domain-landing/uk/

For those with first rights to the equivalent shorter .UK domain, registration of the new second-level .UK equivalent domain must be exercised before 10 June 2019.

The pricing for .UK Domains will be exactly the same as for Third-Level .UK Domains.

New Third-Level .UK Registrations Before June 10, 2014 (Alternative to Pre-registration)

For those looking to secure an open second-level .UK domain now, you can alternatively register a new co.uk or another third-Level domain before June 10, 2014 given you first check the domain with the Rights Lookup Tool. Please note the following:

• Use the Rights Lookup Tool to check whether a domain name is available to registration.
• If no equivalent domain has existing rights to any of the .uk domain extensions, this means that a .co.uk registration ensures automatically right to shorter Second-Level .UK, when it becomes available in June 2014.
• Registrations of new co.uk domains must be completed by 07:59hrs on 10 June 2014 for the right to reserve the Second-Level equivalent.
• New registration of any other Third-Level .UK domain, besides co.uk, may be subject to first rights protocol set up by Nominet.
• For more information please visit our direct .UK page at https://www.hexonet.net/domain-landing/uk/

Nominet Registry's New Data Quality Policy - Starting May 7, 2014

The goal of the new Data Quality Policy by Nominet, is to ensure that the .UK namespace is a trusted and safe space on the Internet.  As a result, starting on May 7, 2014, registrations for all third-level .UK domains will be checked for completeness and more importantly will be under a review and validation process by the registry. Any .UK domain registration failing to be complete or failing the independent validation process will be suspended within thirty (30) days of the registration date.  If subsequent validation can't be obtained, the domain registration may eventually be revoked.

Guidelines for Resellers and Registrants:

• Ensure that the registrant address is complete and accurate with street name and number, city/town, country and postal code if applicable
• Ensure the full telephone number submitted is correctly formatted with country code first followed by the telephone number
• Ensure the registrant email is correctly formatted and valid
• Submission of Trading Name Field should be used by sole traders for their business name. Organisation name field to be used for their individual name
• Independent verification may result in registrant contact so addresses, telephone numbers, and emails must be reachable