Also called country-code top-level domain · country code TLD
ccTLD, explained
Most ccTLD codes follow the ISO 3166-1 country list, and each is delegated to a manager that may be a government agency, a nonprofit or a company. That manager decides who may register, minimum terms, prices, transfer procedures and dispute rules; ICANN's gTLD policies, including its transfer rules, do not automatically apply. Some ccTLDs require a local presence. Some use the UDRP, while others run their own dispute system, such as Nominet's for .uk. Country-code TLDs held 148.6 million registrations at the end of the second quarter of 2026, according to the Domain Name Industry Brief.
A few ccTLDs trade as global brands. Google's search documentation treats codes such as .ai, .io, .co, .me and .tv as generic rather than tied to one country, and startups use them that way. Others carry local demand: a strong .de or .nl name sells mainly to businesses in that market.
The risk is sovereign and local. Rules, prices and even an extension's future follow decisions you do not control: the United Kingdom's agreement, announced in 2024, to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius raised open questions about the long-term future of .io. Before buying, read the registry's eligibility rules, minimum term, renewal price and dispute policy, and confirm your registrar supports transfers for that extension.
.ai is the AI era's best-known ccTLD. It belongs to Anguilla, passed one million registered names in January 2026, and brought Anguilla EC$230 million (US$85.3 million) from registrations in 2025. Its rules, including a two-year minimum registration, are set locally for Anguilla, not by ICANN.
Example. An investor buying a .co name checks the registry's dispute policy and renewal price first, then repeats the check for each other country code in the portfolio, because each ccTLD sets its own rules.
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- DNIB.com (Verisign) — The Domain Name Industry Brief, Q2 2026 (July 23, 2026)
- Google Search Central — Managing multi-regional and multilingual sites, generic ccTLD list (accessed Oct 1, 2026)
- Wikipedia — .io, section on the 2024 UK–Mauritius Chagos agreement (accessed Oct 1, 2026)
- Domain Name Wire — .ai namespace hits 1 million domain names (Jan 28, 2026)
- Anguilla Focus — .ai domain surge brings EC$230m windfall to Anguilla in 2025 (Mar 25, 2026)
- Wikipedia — .ai, registration term and dispute policy (accessed Oct 1, 2026)
Education, not financial, legal or tax advice. Domain investing is speculative and most domain names never sell. Read the disclaimer.