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.UK Domains

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Anyone can register a .UK domain, such as example.uk. .UK transfers do not use an authorization code: instead, the current registrar changes the domain’s IPS tag to that of the new registrar.

Is a .UK name reserved for the .CO.UK owner?

No, not anymore. When Nominet opened .UK registrations in June 2014, it reserved each .UK name for the owner of the matching .CO.UK (or .ORG.UK) domain for five years. That right ended in June 2019, and the unclaimed names were released in July 2019. .UK names are now available on a first-come, first-served basis.

What does the .UK registration form ask for?

Registration is open to anyone worldwide. Nominet does check the registrant’s name: it must have at least four characters, including at least three letters.

The form has two optional fields for UK companies:

  • : the company’s Companies House registration number
  • : LTD, PLC, LLP, or IP

Transferring a .UK domain to DNSimple

.UK and .CO.UK domains have a different transfer process than most other domain registrations. These steps explain some of those differences.

Before you start

Warning

It is important you follow these steps in strict order. Otherwise, there is a risk of losing your domain’s registration.

Warning

As with any domain transfer, to avoid the possibility of downtime you should point the name servers for the domain to DNSimple (or another provider) before you begin the transfer. This will prevent downtime and will also allow you to perform changes to the DNS records during the domain transfer.

1. Starting the transfer
  1. In the account you want the domain transferred to, go to the page, click , and select .
  2. Enter the domain name and click .
  3. Select a registrant and fill in any extended attributes.
  4. Click .
2. Approving the transfer

To complete the transfer of a .UK or .CO.UK domain, you must change the domain’s IPS TAG at your current domain registrar. Your registrar may allow you to do this through their website, or you may need to contact them via email or phone.

Request the change of the IPS TAG to KEY-SYSTEMS-DE. This is case-sensitive, so make sure the IPS TAG is in all capital letters.

The transfer usually completes soon after the tag is changed. If the current registrar does not change the tag to KEY-SYSTEMS-DE within 15 days, the transfer times out.

Note

We will only charge your credit card for the transfer once it has completed.

Transfer status

You can check the status of a pending transfer at any time on the domain’s tab.

After the transfer

When the transfer has completed, you will receive an email from DNSimple confirming that your domain has been transferred to DNSimple. You can now manage your domain from your DNSimple account.

Changing name servers

Warning

We do not automatically point your domain to our name servers when the transfer completes, unless you selected when you started the transfer. We suggest pointing your domain to our name servers before the transfer to avoid downtime during the transfer. Some DNS providers will stop serving the DNS for the domain as soon as the transfer has completed.

You can now decide to point the domain to DNSimple name servers in one click, or change the name server delegation.

Expiration extension

.UK and .CO.UK domains may or may not be extended when they are successfully transferred. If your .CO.UK domain has less than 3 months remaining before expiration, then it will be extended by 2 years. The price of this extension is included in the transfer fee. If your .CO.UK domain has 3 or more months remaining, then it will not be automatically extended.

Transferring a .UK domain away from DNSimple

To transfer a .UK domain away from DNSimple, the procedure is similar to the instructions to transfer in, but you will need to get the IPS tag of the gaining registrar.

Initiating the transfer

  1. On the tab, in the section, click .

    Domain transfer section with an arrow pointing to Transfer out

Approving the transfer

  1. Under , enter the IPS tag of the gaining registrar. This is case-sensitive, so make sure the IPS TAG is in all capital letters.

    Transfer out form with the IPS Tag field and the Request Transfer Out button

  2. Click .

    This will unlock the domain and submit the request to the registry within 24 hours.

  3. You may need to let the gaining registrar know about the transfer so that they accept it.

How do I change the registrant of a .UK domain?

Any contact change that results in a change of registrant must be executed directly at Nominet, the .UK registry. A change of registrant occurs when you are modifying the Organization Name for organizations or First/Last Name for individuals. Nominet’s own help covers this in How do I transfer my domain name to someone else?

Updating the Registrant at Nominet
  1. Log in to Nominet Online Services using the email address listed as the domain’s Contact in your DNSimple dashboard.
  2. Go to the section. You should find all your .UK domains listed there.
  3. Select the domain you want to update the registrant for. Clicking on the right arrow on the domain header will expand the details.
  4. Under the section, click to modify the information.
  5. Edit the registrant details making sure they match exactly the information for the contact associated to the domain in your DNSimple account. Your contact is classified as an organization if you specified an organization name, otherwise it’s considered an individual.
    1. For individuals, change Registrant to match exactly the First/Last Name in your DNSimple contact. Select an appropriate Registrant Type if applicable.
    2. For organizations, change Registrant to match exactly the Organization Name in your DNSimple contact. Also make sure to fill out the Trading As with the exact same value. Finally, select an appropriate Registrant Type if applicable.
  6. Click to save.
  7. To verify the changes are applied, go to our WHOIS tool and query the WHOIS information for the domain. Verify the Last updated field has changed, and that the WHOIS response contains the updated information.
  8. Once you completed and verified the change at Nominet, contact support so we can synchronize the information in your DNSimple dashboard.

If you have trouble logging in or following the process above, contact support, and we will be happy to help.

Have more questions?

If you have any questions about registering, transferring, or renewing your .UK domain, contact support, and we will be happy to help. You can also read more about TLDs available at DNSimple.