The .link Domain: A Zone Built for Link Infrastructure
.link entered the root zone on 9 January 2014 under an ICANN registry agreement dated 14 November 2013, and the contracting party today is Nova Registry Ltd, based in Valletta. The operator positions the extension squarely around link products and platforms. The nTLDstats page accessed on 12 August 2026 shows 473,765 registrations, of which 289,510 sit in the zone file.
Short link services, branded redirect addresses, QR code campaigns, payment links and social profile pages all use the zone. No eligibility condition applies and no documents are requested. Try candidates through a .link domain search, and compare the functionally similar .click page.
The operator positions this zone for branded short links, managed redirects, payment links, QR code addresses and profile pages. That pattern of use makes name selection different from an ordinary site: because a link travels through print, screens and speech, each additional character converts directly into error rate. The working rule: pick the shortest unambiguous stem available, avoid hyphens and digits, and drop any candidate you find yourself spelling out letter by letter. Keep redirects durable as well; when a campaign ends, pointing the address at the relevant page rather than switching it off keeps every printed link working.
.LINK Domain at a Glance
- Sponsoring organisation Nova Registry Ltd.
- Operator's registered seat Valletta, Malta
- ICANN registry agreement 14 November 2013
- Root zone record 9 January 2014
- Registered domains 473,765 (nTLDstats, 12 August 2026)
- Present in the zone file 289,510 names, about 61%
- Document Requirement No documents are required to register a .link domain
- Character Length 1 - 63 characters
- Registration Period 1 - 10 years
- Name Server Count 2 - 10 servers
.link Domain Prices — No Surprise Fees
Registration, transfer and renewal fees are listed separately. The renewal price can differ from the first-year price, so you see both up front.
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New Registration
$11.99 /year -
Transfer
$11.99 /year -
Renewal
$11.99 /year -
Late Renewal
$2.30
Included With Every .link Domain
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Free DNS management
Change A, MX, TXT and CNAME records yourself from the panel — no waiting on anyone when you move a site or mailbox.
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Domain lock
While the lock is on, nobody can move your domain to another registrar without your approval.
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Domain forwarding
Point the domain at your existing site, a campaign page or a social profile — at no extra cost.
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Free WHOIS privacy
Your name, address and phone stay out of public WHOIS records, which cuts down spam and scam calls.
.link Domain Lifecycle
What happens day by day after it expires
Day 0 is the domain's expiry dateIn short: your .link domain is put on Client Hold on its expiry date, so the site and e-mail stop that same day. You can still renew during the first 20 days, but from this point a late renewal fee is added on top of the renewal price. On day 20 the registration is deleted and until day 50 only a paid restore brings it back. Nothing at all can be done in the 5 days that follow, and on day 55 the name is open to anyone. There is exactly one way never to enter this chain: keep auto-renewal on.
Domain Is Available (Available)
A .link address at this stage has not been taken yet, and it goes to whoever registers first. Check the name you have in mind — if it is free, it can be yours within minutes.
Domain Is Active (Active Period)
Once registration is complete, the domain is registered to you for the term you selected. You can renew at any point before it expires to keep it active, or switch on auto-renewal so you never have to watch the date.
Renewal Window (Client Hold)
On its expiry date your .link domain is put on Client Hold: the site and e-mail go down that day, but the registration is still yours. A single renewal within these first 20 days brings everything back exactly as it was — nothing is lost. The only difference is that a $2.30 late renewal fee is now added to the renewal price; renewing before the expiry date avoids that fee entirely.
Redemption Period (Redemption / RGP)
On day 20 the registration is deleted and the 30-day redemption period that ICANN requires of every gTLD registry begins. The name is not released to anyone during this time; only you can take it back, by paying the restore fee, until day 50. That fee is far higher than a renewal — renewing on time is always the cheaper route.
Pending Delete (Pending Delete)
Once the redemption window closes too, the domain enters its final 5 days and there is no way back. Neither renewal nor restore works here; nobody — your registrar included — can return the name to you. The registry uses this window as the last hold before the name goes back into the pool.
Open to Anyone Again (Released)
On day 55 the name .link returns to the pool and anyone can register it. Sought-after names are often gone within seconds, and there is no guaranteed way to get one back. Yet staying out of this timeline is entirely in your hands: leave auto-renewal on and the expiry date will never catch you off guard.
The timeline above is the schedule Atak Domain applies and publishes. The ICANN chart you will find elsewhere shows a renewal window of up to 45 days after expiry; ICANN's policy on expired registrations (section 2.2.1) lets registrars delete an expired domain at any time, provided they disclose their policy in advance. We apply that window as 20 days and publish it here in plain sight. Full text of the policy: ICANN Expired Registration Recovery Policy
.link Domain Specifications and Registration Rules
Registration conditions, supported features and the registry's own timelines in a single table.
.link Domain Registration
- Document Requirement No documents are required to register a .link domain
- Character Length 1 - 63 characters
- Registration Period 1 - 10 years
- Name Server Count 2 - 10 servers
.link Domain Support
- IDN Support Yes
- Transfer Support Yes
- Late Renewal Support Yes
Frequently Asked Questions About .link Domains
The questions people actually ask before registering — answered plainly.
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Because the ending itself says what the address does while keeping total length low.
The operator positions the zone for branded short links, redirects, payment links and QR code addresses. Since a visitor seeing the address expects a redirect, the decision to click comes more easily. Keeping the stem short completes that advantage; a long stem gives back exactly what the ending gained.
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Keep the stem short, unambiguous and easy to pass on by voice.
Avoid hyphens and digits, the characters that produce the most errors over the phone and in print. Read candidates aloud and drop any you find yourself spelling out. To try several short patterns at once, use the bulk domain name search.
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Switching the address off when the campaign ends is the costliest mistake.
Codes printed on posters, packaging and business cards stay in circulation for years, and closing the address turns every one of those items into a dead link. The right approach is to redirect the address permanently to the relevant product or category page once the campaign closes, which protects both visitors and search results.
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Common single-word stems are largely taken, but the zone is not exhausted.
Of 473,765 registrations, 289,510 sit in the zone file according to the nTLDstats page accessed on 12 August 2026, roughly 61 percent, so about two names in five never went live. Using your brand name directly in the stem is the most reliable route; confirm the status of a name through whois search.
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Yes. An address that only redirects is still inspected by the browser.
A short link served without a certificate shows a security warning before the visitor reaches the destination, and most people give up at that point. If you use payment links the certificate becomes mandatory as well. Review the options on the SSL certificate page.
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Type a name and see in seconds whether it is free on .link. If it is taken, we list close alternatives right away.
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