The .nyc Domain: An Address That Shows a City Link
The .nyc domain is a geographic extension whose registry operator is the city itself: the contracting party is The City of New York, acting by and through its Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications. The root zone entry dates from 13 March 2014 and the ICANN agreement from 23 January 2014. On 13 August 2026 the zone held 68,408 registrations with 59,704 in the zone file.
Neighbourhood businesses, restaurants, galleries, architecture and law practices, associations and civic bodies fill the zone. The connection requirement here is real and enforced, and the 87 per cent publication share reflects that. Try candidates in .nyc domain search and see a comparable city zone on the .miami page.
The Nexus Policy requires an economic, cultural, historical, social or lawful connection to the City of New York, and it states plainly that holding a post office box inside the city does not qualify. The connection must persist for the entire registration period, and the name may not be licensed, sub-delegated or transferred to third parties who fail the test. The registry revalidates selected names and asks for documentary evidence showing a city address and dated within the last two years.
.NYC Domain at a Glance
- Registry operator The City of New York (through its Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications)
- Root zone entry 13 March 2014
- Eligibility An economic, cultural, historical, social or lawful connection to the city
- Zone size 68,408 registrations, 59,704 in the zone file (nTLDstats, 13 August 2026)
- Document Requirement No documents are required to register a .nyc domain
- Character Length 3 - 63 characters
- Registration Period 1 - 10 years
- Name Server Count 2 - 10 servers
.nyc 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
$35.50 /year -
Transfer
$35.50 /year -
Renewal
$39.05 /year -
Restore
$229.90 -
Late Renewal
$7.00
Included With Every .nyc 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.
.nyc Domain Lifecycle
What happens day by day after it expires
Day 0 is the domain's expiry dateIn short: your .nyc 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 .nyc 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 .nyc 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 $7.00 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 .nyc 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
.nyc Domain Specifications and Registration Rules
Registration conditions, supported features and the registry's own timelines in a single table.
.nyc Domain Registration
- Document Requirement No documents are required to register a .nyc domain
- Character Length 3 - 63 characters
- Registration Period 1 - 10 years
- Name Server Count 2 - 10 servers
.nyc Domain Support
- IDN Support Yes
- Transfer Support Yes
- Late Renewal Support Yes
Frequently Asked Questions About .nyc Domains
The questions people actually ask before registering — answered plainly.
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An economic, cultural, historical, social or lawful link to the city is enough. The policy reads broadly: living there, working there, owning a business or property, studying, having family ties or volunteering with a local organisation all appear among the accepted examples. A post office box inside the city is expressly excluded. Review candidates in .nyc domain search.
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Yes, selected names go through revalidation. The registry requires a written response together with documentary evidence, and the accepted categories are set out as residence, employment or business, property ownership, educational ties, family and social ties, and civic engagement. Documents must show a city address and must be dated within the last two years.
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Not if the buyer fails the eligibility test. The policy expressly forbids licensing, sub-delegating or transferring a name to third parties who do not meet the nexus requirement, so the name cannot change hands freely as an investment asset. If a sale is on the table, confirm the buyer's link first and review the record through whois search.
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Eligibility has to persist for the whole registration period. If you move the business out of the city, or your connection lapses for another reason, the name becomes vulnerable at the next revalidation. That turns the choice into a long-term decision: a business likely to relocate is safer on a general extension than on a city one.
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On 13 August 2026 the zone held 68,408 registrations with 59,704 of them in the zone file. That 87 per cent share ranks among the highest measured in this programme. Zones carrying an eligibility requirement tend to publish at a higher rate because registering demands a reason. The practical reading: a taken label is probably genuinely in use.
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Yes. Because the registry operator is the city itself, public bodies sit in the same zone and a set of labels is held back for public interest use. For a visitor that produces a signal of accountability, since the extension shows the zone is administered by a municipal authority. Even so, your own identity still has to be established through your imprint and contact details.
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