The .protection Domain: The Smallest Zone in the Programme
The .protection domain entered the root zone on 13 August 2015 under an ICANN agreement dated 23 April 2015, with XYZ.COM LLC as contracting party. On 13 August 2026 the zone held just 128 registrations, making it the smallest zone measured anywhere in this programme, and 102 of those names appeared in the zone file.
The word evokes security services, data protection, insurance advice, personal safety and brand monitoring, and the names in the zone come largely from those categories. The extension is no indicator of competence or accreditation, so the label in front of the dot has to say which service you actually provide. Test candidates in .protection domain search and compare an insurance-focused alternative on the .insure page.
This is the least populated zone of every extension examined in this programme; the previous smallest was measured at 176 registrations. Even so, 80 per cent of its names appear in the zone file, so the zone is small rather than idle. The practical consequence: almost any sensible label is still free, and your chance of securing a single-word name here is higher than in most other zones. The trade-off is recognition — since visitors will not know the extension, you have to write the address out in full everywhere.
.PROTECTION Domain at a Glance
- Registry operator XYZ.COM LLC
- Root zone entry 13 August 2015
- Eligibility None — stated expressly in registry policy clause 3.2
- Zone size 128 registrations, 102 in the zone file (nTLDstats, 13 August 2026)
- Document Requirement No documents are required to register a .protection domain
- Character Length 1 - 63 characters
- Registration Period 1 - 10 years
- Name Server Count 2 - 10 servers
.protection 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
$2,499.99 /year -
Transfer
$2,599.99 /year -
Renewal
$2,799.99 /year -
Restore
$4,099.90 -
Late Renewal
$497.20
Included With Every .protection 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.
.protection Domain Lifecycle
What happens day by day after it expires
Day 0 is the domain's expiry dateIn short: your .protection 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 .protection 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 .protection 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 $497.20 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 .protection 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
.protection Domain Specifications and Registration Rules
Registration conditions, supported features and the registry's own timelines in a single table.
.protection Domain Registration
- Document Requirement No documents are required to register a .protection domain
- Character Length 1 - 63 characters
- Registration Period 1 - 10 years
- Name Server Count 2 - 10 servers
.protection Domain Support
- IDN Support Yes
- Transfer Support Yes
- Late Renewal Support Yes
Frequently Asked Questions About .protection Domains
The questions people actually ask before registering — answered plainly.
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You need not. Clause 3.2 of the registry's Domain Name Policies states that, unless a policy for a specific TLD provides otherwise, there are no eligibility restrictions or prerequisites limiting which applicants may apply. No security licence, insurance authorisation or certification is sought. Try candidates in .protection domain search.
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On 13 August 2026 it held only 128 registrations, the smallest zone measured in this programme. Being small creates no functional problem, since 80 per cent of its names are actually published. The real effect is recognition: a visitor may be seeing the extension for the first time, so write the address in full and be ready to spell it out when you say it aloud.
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It does not, and being clear about this matters. The registry verifies no competence, accreditation or certification whatsoever; the address simply allocates that string to you. Trust is built through the certifications, references and open company details you display on the page. If you provide insurance or advisory services, publish your authorisations somewhere visible.
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Higher here than in most other zones. With only 128 registrations, nearly every sensible label remains free and securing a single-word name is a realistic goal rather than an aspiration. Running several variants at once is the quickest route, so use bulk domain name search to work through your list in one pass.
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Because the visitor is looking for a service about safety, and a browser warning reads far more damagingly in that context than in most others. A protection site served without a certificate contradicts its own proposition before a word is read. If you also run a contact or quote form, the data travels unencrypted regardless. Review the options on the SSL certificate page.
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The name must be unlocked, you need the authorisation code from your current registrar, and the contact address on the record has to work. No extra eligibility review applies, no paperwork is collected, and the process follows the ordinary gTLD sequence. In a small zone the number of registrars carrying the extension can be limited, so confirm your current provider's release procedure before starting. Begin at the domain transfer page.
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