The .pub Domain: Both the Bar and the Publisher
The .pub domain entered the root zone on 20 February 2014 under an ICANN agreement dated 12 December 2013, with Dog Beach, LLC of the Identity Digital group as contracting party. It is the only extension among the twenty examined in this group that belongs to Dog Beach; the other Identity Digital zones here sit under Binky Moon or Identity Digital Limited.
The abbreviation reads as both public house and publishing, so bars and taprooms share the zone with publishers, newsletter projects and academic publishing groups. Because the two senses are so far apart, the label in front of the dot must state which one you mean. Test candidates in .pub domain search and compare a drinks-focused alternative on the .beer page. On 13 August 2026 the zone held 25,264 registrations.
This extension's agreement carries a commitment list found in none of the other nineteen zones examined here. The registry undertakes to audit registration data periodically, to suspend service to registrants who will not correct inaccurate details, to run a trademark blocking list across its whole portfolio, and to allow proxy or privacy services only through selected registrars that have demonstrated they enforce the accuracy of registrant data. Privacy is therefore not prohibited, but it may not be available at every registrar; ask before you order if you need it.
.PUB Domain at a Glance
- Registry operator Dog Beach, LLC (Identity Digital)
- Root zone entry 20 February 2014
- Eligibility None — the agreement commits to operating an open TLD
- Zone size 25,264 registrations, 17,656 in the zone file (nTLDstats, 13 August 2026)
- Document Requirement No documents are required to register a .pub domain
- Character Length 1 - 63 characters
- Registration Period 1 - 10 years
- Name Server Count 2 - 10 servers
.pub 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
$36.39 /year -
Renewal
$39.19 /year -
Restore
$134.90 -
Late Renewal
$7.81
Included With Every .pub 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.
.pub Domain Lifecycle
What happens day by day after it expires
Day 0 is the domain's expiry dateIn short: your .pub 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 .pub 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 .pub 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 $7.81 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 .pub 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
.pub Domain Specifications and Registration Rules
Registration conditions, supported features and the registry's own timelines in a single table.
.pub Domain Registration
- Document Requirement No documents are required to register a .pub domain
- Character Length 1 - 63 characters
- Registration Period 1 - 10 years
- Name Server Count 2 - 10 servers
.pub Domain Support
- IDN Support Yes
- Transfer Support Yes
- Late Renewal Support Yes
Frequently Asked Questions About .pub Domains
The questions people actually ask before registering — answered plainly.
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It serves both, and the label settles which. The abbreviation reads as public house and as publishing alike, so the extension on its own does not say what you do. If you run a bar, the venue name removes the ambiguity; if you publish, the title or institution name does. Compare a drinks-focused alternative on the .beer page.
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You can, but it may not be offered by every registrar. The agreement commits the registry to allowing proxy and privacy services only through selected registrars that have demonstrated they enforce the accuracy of registrant data. If that service matters to you, ask your provider before ordering. You can inspect an existing record through whois search.
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Neither is. The open registration commitment in the agreement requires the registry to place no restriction on registrant eligibility for legitimate and lawful purposes. No trading licence, alcohol permit or publisher registration is collected at any point. Try candidates in .pub domain search.
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Because this extension's agreement obliges the registry to audit registration data periodically and provides for suspending service to registrants who will not correct inaccurate details. Accurate data is expected everywhere, but here the auditing is written into the contract itself. Do not put off updating a changed address or email.
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Keep the address, opening hours and a map link in the footer of every page. Most visitors arrive on a phone and will not navigate a menu to find them. If a booking form exists, the page needs a certificate, since names and phone numbers pass through it. Where you publish an events calendar, stale dates are a leading cause of wasted journeys. See 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 and no paperwork is collected. One detail matters in this zone: if you rely on a privacy service, confirm in advance that your new provider offers it for this extension. Begin at the domain transfer page.
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