The .sbs Domain: Three Letters, a Zone in the Millions
The .sbs domain entered the root zone on 24 September 2015 under an ICANN agreement dated 7 November 2014, and its registry operator is ShortDot SA of Luxembourg. The same company also runs .icu, .cyou and .qpon. On 13 August 2026 the zone held 2,153,772 registrations.
The registry positions the abbreviation as Side by Side, a reading built around collaboration and growing together. There is no eligibility requirement; the registry states plainly that anyone can register a name and that no special conditions apply. Try candidates in .sbs domain search, and compare the operator's other short extension on the .icu page.
Of 2,153,772 registered names, 1,100,739 appear in the zone file, or fifty-one per cent. In a zone of this size that ratio tells a clear story: names are taken in volume and at low cost, and a large share never reaches the web. Two consequences follow. Short generic stems should be treated as exhausted, while two-word combinations remain widely available.
.SBS Domain at a Glance
- Registry operator ShortDot SA (Luxembourg)
- Root zone entry 24 September 2015
- Eligibility None; the registry states registration is open to anyone
- Zone size 2,153,772 registrations, 1,100,739 in the zone file (nTLDstats, 13 August 2026)
- Document Requirement No documents are required to register a .sbs domain
- Character Length 1 - 63 characters
- Registration Period 1 - 10 years
- Name Server Count 2 - 10 servers
.sbs 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
$1.99 /year -
Transfer
$18.99 /year -
Renewal
$19.79 /year -
Restore
$184.90
Included With Every .sbs 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.
.sbs Domain Lifecycle
What happens day by day after it expires
Day 0 is the domain's expiry dateIn short: your .sbs 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 .sbs 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 .sbs 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 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 .sbs 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
.sbs Domain Specifications and Registration Rules
Registration conditions, supported features and the registry's own timelines in a single table.
.sbs Domain Registration
- Document Requirement No documents are required to register a .sbs domain
- Character Length 1 - 63 characters
- Registration Period 1 - 10 years
- Name Server Count 2 - 10 servers
.sbs Domain Support
- IDN Support No
- Transfer Support Yes
- Late Renewal Support No
Frequently Asked Questions About .sbs Domains
The questions people actually ask before registering — answered plainly.
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The registry reads the abbreviation as Side by Side and positions it around collaboration. Because it is only three letters, short brand names, community projects, partnership sites and campaign addresses are common in the zone. The extension is not tied to any particular sector. Try candidates on the .sbs search page.
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No. The registry states on its own pages that anyone can register a name and that no special eligibility requirements apply. The agreement likewise carries only the general commitments in Specification 11 and contains no voluntary restriction list. Company records, proof of residence and sector licences are never requested at any stage.
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On 13 August 2026 the zone held 2,153,772 registrations with 1,100,739 in the zone file. A three-letter stem and a low barrier to entry encourage registration in volume. For you the consequence is practical: single-word generic stems are not worth attempting, while two-part names built from a brand plus a service remain widely available.
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Yes, you should have one. The extension itself imposes no certificate requirement, but browsers display a not-secure warning on unencrypted connections and flag form submissions. On newer extensions that warning makes visitors hesitate faster. Review the options on the SSL certificate page and verify a setup with SSL checker.
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Lift the lock, request the authorisation code and open the request at the gaining registrar. Names here are often acquired in bulk, so a single account can hold hundreds of records; plan the move through your registrar's bulk transfer flow rather than one name at a time. Start from the domain transfer page and prepare the list with bulk domain name search.
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