The .sex Domain: An Adult Namespace Defined by Contract
The .sex domain entered the root zone on 9 April 2015 under an ICANN agreement dated 13 November 2014, and its registry operator is ICM Registry SX LLC. The operator's acceptable use policy binds this extension together with .adult, .porn and .xxx under a single rule set. On 13 August 2026 the zone held 8,019 registrations.
The extension is a namespace reserved for adult content and services, and publishers and platforms working in that field make up the register. There is no eligibility requirement at registration, yet the rules on use sit inside the agreement and carry enforcement. Try candidates in .sex domain search, and review the sibling extensions on the .adult and .porn pages.
The public interest section of the agreement binds the registry with three concrete duties: build a child protection keyword list before launch and reserve those names from registration, run that list against the entire zone file every quarter, and report matches to child safety hotlines such as NCMEC, IWF or INHOPE. Registrants are further deemed to consent to their sites being labelled for child protection purposes, and a name can be suspended where registrant data is materially inaccurate.
.SEX Domain at a Glance
- Registry operator ICM Registry SX LLC
- Root zone entry 9 April 2015
- Contract rule Child protection list, quarterly zone review and reporting duty
- Zone size 8,019 registrations (nTLDstats, 13 August 2026)
- Document Requirement No documents are required to register a .sex domain
- Character Length 1 - 63 characters
- Registration Period 1 - 10 years
- Name Server Count 2 - 10 servers
.sex 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
$109.90 /year -
Transfer
$110.49 /year -
Renewal
$118.99 /year -
Restore
$331.50 -
Late Renewal
$19.98
Included With Every .sex 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.
.sex Domain Lifecycle
What happens day by day after it expires
Day 0 is the domain's expiry dateIn short: your .sex 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 .sex 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 .sex 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 $19.98 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 .sex 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
.sex Domain Specifications and Registration Rules
Registration conditions, supported features and the registry's own timelines in a single table.
.sex Domain Registration
- Document Requirement No documents are required to register a .sex domain
- Character Length 1 - 63 characters
- Registration Period 1 - 10 years
- Name Server Count 2 - 10 servers
.sex Domain Support
- IDN Support Yes
- Transfer Support Yes
- Late Renewal Support Yes
Frequently Asked Questions About .sex Domains
The questions people actually ask before registering — answered plainly.
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No, the agreement defines no identity-based registration condition. Age verification, sector registration and trading permits are not requested. What the agreement does contain are rules on how the extension is used, and the registry is obliged to enforce them. Try candidates on the .sex search page.
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The registry operates an acceptable use policy applied as a single set across .adult, .porn, .xxx and this extension. The rules include keeping registrant data accurate, not taking names that infringe trade marks or are obvious variants of well-known marks, and a prohibition on using a name for impersonation, phishing or spam. Where a rule is breached, a name can be refused, suspended or cancelled.
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The agreement gives the registry three concrete duties. Before launch it builds a child protection keyword list and reserves those names from registration. It then runs that list against the entire zone file every quarter. Matching names are reported to child safety hotlines such as NCMEC, IWF or INHOPE, and the registry acts on the guidance it receives.
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Yes, both matter. Any site handling visitor data needs a certified connection, and browsers display an explicit warning on forms served without one. Keeping registrant data accurate is a contractual obligation, and materially false information is grounds for suspension. Review certificate options on the SSL certificate page and check the record with whois search.
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Yes, the extension is a gTLD and the transfer policy applies here too. Lift the lock, obtain the authorisation code and open the request at the gaining registrar. Not every registrar carries this extension, so confirm in advance that the gaining provider supports it. Run the process from the domain transfer page.
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