.tools Domain: Hand Tools or Software Utilities?
The .tools extension entered the root on 16 January 2014; its ICANN agreement is dated 21 November 2013 and the contracting party is Binky Moon, LLC. The word opens onto two worlds at once: businesses selling hand tools, equipment and hardware on one side, and projects publishing online calculators, converters and developer utilities on the other. No eligibility condition applies and no trade or software credential is requested.
That double meaning shapes the choice of address, because the extension alone does not say which world you are in; the root has to do that work. A name built on a concrete word such as "garden" points at physical products, while one built on "pdf" or "invoice" points at a software utility. Measured on 14 August 2026, 29,756 of 37,981 registrations were live. Compare candidates on the .tools domain search page.
.TOOLS Domain at a Glance
- Registry operator Binky Moon, LLC (Identity Digital)
- Root zone entry 16 January 2014
- Eligibility None; no trade register entry or software credential is requested
- Agreement commitment As a dictionary term the zone must stay open to all lawful registrants
- Zone size 37,981 registrations, 29,756 live (14 August 2026)
- Document Requirement No documents are required to register a .tools domain
- Character Length 1 - 63 characters
- Registration Period 1 - 10 years
- Name Server Count 2 - 10 servers
.tools 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.
-
New Registration
$12.99 /year -
Transfer
$38.99 /year -
Renewal
$39.19 /year -
Restore
$124.90 -
Late Renewal
$6.73
Included With Every .tools Domain
-
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.
-
Domain lock
While the lock is on, nobody can move your domain to another registrar without your approval.
-
Domain forwarding
Point the domain at your existing site, a campaign page or a social profile — at no extra cost.
-
Free WHOIS privacy
Your name, address and phone stay out of public WHOIS records, which cuts down spam and scam calls.
.tools Domain Lifecycle
What happens day by day after it expires
Day 0 is the domain's expiry dateIn short: your .tools 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 .tools 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 .tools 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 $6.73 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 .tools 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
.tools Domain Specifications and Registration Rules
Registration conditions, supported features and the registry's own timelines in a single table.
.tools Domain Registration
- Document Requirement No documents are required to register a .tools domain
- Character Length 1 - 63 characters
- Registration Period 1 - 10 years
- Name Server Count 2 - 10 servers
.tools Domain Support
- IDN Support Yes
- Transfer Support Yes
- Late Renewal Support Yes
Frequently Asked Questions About .tools Domains
The questions people actually ask before registering — answered plainly.
-
Both use it, and the root decides which reading applies. The extension alone does not say whether the product is physical or digital; a concrete word such as "paint" or "welding" points at goods, while "pdf" or "tax" points at an online utility. When choosing the name, put into the root whatever you want the visitor to expect at first glance.
-
It suits that use well and it is common. Single-purpose tools such as calculators, converters or validators build short, memorable addresses here. As the number of tools grows, keeping one root with a directory structure works better than buying a domain for each, because links accumulate at one address. Plan the hosting side from the hosting packages page.
-
It is a mid-sized zone: on 14 August 2026 it held 37,981 registrations with 29,756 live. Single-word English roots are largely taken, yet non-English words and narrow subject combinations leave a wide field. Trying the same idea in several patterns is the fastest route, so check a group of candidates at once with bulk domain name search.
-
Neither is required. Because the agreement treats the string as a dictionary term, the registry cannot impose identity-based eligibility, so an individual developer registers on the same terms as a large distributor. You may register without a company, though if you sell commercially the duties arising from that activity still apply; they come from the business itself rather than from the domain name.
-
One root with many directories works well. A separate domain per tool splits link strength and raises maintenance cost, while directories under one root keep navigation simple for visitors. Reach for subdomains only when a technical reason demands them. If you later need to move the address, run the process from the domain transfer page.
Ready to Claim Your .tools Domain?
Type a name and see in seconds whether it is free on .tools. If it is taken, we list close alternatives right away.
Get Help for .tools Domain Registration
Need help registering a .tools domain? Our team is ready to assist.