In one sentence
A TLD is “valid” if it is currently delegated in the IANA root zone — the authoritative master list ICANN maintains — and the official machine-readable list of all valid TLDs is published by IANA at data.iana.org/TLD/tlds-alpha-by-domain.txt. If an extension is in the root it resolves and is valid; if it is not (like a .eth blockchain name or a typo), it is not.
What “valid” means for a TLD
Validity is binary and has a single source of truth: the IANA root zone. A top-level domain is valid if — and only if — it is delegated there, meaning IANA has assigned it nameservers and it answers DNS queries worldwide. There is no grey area and no second opinion: the root zone is the definition. This is why .com, .io and even brand-new extensions like .app are all equally valid (they are delegated), while a plausible-looking string that was never delegated is simply invalid and will fail to resolve.
The practical upshot for developers: when you need to validate a TLD — in a form, a parser, a link checker — do not hard-code a guess. Fetch IANA's canonical list at data.iana.org/TLD/tlds-alpha-by-domain.txt (one TLD per line, uppercase, updated as the root changes) and check membership against it. That single file is the authoritative answer to "is this a real TLD?". For how the root itself is governed, see our ICANN TLD list explainer.
What is NOT a valid TLD
Three categories trip people up:
- Blockchain / Web3 names. .eth, .crypto, .nft and Handshake roots are not in the IANA root, so they are not valid DNS TLDs and do not resolve by default. See Web3 TLDs.
- Private / internal pseudo-TLDs. Strings like .local, .internal or .test are reserved for local use and never delegated as public TLDs — valid in their narrow context, invalid on the open internet.
- Retired or never-delegated strings. A few TLDs have been removed from the root over the years, and countless proposed strings were never delegated. If it is not in today's root file, it is not valid today.
A working list of valid TLDs
Every extension here is a currently-valid, delegated top-level domain. Filter by type or sort any column. For the exhaustive machine list, see the IANA source linked below.
| TLD | Type | Meaning / intended use | Registry | Example sites | Typical price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .academy | gTLD | Academy — courses, training and education brands. | Identity Digital | online courses | $25/yr |
| .ae | ccTLD | United Arab Emirates — UAE businesses and sites. | aeDA (TDRA) | UAE sites | $25/yr |
| .aero | sTLD | Aviation — the air-transport industry (airlines, airports). | SITA | airline sites | restricted |
| .agency | gTLD | Agency — creative, marketing and service agencies. | Identity Digital | agency sites | $18/yr |
| .ai | ccTLD | Artificial intelligence — the go-to extension for AI products and startups. | Government of Anguilla (gov.ai) | x.ai, you.ai | $70/yr |
| .app | gTLD | Apps — web and mobile applications; HTTPS-only (HSTS preloaded). | Google Registry (Charleston Road Registry) | cash.app, calendar apps | $14/yr |
| .art | gTLD | Art — artists, galleries and creative work. | UK Creative Ideas / Identity Digital | artist sites | $13/yr |
| .at | ccTLD | Austria — Austrian sites and businesses. | nic.at | Austrian sites | $15/yr |
| .au | ccTLD | Australia — requires an Australian presence/ABN. | auDA | Australian sites | $13/yr |
| .audio | gTLD | Audio — musicians, producers, podcasters and audio brands. | XYZ.com LLC | hardstyle.audio, nic.audio | $95/yr |
| .be | ccTLD | Belgium — Belgian sites; open registration. | DNS Belgium | Belgian sites | $9/yr |
| .bio | gTLD | Biology / organic / biography — life sciences, organic brands and personal bio pages. | Identity Digital | personal bio & life-science sites | $55/yr |
| .biz | gTLD | Business — an explicit business/commerce alternative to .com. | GoDaddy Registry | small-business sites | $5/yr |
| .blog | gTLD | Blog — personal and professional blogs. | Knock Knock WHOIS There (Automattic) | WordPress.com blogs | $25/yr |
| .boutique | gTLD | Boutique — small specialty shops and brands. | Identity Digital | boutique stores | $25/yr |
| .br | ccTLD | Brazil — requires a Brazilian presence (CPF/CNPJ). | NIC.br / Registro.br | Brazilian sites | $9/yr |
| .ca | ccTLD | Canada — requires a Canadian presence to register. | CIRA | Canadian sites | $13/yr |
| .care | gTLD | Care — healthcare, charities and support. | Identity Digital | care providers | $25/yr |
| .casa | gTLD | Casa (home) — real estate, interiors and home brands; 'home' in Spanish/Italian. | GoDaddy Registry | villa.casa, la.casa | $15/yr |
| .cc | ccTLD | Generic — a short ccTLD used as a generic alternative worldwide. | eNIC / Verisign | short links, profiles | $14/yr |
| .ch | ccTLD | Switzerland — Swiss sites and businesses; open to all. | SWITCH | Swiss sites | $11/yr |
| .chat | gTLD | Chat — messaging, communities and support. | Identity Digital | chat apps | $25/yr |
| .city | gTLD | City — local guides, businesses, tourism and place-based sites. | Identity Digital | berlin.city, dubai.city | $18/yr |
| .cloud | gTLD | Cloud — cloud computing, hosting and SaaS. | Aruba PEC | hosting/SaaS sites | $18/yr |
| .club | gTLD | Club — clubs, communities and membership sites. | Registry Services (GoDaddy) | community sites | $13/yr |
| .cn | ccTLD | China — Chinese sites; registration requires real-name/ICP. | CNNIC | Chinese sites | $8/yr |
| .co | ccTLD | Company — a ccTLD marketed worldwide as a short .com alternative. | GoDaddy Registry (.CO Internet) | angel.co, vine.co | $11/yr |
| .codes | gTLD | Code — developers, programming and software projects. | Identity Digital | dev portfolios | $25/yr |
| .com | gTLD | Commercial — the default global extension for businesses and almost anything else. | Verisign | google.com, amazon.com | $11/yr |
| .community | gTLD | Community — forums, groups and member sites. | Identity Digital | forums | $25/yr |
| .company | gTLD | Company — businesses and corporate sites. | Identity Digital | corporate sites | $18/yr |
| .consulting | gTLD | Consulting — consultants and advisory firms. | Identity Digital | consultancies | $25/yr |
| .coop | sTLD | Cooperatives — verified cooperative organizations. | DotCooperation LLC | co-op sites | restricted |
| .de | ccTLD | Germany — the largest ccTLD; German sites and businesses. | DENIC eG | spiegel.de | $8/yr |
| .deals | gTLD | Deals — coupons, discounts and offers. | Identity Digital | deal sites | $22/yr |
| .design | gTLD | Design — designers, studios and agencies. | Identity Digital | design portfolios | $35/yr |
| .dev | gTLD | Developers — software, developer tools and projects; HTTPS-only (HSTS preloaded). | Google Registry (Charleston Road Registry) | web.dev, react.dev | $13/yr |
| .digital | gTLD | Digital — digital agencies, products and services. | Identity Digital | agency sites | $25/yr |
| .dk | ccTLD | Denmark — Danish sites; requires Danish NemID for admin. | DK Hostmaster | Danish sites | $14/yr |
| .edu | sTLD | Education — accredited US post-secondary institutions only. | Educause | mit.edu, harvard.edu | restricted |
| .education | gTLD | Education — schools, tutors and learning sites. | Identity Digital | edu sites | $22/yr |
| .ee | ccTLD | Estonia — open to individuals and organizations worldwide. | Estonian Internet Foundation (EIS) | postimees.ee, err.ee | $13/yr |
| gTLD | Email — email services and contact pages. | Identity Digital | email tools | $22/yr | |
| .es | ccTLD | Spain — Spanish and Hispanic-market sites. | Red.es | Spanish sites | $8/yr |
| .eu | ccTLD | European Union — EU/EEA residents and organizations. | EURid | EU institution sites | $8/yr |
| .events | gTLD | Events — conferences, meetups and tickets. | Identity Digital | event sites | $22/yr |
| .fi | ccTLD | Finland — Finnish sites; open registration. | Traficom | Finnish sites | $14/yr |
| .finance | gTLD | Finance — financial services, advisors and fintech. | Identity Digital | fintech sites | $35/yr |
| .fm | ccTLD | Audio/radio — podcasts, radio and audio platforms. | FSM Telecom | anchor.fm | $80/yr |
| .fr | ccTLD | France — French and EU/EEA individuals and businesses. | Afnic | lemonde.fr | $10/yr |
| .fun | gTLD | Fun — games, entertainment and playful brands. | Radix | game sites | $5/yr |
| .games | gTLD | Games — game studios, titles and communities. | Identity Digital | game sites | $22/yr |
| .gg | ccTLD | Gaming/'gg' — esports, gaming and creators. | Channel Islands Network (CIDR) | vrchat-style sites | $55/yr |
| .gov | sTLD | US government — verified federal, state and local government only. | CISA (US gov) | whitehouse.gov, irs.gov | restricted |
| .gr | ccTLD | Greece — Greek sites and businesses. | FORTH-ICS | Greek sites | $14/yr |
| .health | gTLD | Health — health, wellness and medical content. | Identity Digital | health sites | $55/yr |
| .hk | ccTLD | Hong Kong — HK businesses and sites. | HKIRC | HK sites | $20/yr |
| .host | gTLD | Hosting — web hosts, data centers, ISPs and cloud providers. | Radix | get.host, nic.host | $80/yr |
| .hr | ccTLD | Croatia — mainly for Croatian citizens, residents and companies. | CARNet | index.hr, jutarnji.hr | $82/yr |
| .hu | ccTLD | Hungary — open to persons and companies in Hungary or the EU. | CHIP — Council of Hungarian Internet Providers | index.hu, telekom.hu | $15/yr |
| .id | ccTLD | Identity/Indonesia — identity products and Indonesian sites. | PANDI | Indonesian sites | $25/yr |
| .ie | ccTLD | Ireland — Irish individuals and businesses. | Regist.ie (.IE) | Irish sites | $18/yr |
| .il | ccTLD | Israel — Israeli sites, often under co.il. | ISOC-IL | Israeli sites | $15/yr |
| .im | ccTLD | Isle of Man — open to anyone; popular as an 'I'm' domain hack. | Isle of Man Government (Domicilium) | gov.im, nic.im | $8/yr |
| .in | ccTLD | India — Indian businesses and sites; open to all. | NIXI | Indian sites | $10/yr |
| .info | gTLD | Information — informational and reference sites; cheap and widely available. | Identity Digital | who.int/info, many wikis | $4/yr |
| .institute | gTLD | Institute — institutes, think tanks and bodies. | Identity Digital | institute sites | $20/yr |
| .int | sTLD | International treaty orgs — restricted to intergovernmental bodies. | IANA | who.int, nato.int | restricted |
| .io | ccTLD | Tech & startups — a ccTLD used generically by developers, SaaS and Web3. | Internet Computer Bureau / ICANN-administered | github.io, itch.io | $35/yr |
| .is | ccTLD | Iceland — open to anyone; popular as an English 'is' domain hack. | ISNIC — Internet á Íslandi hf. | this.is, government.is | $48/yr |
| .it | ccTLD | Italy — EU/EEA individuals and Italian businesses. | IIT-CNR (Registro.it) | Italian sites | $9/yr |
| .jobs | sTLD | Employment — HR and careers (company.jobs). | Employ Media | careers sites | restricted |
| .jp | ccTLD | Japan — requires a Japanese presence for general .jp. | JPRS | Japanese sites | $35/yr |
| .ke | ccTLD | Kenya — open with verifiable contact; short .ke and .co.ke available. | KeNIC | safaricom.co.ke, standardmedia.co.ke | $30/yr |
| .kr | ccTLD | South Korea — Korean sites; local presence for some. | KISA | Korean sites | $18/yr |
| .lat | gTLD | Latin America — a community gTLD for the Latin American region; open to anyone. | XYZ.com LLC | noticias.lat, lat.lat | $23/yr |
| .law | gTLD | Law — lawyers, firms and legal services. | Identity Digital (verified) | law firms | $75/yr |
| .legal | gTLD | Legal — legal services and professionals. | Identity Digital | legal sites | $35/yr |
| .life | gTLD | Life — lifestyle, wellness and personal brands. | Identity Digital | lifestyle blogs | $25/yr |
| .link | gTLD | Link — short links, link-in-bio and redirects. | UNR / Nova Registry | link-in-bio tools | $12/yr |
| .live | gTLD | Live — streaming, events and live content. | Identity Digital | event/stream sites | $22/yr |
| .lt | ccTLD | Lithuania — open to anyone; no local-presence requirement. | DOMREG — Kaunas University of Technology | delfi.lt, 15min.lt | $10/yr |
| .ly | ccTLD | Generic/'ly' — verb-style domains (bit.ly). | Libya Telecom (LTT) | bit.ly | $75/yr |
| .market | gTLD | Market — marketplaces, vendors and trading. | Identity Digital | marketplaces | $25/yr |
| .me | ccTLD | Personal/me — personal brands, portfolios and 'about me' sites. | doMEn (GoDaddy Registry) | about.me, t.me | $10/yr |
| .media | gTLD | Media — media companies, agencies and creators. | Identity Digital | media sites | $25/yr |
| .mil | sTLD | US military — restricted to the US Department of Defense. | DoD Network Information Center | army.mil | restricted |
| .mobi | gTLD | Mobile — historically for mobile-optimized websites. | Identity Digital | legacy mobile sites | $18/yr |
| .money | gTLD | Money — personal finance, payments and money tools. | Identity Digital | finance blogs | $25/yr |
| .museum | sTLD | Museums — verified museums and museum professionals. | Museum Domain Management Association | museum sites | restricted |
| .mx | ccTLD | Mexico — Mexican businesses and sites. | NIC México | Mexican sites | $25/yr |
| .name | gTLD | Personal — individuals and personal name domains (first.last.name). | Verisign | personal sites | $11/yr |
| .net | gTLD | Network — originally for network providers; now a common .com alternative. | Verisign | speedtest.net, behance.net | $13/yr |
| .network | gTLD | Network — networks, communities and platforms. | Identity Digital | community networks | $20/yr |
| .news | gTLD | News — publications, blogs and media outlets. | Identity Digital | news sites | $22/yr |
| .ng | ccTLD | Nigeria — open registration; short .ng and .com.ng (google.ng). | NiRA | google.ng, konga.ng | $20/yr |
| .nl | ccTLD | Netherlands — Dutch sites; very high local adoption. | SIDN | nu.nl | $9/yr |
| .no | ccTLD | Norway — requires a Norwegian organization number. | Norid | Norwegian sites | $18/yr |
| .nu | ccTLD | Niue — open to anyone; popular in Scandinavia where 'nu' means 'now'. | The Swedish Internet Foundation (IIS) | svt.nu, pippi.nu | $17/yr |
| .nz | ccTLD | New Zealand — NZ sites; open registration. | InternetNZ | NZ sites | $18/yr |
| .online | gTLD | Online — a broad, generic extension for any online presence. | Radix | general sites | $4/yr |
| .org | gTLD | Organization — nonprofits, charities, open-source and community projects. | Public Interest Registry (PIR) | wikipedia.org, mozilla.org | $12/yr |
| .page | gTLD | Page — landing pages and simple sites; HTTPS-only. | Google Registry | landing pages | $12/yr |
| .photography | gTLD | Photography — photographers and studios. | Identity Digital | photo portfolios | $20/yr |
| .pl | ccTLD | Poland — Polish sites and businesses. | NASK | Polish sites | $6/yr |
| .post | sTLD | Postal — restricted to postal-sector operators. | Universal Postal Union | postal services | restricted |
| .pro | gTLD | Professionals — licensed professionals and firms (lawyers, doctors, etc.). | Identity Digital | consultancy sites | $18/yr |
| .pt | ccTLD | Portugal — Portuguese sites and businesses. | DNS.PT | Portuguese sites | $12/yr |
| .ro | ccTLD | Romania — open to anyone; no local-presence requirement. | ROTLD (ICI Bucharest) | emag.ro, google.ro | $10/yr |
| .ru | ccTLD | Russia — Russian-language and Russian-market sites. | Coordination Center for TLD RU | Russian sites | $7/yr |
| .sa | ccTLD | Saudi Arabia — requires a Saudi presence, representative or trademark. | SaudiNIC (CITC) | stc.com.sa, mobily.com.sa | $63/yr |
| .sale | gTLD | Sale — promotions, clearance and sales campaigns. | Identity Digital | promo pages | $22/yr |
| .se | ccTLD | Sweden — Swedish sites; open registration. | Internetstiftelsen (IIS) | Swedish sites | $14/yr |
| .sg | ccTLD | Singapore — requires a Singapore presence. | SGNIC | Singapore sites | $25/yr |
| .sh | ccTLD | Shell/sh — a ccTLD used generically by developers and Git tools. | Government of Saint Helena | git.sh-style tools | $40/yr |
| .shop | gTLD | Shopping — online stores and e-commerce brands. | GMO Registry | retail stores | $5/yr |
| .shopping | gTLD | Shopping — marketplaces and shopping guides. | Identity Digital | deal/coupon sites | $25/yr |
| .site | gTLD | Site — a simple generic 'website' extension. | Radix | general sites | $4/yr |
| .sk | ccTLD | Slovakia — for Slovak citizens and companies; non-residents need a local contact. | SK-NIC, a.s. (CentralNic) | google.sk, aktuality.sk | $16/yr |
| .so | ccTLD | Generic/'so' — short, brandable extension used globally. | Somali registry | brand sites | $35/yr |
| .social | gTLD | Social — social platforms and communities. | Identity Digital | mastodon.social | $25/yr |
| .software | gTLD | Software — software companies and products. | Identity Digital | product sites | $25/yr |
| .space | gTLD | Space — creative, personal and project 'spaces'. | Radix | portfolios | $3/yr |
| .store | gTLD | Store — retail and e-commerce storefronts. | Radix | online stores | $5/yr |
| .studio | gTLD | Studio — creative studios, music and production. | Identity Digital | studio sites | $22/yr |
| .systems | gTLD | Systems — IT, infrastructure and engineering teams. | Identity Digital | infra/agency sites | $20/yr |
| .tech | gTLD | Technology — tech companies, products and communities. | Radix | viceroy.tech, startup sites | $5/yr |
| .to | ccTLD | Generic/'to' — short links and creative redirects (go.to, etc.). | Tonic / Tonga | short-link sites | $30/yr |
| .today | gTLD | Today — news, blogs and timely content. | Identity Digital | news/blog sites | $22/yr |
| .tools | gTLD | Tools — online tools, utilities and apps. | Identity Digital | web tools | $22/yr |
| .tr | ccTLD | Türkiye — Turkish sites; many under com.tr (documented). | TRABIS / BTK | Turkish sites | $10/yr |
| .travel | gTLD | Travel — travel and tourism businesses. | Identity Digital | travel sites | $18/yr |
| .tv | ccTLD | Television/video — streaming, video and media brands. | Verisign (for Tuvalu) | twitch.tv | $30/yr |
| .ua | ccTLD | Ukraine — Ukrainian sites and businesses. | Hostmaster Ltd | Ukrainian sites | $12/yr |
| .uk | ccTLD | United Kingdom — UK businesses, sites and individuals. | Nominet UK | bbc.co.uk, gov.uk | $9/yr |
| .us | ccTLD | United States — US individuals, businesses and organizations. | GoDaddy Registry (Registry Services) | US gov & business sites | $8/yr |
| .ventures | gTLD | Ventures — startups, VCs and investment firms. | Identity Digital | VC firms | $35/yr |
| .website | gTLD | Website — explicit 'website' extension for any project. | Radix | general sites | $3/yr |
| .world | gTLD | World — global brands, communities and causes. | Identity Digital | global sites | $25/yr |
| .xyz | gTLD | Anything — a cheap, flexible generic extension popular with startups and Web3. | XYZ.com LLC | abc.xyz (Alphabet) | $2/yr |
| .za | ccTLD | South Africa — SA sites, usually under co.za. | ZA Central Registry | South African sites | $10/yr |
Last updated 20 June 2026 · Source: IANA root zone database & public registry data · methodology. Click a column header to re-sort. Machine-readable: /tld-list.json.
The full list vs this working list
The exhaustive list of valid TLDs is IANA's — roughly 1,440 strings, most of them long-tail brand and niche gTLDs. That complete file is the right tool for validation, but it is just bare strings with no context. The table above is a working list of valid TLDs: every extension on it is genuinely delegated and valid, and each is paired with its type, registry, meaning and price so you can not only confirm it is real but decide whether to use it. If you specifically need to enumerate or validate against all 1,440, use the IANA source; if you want the valid TLDs people actually care about, this is your list — also available as free JSON.
List of valid TLDs — frequently asked questions
What makes a TLD valid?
A TLD is valid if it is currently delegated in the IANA root zone — the authoritative master list maintained by IANA for ICANN. In the root → it resolves → it is valid. Not in the root (a Web3 .eth name, a typo) → not a valid TLD. The official machine list is at data.iana.org/TLD/tlds-alpha-by-domain.txt.
How do I check if a TLD is valid?
Look it up in the IANA Root Zone Database or the plain-text list at data.iana.org/TLD/tlds-alpha-by-domain.txt. If the extension appears there, it is valid and delegated. For code, fetch that file and check membership — it is the canonical source.
Are new gTLDs valid TLDs?
Is .eth or .crypto a valid TLD?
No. Web3 names like .eth (ENS) and .crypto (Unstoppable Domains) are not in the ICANN root zone, so they are not valid TLDs in the global DNS and do not resolve in normal browsers without special software.