About .bq domains

About .bq domains

.BQ is a country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) in the DNS root zone. It is designated for Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba. The IANA root zone lists the registry manager as the national registry operator. Registration policies (who may register, local presence, pricing) are set by the registry and its accredited registrars — not by IANA.

.bq is designated—but not in use—as the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (the Caribbean Netherlands) following the assignment on December 15, 2010, by the ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency of BQ as the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 to the area. This decision followed the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles and new status of the Caribbean Netherlands as public bodies of the Netherlands on October 10, 2010. On 15 December 2010 the ISO 3166-1 code for Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba changed to reflect the BQ codified for the ccTLD. Previously, the Caribbean Netherlands used the former Netherlands Antilles's ccTLD, .an, which has been phased out in July 2015. As part of the Netherlands proper, .nl also applies. Use of the top level domain is as of July 2015 being considered and an economic evaluation is being performed to that effect. BQ was chosen as other possible codes had already been allocated.

Who can register .bq domains?

Eligibility is defined by the registry operator and its registrars. Most gTLDs are open to anyone worldwide. Many ccTLDs are also open globally; some require local presence, citizenship, or trademark rights. Always confirm current policy with the registry or your registrar.

Registration restrictions

Character rules below follow common ICANN LDH conventions. Individual registries and registrars may impose extra eligibility, length, or residency rules.

Length

2 – 63 characters (label before .bq)

Can use

Letters (a–z), numbers (0–9), and hyphens (not first/last or consecutive in restricted cases)

Cannot use

Special characters (e.g. & # @) in standard LDH labels

IDNs

Varies by registry — check IDN support with the registry or your registrar

Features

Operational features (privacy, parking, protection) are registrar-level, not defined by the IANA root zone record.

Registry information

Root zone registration

2010-12-20

Record last updated

2010-12-20