About .scot domains

About .scot domains

.SCOT is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) delegated in the DNS root zone. The registry operator responsible for .SCOT is listed by IANA as Dot Scot Registry Limited. Anyone can typically register a .SCOT name through an accredited registrar, subject to the registry’s registration policy and ICANN consensus policies.

.scot is a GeoTLD for Scotland and Scottish culture, including the Gaelic and Scots languages. Originally, .sco was proposed in a campaign. In 2008 dotCYMRU, dotEUS, dotSCOT and dotBZH formed ECLID. Later it was decided to allow newly proposed top-level domains for introduction some time in 2013, and a list of applications for these was published in June 2012; the domain .scot was included. On 27 January 2014, dotScot Registry, a not-for-profit organisation established in 2009, announced that it had agreed terms to operate the .scot domain name, with plans to get it up and running later in summer of 2014. On 15 July 2014, .scot was officially launched. The first .scot domain name to go live was calico.scot, registered by hosting company Calico Internet Ltd. On 17 February 2015, the Scottish Government migrated its website from Scotland.gov.uk to gov.scot. Likewise, the Scottish Parliament moved from Scottish.parliament.uk to parliament.scot in May 2016, to coincide with the 2016 elections. The 2017 Global Amendment to the base New GeoTLD Registry Agreement is effective as of 31 July 2017. On 3 May 2018 the dotScot Registry lifted registration restrictions on locality domains (based on towns, etc.) and other premium names.

Who can register .scot 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

1 – 63 characters (label before .scot)

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

Sponsor / manager

Dot Scot Registry Limited

Registration services

https://dot.scot/

WHOIS server

whois.nic.scot

RDAP server

https://rdap.nic.scot/