<s>
.uk	B-Application
is	O
the	O
Internet	B-Application
country	I-Application
code	I-Application
top-level	O
domain	O
(	O
ccTLD	B-Application
)	O
for	O
the	O
United	O
Kingdom	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
first	O
registered	O
in	O
July	O
1985	O
,	O
seven	O
months	O
after	O
the	O
original	O
generic	O
top-level	O
domains	O
such	O
as	O
.com	O
and	O
the	O
first	O
country	O
code	O
after	O
.us	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
,	O
it	O
is	O
the	O
fifth	O
most	O
popular	O
top-level	O
domain	O
worldwide	O
(	O
after	O
.com	O
,	O
.cn	O
,	O
.de	B-General_Concept
and	O
.net	B-Application
)	O
,	O
with	O
over	O
10million	O
registrations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
.uk	B-Application
has	O
used	O
OpenDNSSEC	B-Protocol
since	O
March	O
2010	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
1984	O
,	O
RFC	O
920	O
set	O
out	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
ccTLDs	B-Application
using	O
country	O
codes	O
derived	O
from	O
the	O
corresponding	O
two-letter	O
code	O
in	O
the	O
ISO	B-General_Concept
3166-1	I-General_Concept
list	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Consequently	O
,	O
.uk	B-Application
was	O
chosen	O
and	O
registered	O
on	O
24	O
July	O
1985	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
.gb	O
was	O
reserved	O
but	O
never	O
widely	O
used	O
and	O
it	O
is	O
no	O
longer	O
possible	O
to	O
register	O
domains	O
under	O
that	O
ccTLD	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
with	O
other	O
ccTLDs	B-Application
in	O
the	O
early	O
days	O
it	O
was	O
originally	O
delegated	O
by	O
Jon	O
Postel	O
to	O
a	O
"	O
trusted	O
person	O
"	O
to	O
manage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Andrew	O
McDowell	O
at	O
UCL	O
was	O
assigned	O
.uk	B-Application
,	O
the	O
first	O
country	O
code	O
delegation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Membership	O
of	O
this	O
committee	O
was	O
restricted	O
to	O
a	O
group	O
of	O
high-end	O
ISPs	O
who	O
were	O
part	O
of	O
a	O
formal	O
peering	B-Protocol
arrangement	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
response	O
to	O
this	O
Black	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
.uk	B-Application
Name	O
,	O
stepped	O
up	O
with	O
a	O
bold	O
proposal	O
for	O
a	O
not-for-profit	O
commercial	O
entity	O
to	O
deal	O
with	O
the	O
.uk	B-Application
domain	O
properly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Commercial	O
interests	O
initially	O
balked	O
at	O
this	O
,	O
but	O
with	O
widespread	O
support	O
Nominet	O
UK	O
was	O
formed	O
in	O
1996	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
.uk	B-Application
Network	O
Information	O
Centre	O
,	O
a	O
role	O
which	O
it	O
continues	O
to	O
this	O
day	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nominet	O
has	O
not	O
made	O
major	O
changes	O
to	O
the	O
rules	O
,	O
although	O
it	O
has	O
introduced	O
a	O
new	O
second	O
level	O
domain	O
.me.uk	O
for	O
individuals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Until	O
10	O
June	O
2014	O
it	O
was	O
not	O
possible	O
to	O
register	O
a	O
domain	O
name	O
directly	O
under	O
.uk	B-Application
(	O
such	O
as	O
internet.uk	O
)	O
;	O
it	O
was	O
only	O
possible	O
as	O
a	O
third-level	O
domain	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
internet.co.uk	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
some	O
domains	O
delegated	O
before	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
Nominet	O
UK	O
were	O
in	O
existence	O
even	O
before	O
10	O
June	O
2014	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
mod.uk	B-Application
(	O
Ministry	O
of	O
Defence	O
)	O
,	O
parliament.uk	O
(	O
Parliament	O
)	O
,	O
bl.uk	O
and	O
british-library.uk	O
(	O
the	O
British	O
Library	O
)	O
,	O
nls.uk	O
(	O
the	O
National	O
Library	O
of	O
Scotland	O
)	O
,	O
nhs.uk	B-Application
(	O
The	O
National	O
Health	O
Service	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
jet.uk	O
(	O
UKAEA	O
as	O
operator	O
of	O
the	O
Joint	O
European	O
Torus	O
experimental	O
fusion	O
tokamak	B-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Currently	O
management	O
of	O
the	O
.uk	B-Application
domain	O
name	O
is	O
delegated	O
by	O
IANA	O
to	O
Nominet	O
UK	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
possible	O
to	O
directly	O
register	O
a	O
domain	O
name	O
with	O
Nominet	O
UK	O
at	O
£80+VAT	O
as	O
of	O
2021	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
is	O
faster	O
and	O
cheaper	O
to	O
do	O
it	O
via	O
a	O
Nominet-accredited	O
domain	B-Application
registrar	I-Application
costing	O
in	O
the	O
region	O
of	O
£10+VAT	O
in	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
New	O
registrations	O
directly	O
under	O
.uk	B-Application
have	O
been	O
accepted	O
by	O
Nominet	O
since	O
10	O
June	O
2014	O
08:00	O
BST	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
there	O
was	O
a	O
reservation	O
period	O
for	O
existing	O
customers	O
who	O
already	O
had	O
a	O
.co.uk	O
,	O
.org.uk	O
,	O
.me.uk	O
,	O
.net.uk	O
,	O
.ltd.uk	O
or	O
.plc.uk	O
domain	O
to	O
claim	O
the	O
corresponding	O
.uk	B-Application
domain	O
,	O
which	O
ran	O
until	O
06:00	O
BST	O
on	O
25	O
June	O
2019	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
a	O
domain	O
was	O
registered	O
before	O
23:59	O
UTC	O
on	O
28	O
October	O
2013	O
the	O
user	O
had	O
the	O
rights	O
to	O
the	O
equivalent	O
.uk	B-Application
domain	O
(	O
providing	O
there	O
was	O
no	O
other	O
corresponding	O
.co.uk	O
,	O
.org.uk	O
,	O
me.uk,	O
.ltd.uk	O
,	O
.plc.uk	O
or	O
.net.uk	O
registered	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
.police.uk	O
police	O
forces	O
in	O
the	O
UK	O
and	O
law	O
enforcement	O
organisations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
.co.uk	O
,	O
.ltd.uk	O
,	O
.me.uk	O
,	O
.net.uk	O
,	O
.nic.uk	O
,	O
.org.uk	O
,	O
.plc.uk	O
and	O
.sch.uk	O
are	O
managed	O
by	O
Nominet	O
UK	O
and	O
except	O
for	O
.nic.uk	O
are	O
available	O
for	O
registration	O
by	O
the	O
public	O
(	O
though	O
they	O
all	O
carry	O
various	O
degrees	O
of	O
restrictions	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
.orgn.uk	O
former	O
non-profit	O
organisations	O
domain	O
,	O
now	O
deleted	O
and	O
replaced	O
by	O
.org.uk	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
.mil.uk	O
the	O
Ministry	O
of	O
Defence	O
have	O
always	O
used	O
.mod.uk	O
for	O
their	O
external	O
domain	O
,	O
but	O
use	O
.mil.uk	O
on	O
their	O
private	O
network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
.mil.uk	O
exists	O
only	O
as	O
a	O
CNAME	B-Protocol
for	O
.mod.uk	O
in	O
the	O
.uk	B-Application
zone	O
file	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
no	O
territorial	O
restrictions	O
:	O
applicants	O
need	O
not	O
have	O
any	O
connection	O
to	O
the	O
UK	O
other	O
than	O
those	O
outlined	O
below	O
for	O
.ltd.uk	O
and	O
other	O
restricted	O
domains	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
.co.uk	O
is	O
by	O
far	O
the	O
most	O
used	O
of	O
the	O
domains	O
,	O
followed	O
by	O
.org.uk	O
then	O
.me.uk	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
.plc.uk	O
and	O
.ltd.uk	O
are	O
only	O
rarely	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
number	O
of	O
new	O
registrations	O
for	O
each	O
of	O
the	O
different	O
.uk	B-Application
domains	O
on	O
a	O
month	O
by	O
month	O
basis	O
can	O
be	O
seen	O
on	O
the	O
Nominet	O
UK	O
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Likewise	O
,	O
whilst	O
.org.uk	O
is	O
for	O
organisations	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
no	O
restrictions	O
on	O
registering	O
domains	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
.me.uk	O
originally	O
had	O
no	O
restrictions	O
on	O
registrants	O
it	O
has	O
since	O
been	O
tightened	O
up	O
to	O
require	O
registrants	O
to	O
be	O
natural	O
persons	O
(	O
i.e.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
registrants	O
in	O
.ltd.uk	O
must	O
be	O
,	O
and	O
remain	O
,	O
private	O
limited	O
companies	O
incorporated	O
under	O
the	O
UK	O
Companies	O
Acts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
same	O
conditions	O
apply	O
for	O
public	O
limited	O
companies	O
which	O
wish	O
to	O
use	O
a	O
.plc.uk	O
domain	O
name	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
.net.uk	O
is	O
more	O
open	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
Nominet	O
regulations	O
still	O
mean	O
that	O
a	O
registrant	O
must	O
be	O
an	O
ISP	O
,	O
or	O
a	O
similar	O
body	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
the	O
domain	O
is	O
not	O
used	O
for	O
providing	O
services	O
to	O
end-users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
.nic.uk	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
is	O
limited	O
solely	O
to	O
domains	O
operated	O
by	O
Nominet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
.ac.uk	O
domains	O
are	O
intended	O
for	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
higher	O
education	O
institutions	O
and	O
further	O
education	O
colleges	O
,	O
and	O
are	O
also	O
used	O
by	O
some	O
academic	O
support	O
bodies	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Universities	O
and	O
Colleges	O
Admissions	O
Service	O
public	O
research	O
establishments	O
,	O
and	O
learned	O
societies	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Royal	O
Society	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Primary	O
and	O
secondary	O
education	O
uses	O
.sch.uk	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unusually	O
,	O
.sch.uk	O
domains	O
are	O
allocated	O
at	O
the	O
fourth	O
level	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
third	O
level	O
being	O
taken	O
up	O
by	O
the	O
name	O
of	O
the	O
local	O
authority	O
(	O
LA	O
,	O
previously	O
LEA	O
or	O
local	O
education	O
authority	O
)	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
schoolname.leaname.sch.uk	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
the	O
Little	O
Ilford	O
School	O
in	O
Newham	O
has	O
the	O
domain	O
name	O
littleilford.newham.sch.uk	O
and	O
the	O
West	O
Exe	O
School	O
in	O
Exeter	O
,	O
Devon	O
has	O
the	O
domain	O
name	O
westexe.devon.sch.uk	O
.	O
</s>
