.nz

.nz

Introduced	19 January 1987
TLDtype	Country code top-level domain
Status	Active
Registry	InternetNZ
Intended use	Entities connected withNew Zealand
Actual use	Popular in New Zealand
Registered domains	750,200 (September 2022)
Registration restrictions	No restrictions under most second-level names; a few are "moderated" meaning that eligibility is checked before registration is granted
Structure	Names are registered at the second level or at the third level within certain second-level categories
Documents	Rules
Dispute policies	Dispute Resolution Policy
DNSSEC	Yes

.nzis the Internetcountry code top-level domain(ccTLD) forNew Zealand.It is administered byInternetNZ,with oversight and dispute resolution handled by the Domain Name Commission Limited (DNCL). Registrations are processed via authorised registrars. As of September 2022there were 750,200 registered.nz domains.

History

As with many long-standing domain registries, the registry was maintained informally for some time. The first formally recognised administrative organisation was theUniversity of Waikatountil the responsibility was delegated to InternetNZ when it was formed in 1995.

Prior to the current structure, the registry operator of.nz wasDomainz.Historically, Domainz was a subsidiary of InternetNZ which also operated as a registrar and vendor of other add-on services such asDNS.This combination of anatural monopoly(the registry activities) andvertical integration(the registrar and other services) was seen by some as restricting competitionso InternetNZ moved to separate the provision of registry services into a separate organisation with strong oversight. The final part of this transition process was the sale of Domainz toMelbourne ITin August 2003.

From 1 April 2008 the "Office of the Domain Name Commissioner" (several employees of InternetNZ, including the Domain Name Commissioner herself) became the "Domain Name Commission Limited", a subsidiary company of InternetNZ.

Registry software and protocol

The Shared Registry System (SRS) was initially developed in 2002, and provided.nz registry services until November 2022. In January 2004 the source code to the SRS system was released to the public under a GPL license.Since 2010 the SRS also supported the standardExtensible Provisioning Protocol(EPP).

In September 2019 InternetNZ announced their intent to replace the SRS and that the new system would not include the SRS protocol. The transition to a closed-source commercial registry product provided by theCanadian Internet Registration Authoritywas completed on the 1st of November, 2022.This transition replaced both the public facing WHOIS service and the APIs used by registrars to interact with the registry.

Māori domain names

On 22 July 2010, the Domain Name Commission announced that.nz domain names withmacronvowels (ā, ē, ī, ō and ū) would be available from the following week to allowMāori languagewords to be correctly represented in domain names.

Second-level domain changes

• .geek.nz - This second level domain was approved by the council of InternetNZ on 5 July 2003.
• .kiwi.nz - This second level domain was approved on 24 August 2012 and made available for registrations on 11 September 2012.

Second-level domains

There are a number of second-level domains that identify whether the user is a company, a non-commercial organisation, government body or other classification.

In October 2013,InternetNZdecided to allow domain names to be registered at the second level in the.nz domain name space, aligning the.nz domain name space with a majority of other top level domains that already allow registrations directly at the second level.The second level domain names were launched with asunrise periodfrom 30 September 2014 to 30 March 2015 (to allow people with similar domains to register the shorter version). From 30 March 2015.nz domain names were available to everyone.

The early New Zealand second-level domains ac.nz,.co.nz and.govt.nz were based on those used in the UK. At the time it was considered desirable that the names were not in use as first-level domains, so.edu.nz,.nz and.gov.nz were rejected. There are also sub-level domains unique to New Zealand, such as iwi.nz forMāoriiwiand the broader maori.nz for other Māori organisations, and geek.nz for "geeks".

The following second-level domains are in use with their official descriptions. Since only some of the domains are moderated, it is possible to register outside the area intended.

Unmoderated

• .nz – First level NZ domain, general use
• .ac.nz – Tertiary educational institutions and related organisations
• .co.nz – Organisations pursuing commercial aims and purposes
• .geek.nz – For people who are concentrative, technically skilled, and imaginative who are generally adept with computers
• .gen.nz – Individuals and other organisations not covered elsewhere
• .kiwi.nz – For people or organisations that associate with being 'Kiwi' (the colloquial term for New Zealanders)
• .maori.nz – Māori people, groups, and organisations
• .net.nz – Organisations and service providers directly related to the NZ Internet
• .org.nz – Not-for-profit organisations
• .school.nz – Primary, secondary and pre-schools and related organisations

Moderated

• .cri.nz –Crown Research Institutes
• .govt.nz – National, regional and local government organisations operating with statutory powers. The government registrar,DNS.govt.nzcontrols registration; a government portal operates atgovt.nz
• .health.nz – Health organisations
• .iwi.nz – Traditional Māoriiwi(tribes),hapū,orTaura heregroups
• .mil.nz – The military organisation of the New Zealand government, theNew Zealand Defence Force
• .parliament.nz – Reserved for parliamentary agencies, offices of parliament, and parliamentary political parties and their elected members; main website operates atparliament.nz

Previously used

• archie.nz – used for anArchie search engineserver operated by theUniversity of Waikatountil the mid-1990s.

See also

• .kiwi

External links

• IANA.nz whois information
• .nz registryArchived14 January 2020 at theWayback Machine
• .nz Domain Name Commission
• List of.nz authorised registrars