.is Domain
Iceland's Distinctive Country Domain
Register your .is domain from just £66.99/yr. Free DNS management, email forwarding, and 10GB mailbox included with every domain.
What is a .is domain?
The .is domain is Iceland's country code, managed by ISNIC (Internet a Islandi hf). Iceland punches well above its weight in digital infrastructure, renewable energy, and tourism. The .is extension has also gained international appeal because "is" works as a common English word, making creative domain hacks possible (think: "this.is" or "what.is"). Registration is open to anyone worldwide.
Who should register .is?
Icelandic businesses, tourism operators, creative brands using ".is" wordplay, and tech companies wanting a distinctive Nordic domain.
Why choose .is?
- Iceland's official country code
- Creative English-language wordplay potential
- Open to worldwide registration
- Strong association with innovation and clean energy
Who runs .is, and since when
Registry data from the .is delegation record held by IANA, which maintains the internet's root zone. Eligibility comes from the registry's own policy, and the prices are ours.
- Extension type
- Country-code (ccTLD)
- Registry operator
- ISNIC - Internet á Íslandi hf.
- The organisation that runs the extension
- In the root zone since
- 1987
- Delegated 18 November 1987
- Who can register
- Open to registrants anywhere, with no Icelandic residency requirement
- Checked against the registry's own policy
- Our price
- £66.99 a year
- Ex VAT. Renews at the same price
Why ISNIC wants working nameservers before registration
Most extensions let you buy the name first and work out the hosting later. Iceland does it the other way round, and it catches people out. ISNIC's rules require that DNS servers are registered with ISNIC before the domain is registered, and the domain has to meet ISNIC's technical hosting requirements at that point or be parked in ISNIC's own parking service until it does.
In practice that means deciding where the .is domain will live before you order it. If you are hosting with us, that is nothing more than having the account in place so the nameservers exist and the zone answers. If you have not chosen a host yet, park it with ISNIC and move it when you are ready. What you cannot do is buy the name on a whim at midnight and think about the rest at the weekend.
Eligibility is the easy half. ISNIC confirms that anyone can register a .is name, with no Icelandic residency, citizenship or local contact test. The identity rules are firmer than most, though. ISNIC can request whatever data it considers necessary to verify that registration information is accurate, and its rules name photographs or videos of passports or other public documents, and copies of letters posted to the holder's address. It can also reject or invalidate a registration where the information is clearly incorrect or incomplete, lock a domain while it checks, and close a domain that has not been corrected within 30 days, with deletion following once it has been closed for a further 30.
None of that is a problem for a real business with real details. It is a problem for a nominee registration with vague ownership.
Is .is the right choice for you?
We would rather sell you the right extension once than the wrong one twice.
.is works well if
- You are trading in Iceland, or selling to Icelandic visitors and tourists, and want an address that reads as local rather than imported.
- The name only works with the ending as part of the phrase, and you have checked that it still reads clearly when written out in full.
- You are comfortable arranging DNS before the domain exists, or happy to park it with ISNIC while the site is built.
- You want a registry that verifies who holds a name, because a clean namespace is worth something when you are chasing an infringer.
Look elsewhere if
- You need the domain live this afternoon. The nameserver requirement adds a step that other extensions simply do not have.
- You want a UK search benefit. Google reads the country signal as Iceland, and a .co.uk costs a fraction of this every year.
- You would rather your registration details stayed loose. ISNIC can ask for documentary proof of who you are and close the domain if the record does not stand up.
Just want a short name for a British audience? The .co.uk gets there faster and cheaper. See .co.uk pricing.
.is vs .io: which should you register?
Both are small-territory country codes that the wider world buys for the letters rather than the country, and both cost several times a .co.uk every year. The differences are in what the registry asks of you and what the ending signals to a reader.
Pick .io when the audience is technical and you want the extension itself to say so. It registers like any generic extension, with nothing to arrange first. Pick .is when the word works, when Iceland is part of the story, or when you like the idea of a registry that actually checks its holders.
One practical warning that applies to both: a country-code extension you have no national claim to is a name you hold at the pleasure of somebody else's policy. If the address has to last, register the .co.uk or .com alongside it and point one at the other. That costs a few pounds a year and removes the whole question.
| .is | .io | |
|---|---|---|
| Territory | Iceland | British Indian Ocean Territory |
| Local presence | Not required | Not required |
| Before it can go live | Nameservers registered first | Nothing to arrange |
| Identity checks | Registry may ask for documents | None |
| Usual buyer | Wordplay and Icelandic business | Developer tools and startups |
.is domain questions, answered
What people ask us before registering a .is domain.
Can't find what you're looking for?
Ask us directlyYes. ISNIC confirms that anyone can register a .is domain, and the rules carry no residency, citizenship or local contact requirement. What Iceland asks for instead is accuracy: the registration has to describe a real holder, and ISNIC can ask for evidence of that at any time. Register in the name of the business that will use the domain and the rest is ordinary.
Because ISNIC requires it. Its rules state that DNS servers must be registered with ISNIC before the domain is registered, and that the domain has to meet ISNIC's technical hosting requirements or be parked in ISNIC's parking service. The effect is that Iceland will not carry names that point nowhere. Sort the hosting first, or take the parking option and move the domain when the site is ready.
It can. The rules allow ISNIC to request any data it deems necessary to verify the accuracy of registration information, and they name photographs or videos showing passports or other public documents, and copies of letters posted to the holder's name and address. Most registrations never see any of this. It exists so that a disputed or clearly false record can be tested, which is why the .is namespace stays cleaner than most.
Usually not, unless the word depends on it. The country signal points at Iceland, the annual cost is several times a .co.uk, and the extra registration step buys you nothing in Britain. Where the name reads better with the ending as part of it, buy it with the .co.uk alongside so the brand has an address that will not surprise a British customer.
Included with Your .is Domain
DNS Management
Full DNS zone editor to manage A, CNAME, MX, TXT, and all record types.
Email Forwarding
Set up professional email addresses and forward to any inbox.
Auto-Renewal
Never lose your domain with automatic renewal protection.
Free 10GB Mailbox
One 10GB mailbox (POP3/IMAP) included with every domain, on any TLD.
Other Geographic Domains Extensions
Register your .is domain today
Secure your .is domain from just £66.99/yr. Free DNS management, email forwarding, and 10GB mailbox included.
