.official
Is .official a real TLD? Who’s applying to run it?
.official is contested: 2 applicants have said publicly that they applied to run it, as of 27 August 2026. They are Radix and Link Freedom Group.
A name that promises 'this is really us,' but the promise only holds if the registry checks identities; otherwise it invites fakes.
brands, public figures, and organizations wanting a canonical this-is-really-us address, plus trademark holders registering defensively to keep impersonators off the string
In LFG's published list of 300+ strings submitted before the ICANN window closed on 2026-08-12. Their catalog tagline: “All in, all the time.”
One of 46 ICANN 2026-round applications Radix announced on its own applications page. Radix states it intends to build and operate each TLD it wins.
The 2012 applications making the most similar bet. Chosen by AI from every string in that round, without being told what happened to any of them.
Same bet: an abstract credibility-claim string whose entire value is the endorsement it implies about the registrant's own name, which only pays off if the registry gates and validates who may claim it.
Also a property-claim qualifier that brands would bolt onto their existing identity (brand.secure / brand.official) rather than a category anyone browses, and it likewise collapses into noise the moment anyone can buy it.
Same shape of bet in the unvalidated direction: a pure self-conferred superiority label with no category meaning, sold to anyone who wants the adjective attached to their name.
What a .official domain is
.official is not a TLD yet. It is a string on our record of the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, filed under Brand. 2 applicants have said publicly that they applied for .official.
Is the .official domain extension real yet?
.official is not yet a domain extension you can register: nothing resolves under it, and no registrar sells names in it. It is a string applicants have put forward in the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, the process that decides whether it becomes one.
When can you buy a .official domain?
You can’t yet. ICANN publishes every applied-for string on Reveal Day, 7 October 2026 at 18:00 UTC. A .official name can only be registered after that, once the string is delegated and its registry opens. Last round's closest parallel to .official was .trust, delegated on .
Is .official a real TLD?
Not yet. .official is not in the DNS root, so nothing resolves under it. It’s here because an applicant said publicly that it applied for .official in the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round. Every claim on this page links to its source.
- Radix · first recordedRadix
- Link Freedom Group · first recordedLink Freedom Group
“Radix has applied for these TLDs; we do not own or operate them today.”Radix
“.official · Lifestyle · “All in, all the time.””Link Freedom Group
“LFG voluntarily published its full list of submissions ahead of ICANN’s official Reveal Day.”PR Newswire (Link Freedom Group)
“Top level domain registry Link Freedom Group (LFG) has disclosed more than 300 strings submitted as part of the ICANN new top level domain name program.”Domain Name Wire (Andrew Allemann)
- Band chosen: 30-49 (usable but limited). The string's semantic pull is real: 'brand.official' reads as a canonical, authentic address, and over the next 5 years demand should come in two forms: brands adopting it as an authenticity marker and, more commonly, trademark holders registering defensively because an unpoliced 'official' namespace is a natural phishing and impersonation vector. It is not in the 50-69 band because there is no single category where it would plausibly become a primary-identity default within 5 years: by analogy with other authenticity- and descriptor-flavored gTLDs, brands have tended to keep their primary identity on legacy namespaces and treat strings like this as redirects or defensive holdings (analogy, not asserted fact). It is not in the 10-29 band because the demand is broader than vanity: defensive registration pressure across many trademark holders plus genuine brand-verification use cases give it volume and some sustained utility, unlike joke or event-driven strings. The core tension is that the word's entire value is a trust claim the DNS cannot enforce by itself: if anyone can register anything.official, security teams and consumers will learn to distrust it, which caps brand-signal value and the aftermarket. Applicant context: the applicant filed a very large portfolio of strings in the round and published its list ahead of Reveal Day; the catalog entry files this string under 'Lifestyle' with the tagline 'All in, all the time.', which suggests a broad-market rather than verified-registry positioning, informing (but not deciding) my adoption read. Main market uncertainty: whether real brands will pay a premium to occupy their .official name proactively, or only register reactively at commodity prices once impersonation incidents force their hand, which determines whether this is a mid-tier brand-protection namespace or a low-yield defensive one.