.london Domain
The Capital's Own Domain
Register your .london domain from just £37.99/yr. Free DNS management, email forwarding, and 10GB mailbox included, plus free Nominet WHOIS privacy for UK individuals.
This domain has registration restrictions
You need a physical address in London, or a good-faith declaration that you have an affiliation with or interest in London. Read the full eligibility rules.
What is a .london domain?
The .london domain is the official geographic TLD for London, one of the world's most recognised cities. It gives London-based businesses a web address that carries the weight and prestige of the city itself. From Shoreditch startups to City law firms, .london signals you're part of a global capital. It's managed by Dot London Domains and open to anyone with a connection to the city.
Who should register .london?
London-based businesses, London tourism operators, property firms in London, and brands with a London identity.
Why choose .london?
- Carries the prestige of a global capital
- Instantly readable as London to a human
- Open to any business with London ties
- Memorable and distinctive address
Who runs .london, and since when
Registry data from the .london 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
- Generic (gTLD)
- Registry operator
- Dot London Domains Limited
- The organisation that runs the extension
- In the root zone since
- 2014
- Delegated 13 February 2014
- Who can register
- A London address, or a good-faith declared affiliation with or interest in London
- Checked against the registry's own policy
- Our price
- £37.99 a year
- Ex VAT. Renews at the same price
The London nexus rule, and who owns the registry
Most city extensions are run by portfolio registries that bought the string as an asset. .london is not. Dot London Domains Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of London & Partners, the city's growth agency, endorsed by the Mayor of London and the Greater London Authority, and the registry states that all the profit it makes goes back into its work for London and Londoners. IANA records the registry's address as London & Partners, 169 Union Street, SE1. It was delegated on 13 February 2014 and went on sale that April.
That ownership is why the eligibility rule has teeth rather than being decoration. The Naming Policy sets a London Nexus Requirement: you qualify with a physical address in London, meaning the City of London and the 32 boroughs, or by declaring in good faith an affiliation with or interest in London, such as providing information or offering products, goods or services relevant to London or Londoners. Where the registry decides a holder does not satisfy it, the policy lets it suspend, cancel or transfer the domain at its sole discretion, with no obligation to refund anything.
The names you will not be able to have
The reserved list is much wider than people expect, and it catches exactly the names a London business goes looking for first: boroughs, neighbourhoods, streets, parks, museums, landmarks, transport and police terms, anything tied to the monarchy, and every second-level domain Nominet manages under .uk. The full list is set out below, along with what happens if the registry decides you do not qualify. Search early, because the obvious geographic word is usually the one you cannot buy at standard price.
On search, be careful what you expect. Google gives country-code extensions a strong signal that a site is aimed at a country, but .london is a generic top-level domain in the root zone, not a country code, so it does not inherit that automatically. What it does is human. A Londoner reading the address knows where you are before they click, and that recognition is worth something on a van, a listing or a card. The ranking work is still done by the things Google names separately: a local address on the page, a Google Business Profile, local language and links from local sites. A .london sits alongside those; it does not replace them.
Where it earns its price, which is close to four times a .co.uk every year, is when being in London is part of what you sell. A Soho studio, a City firm, a tour operator, a venue. If you happen to be based in London but sell nationally, the .co.uk is doing more for you for a quarter of the money.
Dot London Domains Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of London & Partners, the growth agency for London and a social enterprise with a mission to create economic growth that is resilient, sustainable and inclusive for London. That's why all profits we make from .LONDON go back into our work for the benefit of London and Londoners.
What that means if you are buying one
Registry ownership decides how hard a city extension polices itself, and this one answers to the Mayor's promotional agency rather than to a domain portfolio. That is the reason the nexus rule is enforced rather than nominal, and the reason the reserved list protects borough and landmark names instead of auctioning them. It also means the renewal you pay funds work in the city rather than a registry's margin.
Who is allowed to register .london?
You need a physical address in London, or a good-faith declaration that you have an affiliation with or interest in London.
- What counts as London
- The Naming Policy defines London as the City of London and the 32 London boroughs. A physical address anywhere inside that area qualifies you outright, with nothing further to declare.
- The good-faith alternative
- Without a London address you can still qualify by declaring in good faith an affiliation with or interest in London, such as offering products, goods or services relevant to London or Londoners. A tour operator in Kent selling London walking tours meets that. A business with no London connection at all does not.
- Names that are off limits
- The registry reserves borough and neighbourhood names, road and street names, parks, squares, museums and important buildings, terms tied to the Greater London Authority, Transport for London, the Metropolitan Police and the London Fire Brigade, terms associated with the British monarchy, and every second-level domain Nominet manages under .uk. Names the registry has classed as premium are also outside standard registration.
- Names detrimental to London
- Separately from the nexus test, the registry may refuse or take back any name it decides, in its absolute discretion, is detrimental to the goodwill and reputation of London. There is no published list, because the judgement is made case by case.
- If you do not qualify
- Where the registry determines that a registrant does not satisfy the London Nexus Requirement, it may suspend, cancel or transfer the domain at its sole discretion and is under no obligation to refund any fees. Anyone who repeatedly attempts registrations that breach the policy can be banned from registering further names and have their existing .london domains revoked or cancelled.
Rules taken from the .LONDON Naming Policy. Registry policy can change, so check before you buy if the answer matters to you.
Not sure whether you qualify? Ask us before you order and we will check the registry rules with you. We would rather answer the question than take an order the registry will refuse.
Is .london the right choice for you?
We would rather sell you the right extension once than the wrong one twice.
.london works well if
- Being in London is part of what you sell: a venue, a restaurant, a gallery, a tour, a City practice whose clients come to the office.
- You serve one part of the capital and want the address to say so before anyone reads a word of the page.
- You are marketing to visitors rather than residents, where "London" in the address does more work than your company name does.
- Your .co.uk is gone but the same name is free on .london, and your trading area makes the swap honest rather than a workaround.
Look elsewhere if
- You are in London but sell nationally. The address narrows you to one city for close to four times the annual cost of a .co.uk.
- You expect a ranking boost. Google gives that weight to country codes, and .london is generic, so any local lift comes from your content, address and Business Profile.
- You want the obvious name. Borough names, street names, landmarks and transport terms are reserved, so the word you had in mind is probably not available at standard price.
- You might leave London or change what you do. Eligibility is an ongoing condition, and a registry that decides you no longer meet it can cancel without a refund.
Based in London but trading across the UK? A .co.uk costs about a quarter of this and carries a country signal in Google that .london does not. See .co.uk pricing.
.london vs .co.uk: which should you register?
The choice is between a city and a country, and the price gap makes it a real decision rather than a stylistic one. A .london costs close to four times a .co.uk here, every year, for as long as you trade.
Pick .london when the city is the product. A Camden venue, a Mayfair gallery, a Southwark restaurant, a London-only trade: the address does marketing work on sight that a .co.uk cannot, and it narrows you to exactly the customers you want.
Pick .co.uk for almost everything else, including plenty of businesses that happen to be in London. It is cheaper, it is what customers expect, it transfers between hosts in minutes, its WHOIS privacy is free, and Google reads it as a strong signal for UK searches in a way no generic extension is read. If both matter, hold the .co.uk as the address you print and run the .london as a redirect or a campaign site.
| .london | .co.uk | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Generic top-level domain | Country-code, second level under .uk |
| Who may register | London address or declared London nexus | Anyone, in any country |
| Annual cost | Close to four times a .co.uk | Among the cheapest we sell |
| Signal to Google | Treated as generic | Strong UK country signal |
| Signal to a person | Says London before they click | Says British |
| If you stop qualifying | Registry may suspend or cancel, no refund | No eligibility to lose |
.london domain questions, answered
What people ask us before registering a .london domain.
Can't find what you're looking for?
Ask us directlyNot necessarily, but you do have to meet the London Nexus Requirement one way or the other. A physical address in the City of London or any of the 32 boroughs qualifies you outright. Without one, you qualify by declaring in good faith that you have an affiliation with or interest in London, such as offering products, goods or services relevant to London or Londoners. A business with no London connection at all does not meet either limb, and the registry can act on that later.
It helps people more than it helps Google. Google gives a strong geographic signal to country-code extensions, but .london is a generic top-level domain in the root zone rather than a country code, so it does not inherit that. What it gives you is human recognition: someone scanning a list of results sees the city in the address before they read the page. The ranking work still comes from a local address on the page, a Google Business Profile, local content and links from local sites.
Because the registry reserved them. The Naming Policy holds back borough names, neighbourhood names, road and street names, parks and squares, museums and important buildings, terms tied to the Greater London Authority, Transport for London, the Metropolitan Police and the London Fire Brigade, and terms associated with the British monarchy. The registry can allocate a reserved name to someone it considers properly associated with it, so a formal approach through us is worth a try, but it is not a normal registration.
Close to four times as much per year, and that gap repeats for as long as you hold it. Check the current figures on this page and on our .co.uk page before you commit, because a domain is one of the few business costs that never goes away. Where the extra buys something real is when your trading area is the city itself. Where it does not is a London-based firm selling nationally, which is most of them.
Dot London Domains Limited, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of London & Partners, the growth agency for London. The extension was set up with the endorsement of the Mayor of London and the Greater London Authority, and the registry publishes that its profits go back into its work for the city. IANA lists Dot London Domains Limited as the manager, at London & Partners, 169 Union Street, London SE1, and the extension has been in the root zone since 13 February 2014.
It can take the domain off you, and the policy is blunt about it. Where the registry determines in its sole discretion that a registrant does not satisfy the London Nexus Requirement, it may suspend, cancel or transfer the name with no obligation to refund any fees paid. Repeat attempts can get a registrant banned from further registrations and their other .london domains revoked. Treat the nexus as an ongoing condition rather than a box ticked at checkout, and keep the registrant details matching the business that actually qualifies.
Included with Your .london 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 UK Domains Extensions
Register your .london domain today
Secure your .london domain from just £37.99/yr. Free DNS management, email forwarding, and 10GB mailbox included.
