.aw

Overview

• .aw is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Aruba. The letters "aw" derive from Aruba, West Indies.
• It is administered and sponsored by SETAR (the Aruban telecommunications company/registry).
• Intended for entities connected with Aruba and is used mainly by companies based in Aruba, though overall registration numbers are limited.

History

• Introduced on 20 February 1996 (implemented February 20, 1996).
• Registry and sponsorship have been handled by SETAR since delegation.
• SETAR publishes Rules and Regulations governing .aw registrations. ICANN/IANA list the delegation; as of January 2025 the WHOIS host "whois.nic.aw" was reported as a dead link.

Usage and Audience

• Typical users are Aruban businesses, professionals, associations, institutions and other entities registered in Aruba.
• Registrations are commonly made via SETARNET (SETAR's domain registration service).
• Second-level variants in use:
  • .com.aw — intended for commercial entities.
  • .pro.aw — has seen increasing registrations for Aruban professionals.

Registration Rules

• Eligibility: A domain may be registered only in the name of a person running a one‑man business or executing a profession, a partnership or a corporation, an association, a legal entity or an institution which is registered in Aruba.
• Structure: Registrations are permitted directly at the second level (example.aw) or beneath .com.aw for commercial sites.
• Restrictions and grounds for rejection (per SETAR rules):
  • Names on SETAR's reserved or excluded list.
  • Identical names already registered or pending registration.
  • Names that infringe intellectual property rights locally or internationally.
  • Domain names containing fewer than four (4) characters.
  • Names that violate law, public order or good ethics, are deceptive, or may cause confusion in society.
  • Names containing Aruba place-names are disallowed unless applied for by the Government or a relevant governmental department.
• Usage limitations: Prohibitions on distributing unsolicited advertising (spam) via services and restrictions on mass automated registration or automated large-volume data submissions except where reasonably necessary for legitimate registration activities.
• Dispute policy: The UDRP is identified as the dispute policy for .aw.
• Administrative materials: SETAR provides a Rules and Regulations document that governs registration terms and procedures.

% IANA WHOIS server
% for more information on IANA, visit http://www.iana.org
% This query returned 1 object

domain:       AW

organisation: SETAR
address:      P.O. Box 13
address:      Seroe Blanco 29A
address:      Oranjestad
address:      Aruba

contact:      administrative
name:         Legal Advisor
organisation: SETAR
address:      P.O. Box 13
address:      Seroe Blanco 29A
address:      Oranjestad
address:      Aruba
phone:        +297 5251000
fax-no:       +297 5251001
e-mail:       registrar@setar.aw

contact:      technical
name:         SetarNet Operations
organisation: SETAR
address:      P.O. Box 13
address:      Seroe Blanco 29A
address:      Oranjestad
address:      Aruba
phone:        +297 583 4000
fax-no:       +297 583 4030
e-mail:       hostmaster@setarnet.aw

nserver:      AW01.SETARNET.AW 201.229.0.26
nserver:      AW02.SETARNET.AW 201.229.0.27
nserver:      NS1.DNS.AW 194.0.28.2 2001:678:2c:0:194:0:28:2
nserver:      NS3.DNS.AW 194.0.25.25 2001:678:20:0:0:0:0:25
nserver:      NS4.DNS.AW 185.159.199.201 2620:10a:80ac:0:0:0:0:201
ds-rdata:     47978 13 2 8704b1c84a372ec2938559c5fd677384cd8c2de72c1da0f56c0162101013bc17

whois:        whois.nic.aw

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: 

created:      1996-02-20
changed:      2023-07-18
source:       IANA