.bar

Overview

.bar is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) marketed to bars, pubs, nightclubs and related businesses (restaurant guides, critics, delivery, wine and liquor). The string was also identified by ICANN as a geographic name (Bar, Montenegro) during evaluation, and the registry operator reached arrangements with the municipality as part of the delegation process.

History

• Applicant and operator: Punto 2012 Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable (Mexico City–based) applied for and became the registry operator; CentralNic was contracted as a technical provider.
• Contract and delegation:
  • Registry Agreement with ICANN was signed on 12 December 2013.
  • .bar was delegated to the DNS Root Zone on 27 February 2014.
• Launch timeline (registration phases in 2014):
  • Trademark Sunrise: 9 April 2014 (18:00 UTC) to 8 June 2014 (18:00 UTC) — trademark holders could apply first.
  • Priority Pre-Registration (Landrush): 11 June 2014 (18:00 UTC) to 10 July 2014 (18:00 UTC) — premium-price registrations.
  • General Availability: began 14 July 2014 (18:00 UTC) — first-come, first-served registrations and bulk registrations supported.
• Other application notes:
  • The string was applied for both as a generic and was deemed a GeoTLD by ICANN's Geographic Names Panel (linked to the city of Bar, Montenegro).
  • Demand Media (United TLD) had previously applied but withdrew its application in July 2013.
  • A public comment objection was filed by Saudi Arabia's Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) during evaluation.

Usage and Audience

• Primary audience: bars, pubs, nightclubs and businesses in the hospitality and nightlife sectors.
• Related uses: restaurant guides, food critics, food delivery services, wine and liquor businesses, and other bar-related industries.
• Geographic & municipal use: some organizations and companies in Bar, Montenegro have used .bar instead of the national .me, after local agreements with the registry operator.
• Press and industry interest: media coverage positioned .bar as an industry-specific gTLD intended to help sector-focused branding; some notable restaurateurs and hospitality figures were reported to register .bar domains during the launch period.

Registration Rules

• Launch phases and eligibility:
  • Sunrise: reserved for verified trademark holders to protect marks.
  • Landrush: priority pre-registration at premium prices.
  • General Availability: open registrations on a first-come, first-served basis; bulk registration supported.
  • Multiple simultaneous applications via different registrars are resolved on a first-come, first-served basis during General Availability.
• Technical and character rules:
  • Maximum length: domain labels up to 63 characters.
  • Special characters such as "&" and "#" are not permitted in .bar labels.
  • The .bar extension supports Latin IDN (Internationalized Domain Name) characters.

SEO and Brand Impact

• Positioning: .bar is positioned as an industry-specific gTLD to provide clearer, category-focused domain names for hospitality and nightlife businesses.
• Perception: contemporary coverage framed the launch as part of a phase where domain endings become more defined and useful for targeted branding; publications suggested the gTLD could be a branding asset for restaurants and bars.

Notable Cases or Examples

• Registry operator: Punto 2012 Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable (Mexico City–based).
• Technical provider: CentralNic (contracted by Punto 2012).
• Application changes: Demand Media (United TLD) withdrew its .bar application in July 2013.
• Government/objection activity: Saudi Arabia's CITC filed a public-comment objection during evaluation.
• Municipal arrangement: Punto 2012 reached agreements with the Municipality of Bar (Montenegro) related to exclusive exploitation of the string.
• Public reports and interest: media coverage noted high-profile hospitality figures and restaurateurs registering .bar domains during launch; official registry website: https://register.bar/

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

domain:       BAR

organisation: Punto 2012 Sociedad Anonima Promotora de Inversion de Capital Variable
address:      Sierra Mojada 405, Nivel 3 Oficina B,
address:      Col. Lomas De Chapultepec Iii Sección,
address:      Miguel Hidalgo
address:      Ciudad De México 11000
address:      Mexico

contact:      administrative
name:         CEO
organisation: Punto 2012 Sociedad Anonima Promotora de Inversion de Capital Variable
address:      Sierra Mojada 405, Nivel 3 Oficina B,
address:      Col. Lomas De Chapultepec Iii Sección,
address:      Miguel Hidalgo
address:      Ciudad De México 11000
address:      Mexico
phone:        +52.5585895544
fax-no:       +52.5552505187
e-mail:       info@punto2012.com

contact:      technical
name:         Francisco Obispo
organisation: Tucows.com, Co
address:      96 Mowat Avenue
address:      Toronto Ontario M6K3M1
address:      Canada
phone:        +1.4165350123
e-mail:       trs-ops@tucows.com

nserver:      NS01.TRS-DNS.COM 2620:57:4001:0:0:0:0:1 64.96.1.1
nserver:      NS01.TRS-DNS.INFO 185.159.198.3 2620:10a:80ab:0:0:0:0:3
nserver:      NS01.TRS-DNS.NET 2620:57:4002:0:0:0:0:1 64.96.2.1
nserver:      NS01.TRS-DNS.ORG 185.159.197.3 2620:10a:80aa:0:0:0:0:3
ds-rdata:     4459 13 2 df5fddb23a4cd00805cb393c9bdf90e95b8e45917a0dea9aca1b1009455bbdbe

whois:        whois.nic.bar

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: http://nic.bar

created:      2014-02-13
changed:      2025-05-15
source:       IANA