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    • .berlin

    Generic top-level domainsIDNDNSSEC

    Overview

    .berlin is a geoTLD (geographic top-level domain) intended to serve the community of Berlin. Branded as dotBERLIN, it enables citizens, companies, institutions and other stakeholders with a verifiable connection to Berlin to register concise second-level domain names that signal a local presence.

    History

    • Early proponents began discussing a Berlin city TLD during ICANN meetings from 2005 onward.
    • dotBERLIN GmbH & Co. KG (founded by Dirk Krischenowski and Alexander Schubert) led the application and received government support from the City of Berlin.
    • A registry agreement with ICANN was signed on October 31, 2013.
    • The string was delegated to the DNS root zone on January 8, 2014, and the domain officially launched on March 18, 2014.
    • Sunrise period: announced to run from 14 February 2014 to 16 March 2014.
    • Managing director: Dirk Krischenowski.

    Usage and Audience

    • Intended audience: citizens, companies, and institutions of Berlin.
    • Positioning: a community-based sponsored gTLD / geoTLD to provide a local digital identity for Berlin-related entities.
    • Comparable geoTLDs: listed alongside city/region TLDs such as .cat and .asia in the broader new gTLD program.

    Registration Rules

    • Structure: registrations are taken directly at the second level (example: name.berlin).
    • Community eligibility / verification: registration requires proof of a verifiable presence or connection to the city of Berlin, for example:
      • residence or second home in Berlin
      • office, place of business, branch or permanent establishment in Berlin
      • a contact listed in WHOIS with a domicile in Berlin
      • other appropriate proof (e.g., employer certification for school enrollment, birth certificate)
    • Dispute policy: UDRP is used for dispute resolution.
    • Technical: DNSSEC is enabled.
    • Policies and restrictions are maintained by the registry (dotBERLIN) and are published as registration rules.

    SEO and Brand Impact

    • Proponents of .berlin state the TLD:
      • creates a concise local identity for citizens, companies and institutions,
      • strengthens a feeling of community among Berliners,
      • improves local communication and interaction,
      • makes places associated with Berlin more attractive to visitors, businesses and residents.

    Notable Cases or Examples

    • dotBERLIN received an official Letter of Support from the City of Berlin during the application process.
    • In October 2018 dotBERLIN founded the nonprofit initiative Kiezhelden.berlin to support local neighborhood retailers, cafés and service providers in Berlin's neighborhoods.
    • During the application period, another initiative (Unite Berlin) expressed interest, but dotBERLIN was the applicant that proceeded to delegation.

    Operator

    dotBERLIN GmbH & Co. KG

    Whois

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

domain:       BERLIN

organisation: dotBERLIN GmbH & Co. KG
address:      Gustav-Mueller-Strasse 1
address:      Berlin 10829
address:      Germany

contact:      administrative
name:         Chief Executive Officer
organisation: dotBERLIN GmbH & Co. KG
address:      Gustav-Mueller-Strasse 1
address:      Berlin 10829
address:      Germany
phone:        +49 30 49782354
fax-no:       +49 30 49782356
e-mail:       registry@dot.berlin

contact:      technical
name:         Technical Operations
organisation: TLD-BOX Registrydienstleistungen GmbH
address:      Jakob-Haringer-Strasse 8/V
address:      Salzburg 5020
address:      Austria
phone:        +43 662 234548 730
fax-no:       +43 662 234548 29
e-mail:       iana@tld-box.at

nserver:      A.DNS.NIC.BERLIN 194.0.25.16 2001:678:20:0:0:0:0:16
nserver:      M.DNS.NIC.BERLIN 194.0.26.5 2001:67c:10e0:0:0:0:0:5
nserver:      N.DNS.NIC.BERLIN 194.0.24.5 2001:678:24:0:0:0:0:5
ds-rdata:     47974 8 2 b1ddc962a9293cda1c2ae8f951c86a8f391248c50751ad61f642d46d0f644b41
ds-rdata:     7669 8 2 169700d66838fc2a4fe16098924c9da5f3d167da2697461c144c50d47ed123b0

whois:        whois.nic.berlin

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

created:      2013-12-19
changed:      2025-05-13
source:       IANA

    Registrars