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    • .br

    Country-code top-level domainsIDNDNSSEC

    Overview

    .br is the Internet country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Brazil. Introduced on 18 April 1989, it is intended for entities connected with Brazil and is widely used across the country. The registry and registration services are provided via Registro.br under the coordination of CGI.br, with NIC.br acting as the executive arm.

    History

    • Delegated in 1989 (Jon Postel) and originally administered by FAPESP and operated manually.
    • Registration system automated in 1997.
    • In 1995 CGI.br (Comitê Gestor da Internet no Brasil) was created to coordinate IP allocation and .br registration policy.
    • In 2005 NIC.br was created as CGI.br's executive arm; Registro.br now handles registration and maintenance.
    • International incidents: in 2017 researchers reported compromised DNS-related accounts tied to Brazilian banks' DNS records; NIC.br acknowledged a vulnerability though disputed a direct "hack" claim.

    Usage and Audience

    • As of 9 September 2024 there were 5,388,244 domains registered under .br.
    • .br is one of the largest ccTLDs globally (listed among the top ccTLDs) and the most used Portuguese-language TLD.
    • The vast majority of .br registrations are under .com.br (over 90% of .br registrations).
    • Typical registrants:
      • Brazilian companies and organizations (commercial, non-profit, public authority)
      • Individuals and freelance professionals (with CPF)
      • Educational and research institutions (some allowed direct second-level registrations)

    Registration Rules

    • Registry/operator: Registro.br (NIC.br / CGI.br oversight).
    • Eligibility and local presence:
      • Registrants must be legally established in Brazil (CNPJ for legal persons) or natural persons with CPF; foreign companies can register but must appoint a legally established attorney in Brazil and provide notarized/consularized documentation and translations as required.
    • Identification and documents:
      • Registrations require CPF (individual) or CNPJ (legal person) or appropriate power-of-attorney and supporting notarized documents for foreign entities.
    • Character and syntax rules:
      • Minimum 2 and maximum 26 characters for the most specific label (excluding the second-level category like .com.br).
      • Allowed characters: letters (A–Z), digits (0–9), hyphen (-) and Portuguese accented characters: à, á, â, ã, é, ê, í, ó, ô, õ, ú, ü, ç.
      • Names cannot consist only of numbers and cannot begin or end with a hyphen.
      • Registration system enforces an equivalence mapping between accented and non-accented versions (and removes hyphens) to avoid confusable duplicates; a domain is only allowed if no equivalent exists or if the applicant already owns the equivalent.
    • Internationalized domain names:
      • Domains with Portuguese characters have been accepted since 2005; Registro.br recommends registering both accented and unaccented variants.
    • Registration periods and fees:
      • (No specific minimum/maximum registration period or pricing details provided in the source.)

    Second-level domains and structure

    • Most registrations occur at the third level under predefined second-level domains (DPNs) such as .com.br, .org.br, .edu.br, .gov.br, etc.
    • Categories include Generic, Business, Culture, Education, Personals, Entertainment, Public Authority, Locations (city-specific), Professions, Technology and Third Sector.
    • Examples of commonly used second-level domains:
      • .com.br — commercial activities (dominant; >90% of registrations)
      • .net.br — commercial activities
      • .org.br / .ong.br — non-profit organizations
      • .edu.br — higher education institutions (requires proof)
      • .gov.br, .mil.br, .jus.br — public authority categories (some require authorization)
      • Profession-specific DPNs: .adv.br (lawyers), .med.br (doctors), .eng.br (engineers), etc.
      • City/location DPNs: .rio.br, .sampa.br, .recife.br, etc.
    • Special/temporary DPNs and rules:
      • Historically .can.br was used for electoral candidates (2000–2009); no new .can.br registrations since 2009.
      • Legislation (late 2024) requires licensed online gambling operators to use .bet.br from January 2025 onward; operators without .bet.br are considered illegal under that rule.
    • DNSSEC:
      • DNSSEC is supported for .br and mandatory for certain second-level domains (e.g., .b.br for banks, .jus.br, .juz.br / .jus.br variants, .def.br, .mp.br, .tc.br) as defined by Registro.br policy.

    SEO and Brand Impact

    • Popularity and local relevance:
      • .br's large usage and dominance in Brazil make it a strong local branding and trust signal for Brazilian audiences.
    • Security and trust signals:
      • Adoption of DNSSEC for certain categories (banks, judiciary, public institutions) enhances security and trust for those domains.
    • Market share:
      • The high concentration of registrations under .com.br (the most recognized second-level namespace) reinforces .br's commercial visibility within Brazil.

    Notable cases and examples

    • 2017 DNS/account incident: security researchers reported that DNS records for Brazilian banks were affected via compromised accounts; NIC.br acknowledged a vulnerability in its site that was related to the incident.
    • .бг (Bulgaria Cyrillic) controversy: ICANN initially rejected the Cyrillic .бг as confusingly similar to .br; later processes led to .бг being added to the root and delegated to Bulgaria (this controversy involved similarity concerns raised by Brazilian representatives).
    • Usage statistics snapshot (9 September 2024):
      • Total .br registrations: 5,388,244
      • Domains using DNSSEC: 1,629,955 (per Registro.br statistics as reported)
      • A small set (about 1,207) remain registered directly at second level under .br (historical university and agency allocations).

    Operator

    Comite Gestor da Internet no Brasil

    Whois

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

domain:       BR

organisation: Comite Gestor da Internet no Brasil
address:      Av. das Nações Unidas, 11541, 7. andar
address:      São Paulo SP 04578-000
address:      Brazil

contact:      administrative
name:         Demi Getschko
organisation: Comite Gestor da Internet no Brasil
address:      Av. das Nações Unidas, 11541, 7. andar
address:      São Paulo SP 04578-000
address:      Brazil
phone:        +55 11 5509 3505
fax-no:       +55 11 5509 3501
e-mail:       demi@registro.br

contact:      technical
name:         Frederico Augusto de Carvalho Neves
organisation: Registro .br
address:      Av. das Nações Unidas, 11541, 7. andar
address:      São Paulo SP 04578-000
address:      Brazil
phone:        +55 11 5509 3505
fax-no:       +55 11 5509 3501
e-mail:       fneves@registro.br

nserver:      A.DNS.BR 200.219.148.10 2001:12f8:6:0:0:0:0:10
nserver:      B.DNS.BR 200.189.41.10 2001:12f8:8:0:0:0:0:10
nserver:      C.DNS.BR 200.192.233.10 2001:12f8:a:0:0:0:0:10
nserver:      D.DNS.BR 200.219.154.10 2001:12f8:4:0:0:0:0:10
nserver:      E.DNS.BR 200.229.248.10 2001:12f8:2:0:0:0:0:10
nserver:      F.DNS.BR 200.219.159.10 2001:12f8:c:0:0:0:0:10
ds-rdata:     38298 13 2 9f2d4993f47b0f2751de0007d70a2754ee532fe373761154d9ea7a8cb9d8ea18

whois:        whois.registro.br

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: http://registro.br/

created:      1989-04-18
changed:      2023-11-14
source:       IANA

    Registrars