.church

Overview

• .church is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) introduced through ICANN's New gTLD Program.
• The string is intended for churches, faith-based groups and those who identify with the term "church"; it is categorized among Culture new gTLDs.
• Registry operator: Donuts (application filed by Holly Fileds, LLC as part of Donuts' portfolio).

History

• Application and applicants:

  • Two entities applied for the .church gTLD: Donuts (Holly Fileds, LLC) and Life Covenant Church, Inc.
  • Donuts submitted a Public Interest Commitment for its application.

• Independent Objector review:

  • The Independent Objector reviewed the applications and public comments, sought assurances that the TLD would be open and inclusive, and concluded no objection was warranted after receiving assurances.

• Auction and delegation:

  • Donuts won the private auction against Life Covenant Church, Inc.; Life Covenant received a payoff in return for withdrawing its application.
  • Donuts signed a Registry Agreement with ICANN on 6 February 2014.
  • .church was delegated to the DNS Root Zone on 15 May 2014.
  • General availability of .church began on 17 September 2014.

Usage and Audience

• Primary audience:
  • Churches, congregations, ministries, faith-based organizations and other entities that identify with the term "church."
• Positioning:
  • Classified under Culture new gTLDs, intended to provide a dedicated namespace for religious and church-related entities.

Registration Rules

• Donuts submitted a Public Interest Commitment (PIC) as part of its application for .church.
• The Independent Objector sought and obtained assurances from applicants that the TLD would be kept open and inclusive to those who identify with the term "church."

Notable Cases or Examples

• Applicants of record included Donuts (Holly Fileds, LLC) and Life Covenant Church, Inc.
• Donuts won the string in a private auction announced 19 December 2013 and subsequently became the sole remaining applicant and registry operator.
• Donuts' application for .church was part of a larger program of Donuts applications (reported as 307 applied-for gTLD strings by Donuts).

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

domain:       CHURCH

organisation: Binky Moon, LLC
address:      c/o Identity Digital Limited
address:      10500 NE 8th Street, Suite 750
address:      Bellevue WA 98004
address:      United States of America (the)

contact:      administrative
name:         Vice President, Engineering
organisation: Identity Digital Limited
address:      10500 NE 8th Street, Suite 750
address:      Bellevue WA 98004
address:      United States of America (the)
phone:        +1.425.298.2200
fax-no:       +1.425.671.0020
e-mail:       tldadmin@identity.digital

contact:      technical
name:         Senior Director, DNS Infrastructure Group
organisation: Identity Digital Limited
address:      10500 NE 8th Street, Suite 750
address:      Bellevue WA 98004
address:      United States of America (the)
phone:        +1.425.298.2200
fax-no:       +1.425.671.0020
e-mail:       tldtech@identity.digital

nserver:      V0N0.NIC.CHURCH 2a01:8840:1a:0:0:0:0:39 65.22.24.39
nserver:      V0N1.NIC.CHURCH 2a01:8840:1b:0:0:0:0:39 65.22.25.39
nserver:      V0N2.NIC.CHURCH 2a01:8840:1c:0:0:0:0:39 65.22.26.39
nserver:      V0N3.NIC.CHURCH 161.232.12.39 2a01:8840:f6:0:0:0:0:39
nserver:      V2N0.NIC.CHURCH 2a01:8840:1d:0:0:0:0:39 65.22.27.39
nserver:      V2N1.NIC.CHURCH 161.232.13.39 2a01:8840:f7:0:0:0:0:39
ds-rdata:     15331 8 2 0f54af90a54221febfc21487adda2c595ef2ef9b5abc706d1938b1f95f20d9c9

whois:        whois.nic.church

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: https://www.identity.digital/

created:      2014-05-08
changed:      2023-09-12
source:       IANA