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    • .coop

    Sponsored top-level domainsIDNDNSSEC

    Overview

    • .coop is a sponsored top-level domain (sTLD) intended for cooperatives, their wholly owned subsidiaries, and organizations that promote or support cooperatives.
    • The TLD is operated under sponsorship of DotCooperation LLC (dotCoop), a subsidiary of the National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA).
    • Active .coop registrants are included in an online coop directory and receive periodic communications from the registry.

    History

    • Proposed by the National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA) in response to ICANN's early 2000s gTLD expansion.
    • DotCooperation LLC was formed on May 25, 2001 to operate the registry independently; a Sponsorship Agreement with ICANN was signed on November 21, 2001.
    • Dates reported in registry history:
      • Introduced in 2001.
      • Implemented in the DNS root zone (reported as January 15, 2001).
      • Technical infrastructure became operational January 30, 2002 (Poptel developed the initial technical infrastructure).
    • In 2005 the Midcounties Co-operative assumed operation of the registry through a subsidiary (Midcounties Co-operative Domains).
    • DynDNS (Dyn) was contracted as the sole DNS provider for the registry in 2006.
    • DotCoop renewed its Sponsorship Agreement with ICANN on July 16, 2007.
    • ICANN approved the release of the Go.coop domain name on September 18, 2007.
    • DotCoop requested and ICANN approved the allocation of one- and two-character .coop registrations in mid-2008.

    Usage and Audience

    • Intended audience:
      • Cooperatives worldwide.
      • Cooperative support organizations and trade groups.
      • Businesses owned by cooperatives and wholly owned cooperative subsidiaries.
    • The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) supported the proposal and has been involved in global marketing and outreach.
    • While .coop domains are used globally, many cooperatives also maintain domain names under other gTLDs or country-code TLDs.

    Registration Rules

    • .coop is a restricted TLD: only cooperatives, cooperative support organizations, and businesses owned by cooperatives are eligible to register.
    • Eligibility verification:
      • Registrations are verified through cooperative organizations and verifiable materials provided by registrants.
      • Registrants are required to submit an affirmation of membership from two cooperative organizations in their country or region.
    • Structure and restrictions:
      • Direct second-level registrations are allowed.
      • Some generic words are reserved by the Sponsor to be awarded under specific proposals that ensure access for relevant co-ops.
    • Registrations are processed through accredited ICANN registrars or their resellers. Examples of accredited registrars have included:
      • EuroDNS, EnCirca, Gandi SAS, Domains.coop, and others.
    • Dispute policy:
      • Disputes under .coop follow standard domain dispute procedures; WIPO was selected to handle disputes and the UDRP is referenced.

    Notable Cases or Examples

    • Founding organizations associated with establishing .coop include NCBA, the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative, Cooperatives UK, NCB, and the National Dairy Development Board.
    • Poptel, a worker cooperative in the UK, developed the TLD's initial technical infrastructure.
    • Operational and policy milestones include the Midcounties Co-operative taking registry operations, DynDNS as DNS provider in 2006, the Go.coop release (2007), and the 2008 approval to allocate one- and two-character .coop domains.
    • Active .coop domain holders are listed in an online directory (directory.coop) maintained by the registry.

    Operator

    DotCooperation LLC

    Whois

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

domain:       COOP

organisation: DotCooperation LLC
address:      1775 I Street NW, 8th Floor
address:      Washington DC 20006
address:      United States of America (the)

contact:      administrative
name:         Violetta Nafpaktiti
organisation: DotCooperation LLC
address:      1775 I Street NW, 8th Floor
address:      Washington DC 20006
address:      United States of America (the)
phone:        +1 202 383 5453
fax-no:       +1 202 628 6726
e-mail:       violetta@identity.coop

contact:      technical
name:         Vice President, Engineering
organisation: Tucows.com, Co.
address:      96 Mowat Avenue
address:      Toronto ON M6K3M1
address:      Canada
phone:        +1 (416) 535-0123
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:     39183 13 2 fd71e26868bf7f277dfa0800aa6f51e12e00c8b61841b35daae12cd86a34606f

whois:        whois.nic.coop

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: http://www.nic.coop

created:      2001-12-15
changed:      2025-05-21
source:       IANA

    Registrars