.cv

Overview

• .cv is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Cape Verde.
• Managed by the Agência Reguladora Multissectorial da Economia (ARME).
• Registrations are taken at the second level. The registry has also defined specific third-level labels (e.g., .gov.cv, .org.cv, .edu.cv).
• Since 2024 the registry has promoted .cv globally, including marketing it for personal websites hosting curricula vitae.

History

• Introduced on 21 October 1996.
• Initial management was by the Instituto Superior de Engenharia e Ciências do Mar (ISECMAR), later the School of Maritime Sciences and a campus of the University of Cape Verde.
• Redelegated to the National Communications Agency (ARME) in August 2009.
• Technical management initially involved the Portuguese FCCN; rights and obligations were transferred to DNS.PT with the IANA publication in 2014.
• ARME is part of LusNIC, sharing part of .pt network infrastructure for DNS services.
• In 2024 ARME awarded a five-year contract to OlaCV to manage the TLD, opened registrations globally, discontinued the earlier exclusive registrar, and enabled accreditation by international registrars via an automated system.

Usage and Audience

• Intended for entities connected with Cape Verde; commonly used within Cape Verde by government, education, nonprofits and businesses.
• Also marketed and adopted outside Cape Verde for personal websites hosting curricula vitae (CVs), leveraging the ".cv" abbreviation.
• Common third-level targets include:
  • .net.cv — communication and network services
  • .gov.cv — governmental institutions and state administration services
  • .org.cv — nonprofit organizations
  • .edu.cv — schools and universities
  • .int.cv — international organizations and diplomatic missions
  • .publ.cv — periodical magazines registered with the Directorate General of Social Communication
  • .com.cv — commercial entities (not restricted)
  • .nome.cv — Cape Verde nationals and legal residents

Registration Rules

Eligibility and Restrictions

• Both individuals and companies may register .cv and .com.cv domain names.
• The registry lists disallowed names, including:
  • Obscene language or expressions contrary to law.
  • Names already registered in the same hierarchy.
  • Reproductions of well-known trademarks or names constituting abusive or bad-faith appropriation of third-party rights.
  • Protected designations of origin or geographical indications.
  • Geographical names (only competent administrative authorities may register geographic names directly under .cv).

Structure and Specific Labels

• Registrations are available directly at the second level.
• ARME defines and operates specific third-level labels for targeted use-cases (see Usage and Audience).
• .gov.cv registrations are handled via the entity responsible for the State's Private Technological Network (RTPE) and are intended for governmental offices and state administration structures.
• .org.cv and .edu.cv have naming requirements to match the holder's legal name, abbreviation or acronym, or project names as specified by the registry.

Characters, Length and IDNs

• Domain length: 2 to 63 characters.
• Permitted characters:
  • Latin letters (a-z)
  • Digits (0-9)
  • Accented characters: à, â, ã, ç, é, ê, í, ó, ô, õ, ú
  • Hyphen (-) as a separator (not allowed at start or end)
• Names starting with "xn" (IDN labels) must not contain two consecutive hyphens in the third and fourth positions.

Dispute Policy

• The .cv domain uses the UDRP (Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy) for domain disputes.

SEO and Brand Impact

• The registry has positioned .cv for two primary brand uses: as Cape Verde's national domain and as a global niche for curricula vitae ("CV") websites.
• The 2024 relaunch and international registrar accreditation aim to increase visibility and adoption outside Cape Verde.
• There is no specific public information in the sources about search-engine preference for .cv; branding impact is driven by marketing (CV-as-identity) and registry policies (e.g., UDRP for dispute resolution).

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

domain:       CV

organisation: Agência Reguladora Multissectorial da Economia (ARME)
address:      Avenida da China
address:      Chã d' Areia
address:      Praia Santiago 892
address:      Cabo Verde

contact:      administrative
name:         Suzete Júlia Dias Monteiro Centeio
organisation: Agência Reguladora Multissectorial da Economia (ARME)
address:      Avenida da China
address:      Chã d' Areia
address:      Praia Santiago 892
address:      Cabo Verde
phone:        +238 260 4400
fax-no:       +238 261 3069
e-mail:       suzete.centeio@arme.cv

contact:      technical
name:         Assis Neves Guerreiro
organisation: Associação DNS.PT
address:      Rua Eça de Queiroz, 29
address:      Lisboa 1050-095
address:      Portugal
phone:        (+351) 211308200
fax-no:       (+351) 211312720
e-mail:       assis.guerreiro@dns.pt

nserver:      ANYC.DNSNODE.NET 194.58.198.135 2a01:3f1:3032:8001:0:0:0:135
nserver:      C.DNS.PT 2001:500:14:6105:ad:0:0:1 204.61.216.105
nserver:      CV01.DNS.PT 185.39.208.18 2a04:6d80:0:0:0:0:0:18
nserver:      NS.DNS.CV 41.221.192.220

whois:        whois.nic.cv

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: http://www.dns.cv/

created:      1996-10-21
changed:      2024-02-26
source:       IANA