.edu

Overview

• .edu is a sponsored top-level domain (sTLD) in the DNS, implemented in 1985 to serve organizations focused on education.
• It was originally intended for educational institutions worldwide but has become a namespace primarily for accredited U.S. postsecondary institutions.
• Registrations are at the second level and the zone supports DNSSEC.

History

• Introduced by Jon Postel and Joyce Reynolds (RFC 920) and implemented in the root zone in 1985 alongside original TLDs such as .com, .org, and .net.
• Early administration was performed by the Network Information Center and later Network Solutions under agreements with the U.S. government.
• In 2001 EDUCAUSE signed a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce to administer .edu; EDUCAUSE subcontracts technical registry services to VeriSign.
• The EDUCAUSE cooperative agreement was extended in 2006 and again in subsequent years (including an extension through 2016). In 2006 EDUCAUSE was authorized to charge an annual administration fee and to implement measures limiting transfers.
• Notable operational milestones:
  • 1993: Registrations were limited to four-year postsecondary institutions (policy attributed to Jon Postel).
  • 2001: New registrants restricted to U.S.-affiliated, institutionally accredited postsecondary institutions (effective October 29, 2001).
  • 2003: EDUCAUSE undertook a registry cleanup to remove inactive or inaccurate registrations.
  • 2008: EDUCAUSE deployed IPv6 for the .edu TLD.
  • 2013: EDUCAUSE suspended registrant access and passwords after a security incident involving stolen domain passwords.

Usage and Audience

• Intended audience: accredited postsecondary educational institutions in the United States (universities, community colleges, system/district offices, and similar entities).
• Historical usage:
  • Early registrations in 1985 included several universities (for example, UCLA among the initial registrants; Stanford became the 18th .edu site).
  • Before stricter rules, some non-academic organizations (e.g., the Exploratorium museum) obtained .edu names.
• Scale: Between 2004 and 2019 the number of registered .edu names stayed largely between about 7,000 and 8,000.
• Related namespaces: many countries use edu or .ac second-level namespaces under their ccTLDs; the .college gTLD (introduced 2015) provides an option for organizations that do not meet .edu eligibility.

Registration Rules

• Eligibility (current since October 29, 2001): applicants must be postsecondary institutions or organizations that are institutionally accredited by an agency on the U.S. Department of Education's list of nationally recognized accrediting agencies.
• Institutional location/recognition: an institution must be located in the U.S., legally organized in the U.S., or recognized by a U.S. state, territorial, or federal agency.
• Allowed registrants include university system offices, community college district offices, and similarly organized entities that govern multiple accredited institutions.
• Limits and policies:
  • Each eligible institution is limited to registering one .edu domain name.
  • Domains registered before October 29, 2001 were grandfathered and may remain regardless of current eligibility criteria.
  • EDUCAUSE was authorized (from 2006) to charge an annual administrative fee (reported at $40) and to implement measures to prevent transfers of .edu domain names to other entities to reduce inactive or ineligible registrations.
• Registrar/registry operations: EDUCAUSE operates the registry, with VeriSign providing technical registry services under subcontract and Cooperative Agreements with the U.S. Department of Commerce guiding the relationship.

SEO and Brand Impact

• The .edu namespace is a restricted sponsored TLD tied to accredited U.S. postsecondary institutions, which contributes to its perceived association with academic and institutional credibility.
• Legacy or grandfathered .edu domains may be held by organizations that no longer meet current eligibility criteria; the U.S. Department of Education has cautioned users to verify institutions (e.g., concerns about diploma mills still using pre-2001 .edu addresses).
• EDUCAUSE has taken measures (registry cleanups, transfer restrictions, and ongoing policy enforcement) intended to maintain the integrity of the .edu namespace.

Notable Cases or Examples

• Early adopters: Several universities were among the first registrants in April 1985; UCLA is cited as one of the initial registrants and Stanford was the 18th .edu site.
• Exploratorium (a San Francisco science museum) obtained an .edu domain in the early 1990s despite not being an academic institution, illustrating looser enforcement in the early years.
• Examples of domain names targeted for removal during the 2003 purge of inactive or inaccurate registrations include allison.edu, geraldine.edu, and jedi.edu.
• Policy changes expanding eligibility: EDUCAUSE announced expanded eligibility in 2003 to permit accredited community colleges and other accredited postsecondary institutions to register .edu domains starting in April 2003.
• Security incident: In February 2013 EDUCAUSE suspended registrant passwords and access after attackers appeared to have stolen domain passwords, and the registry engaged law enforcement and security experts to respond.

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

domain:       EDU

organisation: EDUCAUSE
address:      282 Century Place, Suite 5000
address:      Louisville CO 80027
address:      United States of America (the)

contact:      administrative
name:         Information Services Administration
organisation: EDUCAUSE
address:      4772 Walnut Street, Suite 206
address:      Boulder CO 80301
address:      United States of America (the)
phone:        +1-303-449-4430
fax-no:       +1-303-440-0461
e-mail:       netadmin@educause.edu

contact:      technical
name:         Registry Customer Service
organisation: VeriSign Global Registry
address:      12061 Bluemont Way
address:      Reston VA 20190
address:      United States of America (the)
phone:        +1-703-925-6999
fax-no:       +1-703-948-3978
e-mail:       info@verisign-grs.com

nserver:      A.EDU-SERVERS.NET 192.5.6.30 2001:503:a83e:0:0:0:2:30
nserver:      B.EDU-SERVERS.NET 192.33.14.30 2001:503:231d:0:0:0:2:30
nserver:      C.EDU-SERVERS.NET 192.26.92.30 2001:503:83eb:0:0:0:0:30
nserver:      D.EDU-SERVERS.NET 192.31.80.30 2001:500:856e:0:0:0:0:30
nserver:      E.EDU-SERVERS.NET 192.12.94.30 2001:502:1ca1:0:0:0:0:30
nserver:      F.EDU-SERVERS.NET 192.35.51.30 2001:503:d414:0:0:0:0:30
nserver:      G.EDU-SERVERS.NET 192.42.93.30 2001:503:eea3:0:0:0:0:30
nserver:      H.EDU-SERVERS.NET 192.54.112.30 2001:502:8cc:0:0:0:0:30
nserver:      I.EDU-SERVERS.NET 192.43.172.30 2001:503:39c1:0:0:0:0:30
nserver:      J.EDU-SERVERS.NET 192.48.79.30 2001:502:7094:0:0:0:0:30
nserver:      K.EDU-SERVERS.NET 192.52.178.30 2001:503:d2d:0:0:0:0:30
nserver:      L.EDU-SERVERS.NET 192.41.162.30 2001:500:d937:0:0:0:0:30
nserver:      M.EDU-SERVERS.NET 192.55.83.30 2001:501:b1f9:0:0:0:0:30
ds-rdata:     35663 13 2 a2e1614291831a4746b5ac52b4b345357687271e85353082741f1cf3d06a4c1d

whois:        whois.educause.edu

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information:
remarks:      http://www.educause.edu/edudomain

created:      1985-01-01
changed:      2024-08-29
source:       IANA