.gr

Overview

• .gr is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) assigned to Greece.
• It is intended for entities connected with Greece and is widely used domestically.
• Registrations are processed via accredited registrars; domain names in Greek characters are supported.

History

• Introduced: 19 February 1989.
• Registry / Sponsor: Managed by ICS‑FORTH / FORTH-ICS (Foundation for Research & Technology - Hellas).
• IDN ccTLD (.ελ):
  • An application for the Greek-script IDN .ελ was initially blocked by ICANN in April 2011 because of perceived visual similarity to the hypothetical Latin-code .EA.
  • In 2014 ICANN approved Greece's request for the .ελ IDN.
  • The delegation right was transferred to Greece (ICS‑FORTH) in October 2015.
  • .ελ became operational on the Internet on 10 July 2018.
  • For the first three months after launch, .ελ registrations for names already held under .gr were limited to the existing .gr holder; those restrictions were lifted in October 2018.

Usage and Audience

• Intended users: entities connected with Greece (businesses, organisations, government bodies, educational institutions).
• Actual use: very popular within Greece.
• Common second-level and third-level uses include:
  • .com.gr — commercial activities
  • .org.gr — non-profit organisations
  • .gov.gr — government organisations (exclusive)
  • .edu.gr and .sch.gr — educational institutions
  • .net.gr — ISPs and network providers
  • .mil.gr and .mod.gr — military and Ministry of Defence purposes
  • .co.gr — commercial use (less commonly used than .com.gr)

Registration Rules

• Eligibility:
  • .gr domain names can be assigned to any Greek or foreign natural or legal person, whether established in Greece or not.
  • Some second-level domains (e.g., .gov.gr, .mil.gr) have exclusive or restricted use.
• Structure:
  • Registrations may be taken directly at the second level (example.gr) or at the third level beneath the official second-level domains (example.com.gr).
• Characters and formats:
  • Latin alphabet: A–Z, a–z, 0–9, plus the hyphen (-) and the dot (.) for level separation.
  • Greek alphabet: Greek letters (Α–Ω, α–ω, 0–9) are supported; Greek labels are encoded in Punycode for DNS.
  • A single domain level may not mix Latin and Greek scripts.
  • Domain levels must not start or end with a hyphen, nor include successive hyphens.
  • Case is not significant for Latin characters; registrations are assigned in the lower-case form declared by the registrant.
  • Special handling for Greek final sigma (ς) vs sigma (σ), and for accented vs unaccented forms: registrants may receive related unpunctuated/lower-case variants automatically or on request as specified by the registry.
  • Length: the variable field must be between 2 and 63 characters (for Greek-script names this limit applies to the Punycode-encoded length).
• Other points:
  • Registrations are governed by registry rules and regulations (managed by ICS‑FORTH).
  • Domains are processed via accredited registrars.

Deletion and Dispute Grounds

• A domain may be definitively deleted in cases including, but not limited to:
  • Registration or use that infringes third-party rights or is made in bad faith.
  • Use contrary to principles of good faith or malicious use.
  • Use of names that constitute official/state elements, highly symbolic elements (including certain religious terms), or that run contrary to public order and good morals.

SEO and Brand Impact

• .gr is widely recognised and popular within Greece, making it a common choice for businesses and organisations targeting Greek audiences.
• The availability of the Greek-script IDN .ελ supports local-language branding and content in the Greek alphabet.

Notable Cases or Examples

• The process around the Greek-script TLD .ελ is notable:
  • 2011: ICANN initially blocked the .ελ application due to visual similarity concerns with a hypothetical .EA.
  • 2014: ICANN approved the request to allocate .ελ.
  • October 2015: delegation to ICS‑FORTH was completed.
  • 10 July 2018: .ελ became operational; an initial period granted priority to existing .gr holders, with that restriction lifted in October 2018.

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

domain:       GR

organisation: ICS-FORTH GR
address:      100 Nikolaou Plastira str.
address:      Vassilika Vouton
address:      Heraklion Crete GR-70013
address:      Greece

contact:      administrative
name:         Vaggelis Segredakis
organisation: ICS-FORTH GR
address:      100 Nikolaou Plastira str.
address:      Vassilika Vouton
address:      Heraklion Crete GR-70013
address:      Greece
phone:        +30 281 0391450
fax-no:       +30 281 0391451
e-mail:       gr-noc@ics.forth.gr

contact:      technical
name:         Panagiotis Sikas
organisation: ICS-FORTH GR
address:      100 Nikolaou Plastira str.
address:      Vassilika Vouton
address:      Heraklion Crete GR-70013
address:      Greece
phone:        +30 281 0391647
fax-no:       +30 281 0391451
e-mail:       gr-noc@ics.forth.gr

nserver:      ESTIA.ICS.FORTH.GR 139.91.191.3 2001:648:2c30:0:0:0:191:3
nserver:      GR-AT.ICS.FORTH.GR 78.104.145.227
nserver:      GR-C.ICS.FORTH.GR 194.0.1.25 2001:678:4:0:0:0:0:19
nserver:      GR-D.ICS.FORTH.GR 194.0.11.102 2001:678:e:102:0:0:0:53
nserver:      GR-M.ICS.FORTH.GR 194.0.4.10 2001:678:7:0:0:0:4:10
nserver:      GRDNS.ICS.FORTH.GR 139.91.1.1
ds-rdata:     13987 8 2 ff87e9205f88e1d32c67a65bd61c68c56689c607d7684d12c867dc933d546ec8

whois:        

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: http://www.gr

created:      1989-02-19
changed:      2022-06-16
source:       IANA