.hk

Overview

.hk is the country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Introduced on 3 January 1990, it is administered by the Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation Ltd. (HKIRC). The namespace is widely used in Hong Kong and includes both English (.hk) and an internationalized Chinese ccTLD (.香港).

History

• 3 January 1990: .hk was introduced.
• 1990–2002: Administrative responsibility was held by the Joint University Computer Centre (JUCC), with technical support from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and coordination roles by other universities.
• 2002: Administration transferred to the Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation (HKIRC) by Memorandum of Understanding with the Hong Kong government. The Hong Kong Domain Name Registration Corporation Limited (HKDNR), a wholly owned subsidiary of HKIRC, manages day-to-day registration services.
• 25 June 2010: ICANN approved the internationalized domain name .香港 (xn--j6w193g) for Hong Kong.
• 12 July 2010: .香港 was added to the DNS.
• 22 February–23 March 2011: Pre-launch priority registration for .香港 began; the first .香港 domain was activated on 23 March 2011.
• 31 May 2011: .香港 domain categories opened for public registration.

Usage and Audience

• General use: Popular within Hong Kong for businesses, organizations and individuals.
• Second- and third-level registrations are supported, allowing flexible naming structures (.hk and structured third-levels such as .com.hk).
• Typical audiences per category:
  • .com.hk — commercial entities with Business Registration Certificates or Overseas Company registration documents.
  • .org.hk — non-profit organizations, societies or charities with appropriate registration or approval documents.
  • .net.hk — network service providers with relevant licenses.
  • .edu.hk — educational institutions registered with the Education Bureau.
  • .gov.hk — HKSAR government bureaus and departments.
  • .idv.hk — Hong Kong identity card holders (aged 11 or above).

Registration Rules

• General eligibility: Second-level .hk registrations are open to anyone. Specific third-level categories require documentary proof or identity documents depending on the sector.
• Age requirement: Registrants (for .idv.hk) must be aged 11 or above as specified for personal registrations.
• Allowed characters: Domain names may contain alphanumeric characters and hyphens. Chinese domain names must include at least one Chinese character and may also include English letters; English domain names cannot contain Chinese characters.
• IDNs and availability: Chinese-language domain names under the .香港 TLD are available; Chinese domain names under .hk were restricted (new Chinese .hk names became unavailable since mid-January 2011, though existing names could be renewed).
• Policy and dispute handling: HKIRC/HKDNR publish registration policies, procedures and dispute resolution rules; registrants warrant lawful and bona fide use of domain names.
• DNSSEC: DNSSEC is not available on most local registries (per the registration notes provided).

Notable Cases or Examples

• ICANN approval (25 June 2010) and DNS addition (12 July 2010) of the internationalized ccTLD .香港.
• First .香港 domain activation on 23 March 2011 and public opening of .香港 registrations on 31 May 2011.
• Examples of namespace use: mycompany.com.hk, myorganization.org.hk, department.gov.hk, myname.idv.hk (illustrative formats used in registry guidance).

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

domain:       HK

organisation: Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation Ltd.
address:      Unit 501, Level 5, Core C, Cyberport 3
address:      100 Cyberport Road
address:      Hong Kong

contact:      administrative
name:         Cherry Lam
organisation: Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation Ltd.
address:      Unit 501, Level 5, Core C, Cyberport 3
address:      100 Cyberport Road
address:      Hong Kong
phone:        +852 2319 2303
fax-no:       +852 2319 2626
e-mail:       info@hkirc.hk

contact:      technical
name:         John Lam
organisation: Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation Ltd.
address:      Unit 501, Level 5, Core C, Cyberport 3
address:      100 Cyberport Road
address:      Hong Kong
phone:        +852 2319 2303
fax-no:       +852 2319 2626
e-mail:       tech@hkirc.hk

nserver:      C.HKIRC.NET.HK 2001:dca:4000:0:0:0:cb77:2da 203.119.2.218
nserver:      D.HKIRC.NET.HK 2001:dca:2000:0:0:0:cb77:57da 203.119.87.218
nserver:      M.HKIRC.NET.HK 125.208.49.10 2001:dc7:feff:0:0:0:0:10
nserver:      T.HKIRC.NET.HK 2001:dd8:12:0:0:0:0:53 202.12.31.53
nserver:      U.HKIRC.NET.HK 210.201.138.58 2404:0:10a0:0:0:0:0:58
nserver:      V.HKIRC.NET.HK 2001:500:14:6046:ad:0:0:1 204.61.216.46
nserver:      X.HKIRC.NET.HK 202.45.188.39 2405:3001:1:3a:0:0:0:27
nserver:      Y.HKIRC.NET.HK 137.189.6.21 2405:3000:3:6:0:0:0:15
nserver:      Z.HKIRC.NET.HK 194.146.106.70 2001:67c:1010:17:0:0:0:53
ds-rdata:     52069 8 2 b834325aacd5b3555f37bda585f9d6b877691ac4d07f40f8c6c1866d7ca125f8

whois:        whois.hkirc.hk

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: http://www.hkirc.hk

created:      1990-01-03
changed:      2025-01-01
source:       IANA