.il

Overview

• .il is the Internet country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Israel.
• Administered by the Israel Internet Association (ISOC-IL) and managed by NIC‑ISRAEL.
• Supports IPv4 and IPv6 and has DNSSEC enabled.
• Names under .il are typically registered at the third level within defined second-level domains (SLDs).

History

• .il was registered on 24 October 1985 — one of the earliest ccTLDs (the third ccTLD registered after .us and .uk).
• The Israel Internet Association operates the registry and manages DNS infrastructure including the Israeli Internet Exchange.
• As of 19 August 2023 there were 285,060 domains registered under .il.
• Israel received an IDN ccTLD in Hebrew script: ישראל. ICANN approved the string on 19 May 2020, it was delegated on 11 February 2021, and full Hebrew-script registrations became available on 22 November 2022. As of 19 August 2023 there were 22,186 ישראל. registrations.

Usage and Audience

• Intended for entities connected with Israel; actual use is popular within Israel.
• Common audiences and uses:
  • Commercial businesses (.co.il)
  • Non-profit organizations (.org.il)
  • Academic institutions (.ac.il)
  • Internet service providers (.net.il)
  • Government entities (.gov.il)
  • Municipal authorities (.muni.il)
  • Israel Defense Forces (.idf.il)
  • Schools and kindergartens (.k12.il)
• The Hebrew-script TLD ישראל. is used for Hebrew-language content and allows registrations either directly at the second level or under specific Hebrew SLDs (e.g., אקדמיה.ישראל, ממשל.ישראל).
• A private initiative, the Hebrew-script .קום ("com") was registered by VeriSign in 2016 and had thousands of second-level names by 2020.

Registration Rules

• General:

  • Restrictions vary by second-level domain; the registry reserves the right to screen and reject applications.
  • Domain names must not contain obscene words, foul language, or names injurious to public order or public sensibilities; names must comply with the laws of the State of Israel.
  • Registration directly at second level under .il (e.g., example.il) is not supported; names are allocated at the third level beneath defined SLDs. The ישראל. IDN allows second-level registrations in Hebrew script.

• Common second-level domains and allocation notes:

  • .co.il — commercial entities (delegated to private registrars)
  • .org.il — non-commercial organizations (delegated to private registrars)
  • .net.il — ISPs holding a valid license from the Israeli Ministry of Communications
  • .ac.il — academic institutions recognized by the Israel Council for Higher Education (delegated to Inter‑University Computation Center)
  • .gov.il — government entities (delegated to the Ministry of Finance)
  • .idf.il — IDF entities (delegated to MAMRAM)
  • .muni.il — municipal and local government authorities

• Character and format rules (selected):

  • Latin names: only lowercase Latin letters a–z, digits 0–9 and hyphen "-"; length 3–63 characters; cannot begin or end with hyphen; cannot contain consecutive hyphens "--".
  • Hebrew names: only Hebrew letters (including final forms), digits 0–9 and hyphen "-"; U‑Label form must be at least 2 characters, A‑Label form no longer than 63 characters; must not start with a digit; cannot begin or end with hyphen; cannot contain consecutive hyphens "--" (except in A‑Label form where standard punycode rules apply).

SEO and Brand Impact

• .il is a nationally recognized TLD that signals an Israeli presence or focus, commonly used by businesses, institutions and government bodies in Israel.
• The registry's support for DNSSEC and the existence of specific SLDs for government, academic and military use contribute to trust and legitimacy for sites using .il or ישראל. domains.

Notable Cases or Examples

• Early registration: .il was registered on 24 October 1985 and was among the first ccTLDs globally.
• IDN Hebrew TLD: The ישראל. IDN ccTLD was approved in 2020, delegated in 2021 and opened for full Hebrew registrations in November 2022.
• Example of a Hebrew second-level registration: איגוד-האינטרנט.ישראל (a Hebrew-script second-level under ישראל.).
• VeriSign's Hebrew .קום ("com") was registered in 2016 and had many thousand second-level domains by 2020.

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

domain:       IL

organisation: The Israel Internet Association (RA)
address:      Bareket 6, POB 7210
address:      Petach Tikva 4951774
address:      Israel

contact:      administrative
name:         Doron Shikmoni
organisation: The Israel Internet Association (RA)
address:      Bareket 6, POB 7210
address:      Petach Tikva 4951774
address:      Israel
phone:        +972 3 9700900
fax-no:       +972 3 9700901
e-mail:       doron@isoc.org.il

contact:      technical
name:         IL Technical Contact
organisation: The Israel Internet Association (RA)
address:      Bareket 6, POB 7210
address:      Petach Tikva 4951774
address:      Israel
phone:        +972 3 9700900
fax-no:       +972 3 9700901
e-mail:       tld-tech@isoc.org.il

nserver:      ILNS.ILAN.NET.IL 128.139.35.5
nserver:      LOOKUP.IUCC.AC.IL 128.139.34.240 2001:bf8:900:6:0:0:808b:22f0
nserver:      NS1.NS.IL 194.146.106.122 2001:67c:1010:31:0:0:0:53
nserver:      NS3.NS.IL 194.0.11.103 2001:678:e:103:0:0:0:53
nserver:      NS4.NS.IL 2001:500:14:6134:ad:0:0:1 204.61.216.134
nserver:      NSA.NS.IL 192.115.7.53 2a01:4280:7:0:0:0:0:53
nserver:      NSB.NS.IL 192.115.7.60 2a01:4280:7:0:0:0:0:60
nserver:      NSE.NS.IL 192.115.4.235
ds-rdata:     40239 13 2 687a4abeb697c30e24277072e0380161b84a6b0759f4998c32602d464feb0ca8

whois:        whois.isoc.org.il

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: http://www.isoc.org.il/domains

created:      1985-10-24
changed:      2025-02-11
source:       IANA