.lv

Overview

• .lv is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Latvia.
• It is intended for entities connected with Latvia and is popular within the country.
• Registrations are accepted at the second level (preferred) and at the third level beneath several specialized second-level labels.
• Internationalized domain names (IDNs) using Latvian characters are supported.

History

• The .lv ccTLD was introduced on 29 April 1993.
• The registry is operated by the Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science (IMCS) at the University of Latvia; the University of Latvia is listed as the sponsor.
• DNSSEC is supported for the zone.

Usage and Audience

• Primary users are Latvian individuals, organisations, government bodies, educational institutions and businesses.
• Registration is open to foreigners, though dispute policies generally give precedence to domestic users.
• A small number of non-Latvian or creative uses exist that exploit "lv" as an abbreviation for words like "Las Vegas", "love" (e.g., my.lv, we.lv, true.lv) or "live" (e.g., short links such as xbx.lv).

Registration Rules

Eligibility

• Eligible holders include:
  • commercial entities registered in Latvia;
  • state or local government authorities;
  • foundations, agencies, unions or other entities established under Latvian law;
  • natural persons aged 18 or older;
  • commercial entities or organisations registered outside Latvia.
• Domain names must not infringe on legitimate rights of others or violate Latvian law; vulgar or offensive names are disallowed.

Structure and Second-level Domains

• Registrations are accepted directly at the second level (example.lv) and at the third level under designated second-level labels, including:
  • .com.lv — commercial entities
  • .edu.lv — educational institutions
  • .gov.lv — government and semi-government entities
  • .org.lv — organisations and affiliation groups
  • .mil.lv — defense/military entities
  • .id.lv — individuals/residents
  • .net.lv — network infrastructure providers
  • .asn.lv — associations
  • .conf.lv — conferences and exhibitions

Characters, Length and Formatting

• Traditional domain names use Latin letters (case-insensitive), digits and the hyphen ("-").
• Non-Latin letters may be transliterated to Latin; special characters, spaces and punctuation must be removed or replaced with a hyphen.
• For Latvian-language domain names, at least one letter with a diacritical mark (ā, ē, ī, ū, ō, ķ, ļ, ņ, ŗ, ģ, š, č, ž) must be used.
• Domain length must be between 2 and 63 characters.
• A hyphen may not be used at the beginning or the end of a domain name.

SEO and Brand Impact

• .lv is perceived primarily as a national domain for Latvia and is commonly used by Latvian organisations, supporting local trust and recognition.
• Non-local commercial or novelty uses exist but are limited; the registry's preference for domestic users and dispute policies reinforce its national identity.

Notable Cases or Examples

• Examples of creative uses include short or brandable domains like my.lv, we.lv and true.lv.
• Microsoft used xbx.lv as a shortened link for Xbox Live services.

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

domain:       LV

organisation: University of Latvia, Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science, Department of Network Solutions (DNS)
address:      Rainis Boulevard 29
address:      Riga LV-1459
address:      Latvia

contact:      administrative
name:         Guntis Barzdins
organisation: Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science
organisation: Department of Network Solutions (DNS)
address:      Rainis Boulevard 29
address:      Riga LV-1459
address:      Latvia
phone:        +371 6721 1241
fax-no:       +371 6782 0153
e-mail:       guntis@latnet.lv

contact:      technical
name:         Ivo Kutts
organisation: Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science
organisation: Department of Network Solutions (DNS)
address:      Rainis Boulevard 29
address:      Riga LV-1459
address:      Latvia
phone:        +371 6708 5858
fax-no:       +371 6782 0153
e-mail:       tech-c@nic.lv

nserver:      A.NIC.LV 194.0.48.1 2001:678:7c:0:0:0:0:7c
nserver:      B.NIC.LV 92.240.70.1
nserver:      C.NIC.LV 185.159.199.140 2620:10a:80ac:0:0:0:0:140
nserver:      D.NIC.LV 194.0.8.1 2001:678:b:1:0:0:0:1
nserver:      N.NIC.LV 194.146.106.150 2001:67c:1010:38:0:0:0:53
nserver:      NU.NIC.LV 2a01:3f0:0:312:0:0:0:53 77.72.229.249
nserver:      SUNIC.SUNET.SE 192.36.125.2 2001:6b0:7:0:0:0:0:2
ds-rdata:     42018 8 2 7e932a4f9cf9b1cd047c277e3cd323a53d42347d47c7bf1dd6018ff4b344fc1c

whois:        whois.nic.lv

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: http://www.nic.lv/

created:      1993-04-29
changed:      2025-08-22
source:       IANA