.med

Overview

• .med is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) intended for websites related to medicine and healthcare.
• The string was created through ICANN's New gTLD Program and is intended to signal medical/clinical content or services.
• .med is also a filename extension associated with the Salome numerical simulation platform.

History

• ICANN delegated .med to the root zone on 3 December 2015.
• The successful applicant was Medistry LLC, a subsidiary of Second Generation Ltd; a registry agreement is documented (ICANN registry agreement referenced August 2015).
• Earlier in the application process (2013–2014), several organizations applied for .med, including Google (Charleston Road Registry Inc.) and the Cleveland Clinic. Google and the Cleveland Clinic initially had applications rejected following objections by the International Chamber of Commerce in 2014; the decision against Cleveland Clinic was later reversed that same year.
• Other applicants included HEXAP SAS and DocCheck AG; DocCheck later withdrew its application.

Usage and Audience

• Intended audience: medical professionals, healthcare organizations, clinical services, medical publishers and other health-related sites.
• Some community-oriented applicants proposed restricting registrations to verified healthcare professionals or members of defined medical communities.
• Applicant proposals emphasized using .med to host authoritative, credentialed medical content rather than anonymous or general-purpose registrations.

Registration Rules

• Specific final registry rules are not detailed in the provided sources; however, applicant proposals included:
  • DocCheck AG proposed requiring registrants to register through its existing DocCheck.com service, leveraging its experience verifying medical credentials.
  • HEXAP SAS proposed that registrants must certify they are licensed healthcare professionals, provide accurate contact information in .MED WHOIS, and report to a Medical Clearinghouse operated by HEXAP; anonymous registration would be disallowed under that proposal.
  • Medistry LLC (the winning applicant) submitted a Public Interest Commitment as part of its ICANN application process.

SEO and Brand Impact

• The .med string attracted significant scrutiny during the application process, including objections by ICANN's Independent Objector and the International Chamber of Commerce; this reflects the sensitive, trust-focused nature of health-related TLDs.
• Proposals emphasizing verified registrants and public-interest commitments aim to position .med as a higher-trust namespace for medical content, which can affect brand perception and user trust compared with generic TLDs.

Notable Cases or Examples

• Google and the Cleveland Clinic both applied for .med; both faced objections and were initially rejected in 2014, with Cleveland Clinic's decision later reversed.
• Medistry LLC (Second Generation Ltd) was the accepted applicant and the registry operator referenced in delegation records.
• DocCheck AG withdrew its community application after Independent Objector filings; HEXAP SAS's application included endorsements from institutions such as the Mayo Clinic and Stanford (as noted in application materials).
• .med is also used as a filename extension in the Salome simulation platform.

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

domain:       MED

organisation: Medistry LLC
address:      3029 Prospect Ave
address:      Cleveland OH 44115
address:      United States of America (the)

contact:      administrative
name:         Ray Fassett
organisation: Medistry, LLC
address:      3029 Prospect Ave
address:      Cleveland OH 44115
address:      United States of America (the)
phone:        +1 216-361-1000
fax-no:       +1 216-588-1558
e-mail:       ray@goto.jobs

contact:      technical
name:         TLD Registry Services Technical
organisation: Nominet
address:      Minerva House
address:      Edmund Halley Road
address:      Oxford Science Park
address:      Oxford OX4 4DQ
address:      United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)
phone:        +44.1865332211
e-mail:       registrytechnical@nominet.uk

nserver:      DNS1.NIC.MED 213.248.219.124 2a01:618:403:0:0:0:0:124
nserver:      DNS2.NIC.MED 103.49.83.124 2401:fd80:403:0:0:0:0:124
nserver:      DNS3.NIC.MED 213.248.223.124 2a01:618:407:0:0:0:0:124
nserver:      DNS4.NIC.MED 2401:fd80:407:0:0:0:0:124 43.230.51.124
nserver:      DNSA.NIC.MED 156.154.100.3 2001:502:ad09:0:0:0:0:3
nserver:      DNSB.NIC.MED 156.154.101.3 2001:502:2eda:0:0:0:0:3
nserver:      DNSC.NIC.MED 156.154.102.3 2610:a1:1009:0:0:0:0:3
nserver:      DNSD.NIC.MED 156.154.103.3 2610:a1:1010:0:0:0:0:3
ds-rdata:     36455 8 2 4b9cbec710c3fb2eddc07ae31e75fa59855fb5abcb9ce68a61cb7e490b5831c4

whois:        

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: 

created:      2015-11-12
changed:      2025-01-28
source:       IANA