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    • .pn

    Country-code top-level domains

    Overview

    • .pn is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) assigned to the Pitcairn Islands, a British Overseas Territory.
    • The domain is managed by the Pitcairn Island Administration and is used for sites connected with the Pitcairn community as well as for URL shortening and domain-hack purposes.

    History

    • Introduced/implemented: 10 July 1997.
    • Initial management was delegated to an islander (Tom Christian). The Pitcairn government contested that arrangement, requesting redelegation.
    • The dispute involved communications with IANA/ICANN and local representatives; it was resolved when IANA/ICANN re-delegated management to the Pitcairn Island Council / Pitcairn Island Administration.

    Usage and Audience

    • Typical uses:
      • Local Pitcairn sites and government-related pages.
      • URL shortening services and domain hacks used by organisations outside Pitcairn.
    • Noted users who have used .pn for short links include ESPN (es.pn), Experian (ex.pn), C-SPAN (cs.pn), happn (gethap.pn) and Groupon (gr.pn).
    • The TLD has relatively few sites overall; some providers historically offered free subdomain redirections under two-letter .pn subdomains (for example eu.pn and me.pn).
    • The domain was also used in a marketing campaign for The Hunger Games franchise, presenting .pn as the country code for the fictional nation Panem.

    Registration Rules

    • Registry: Pitcairn Island Administration (registry website: https://nic.pn/).
    • Restrictions: None specified by the registry in the provided sources.
    • Structure:
      • Registrations are accepted directly at the second level (example: example.pn).
      • Third-level registrations exist under reserved second-level labels such as .co.pn, .net.pn, .org.pn, .edu.pn and .gov.pn.
    • Fees (as reported):
      • Direct second-level registrations/renewals: US$100 per year (registry price as reported).
      • Registrations/renewals under second-level domains (SLDs): US$50 per year (as reported).
    • Dispute policy: UDRP (Universal Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy).
    • Registry published policies and registration information are available on the Pitcairn domain registration pages.

    SEO and Brand Impact

    • Adoption is limited, so .pn is a niche TLD with modest global recognition.
    • Common brand uses include URL shortening and domain hacks, which can be useful for marketing, short links and memorable redirects.
    • The Hunger Games marketing use demonstrates creative branding potential (fictional-country tie-ins).

    Notable Cases or Examples

    • Companies using .pn for URL shortening or short links: ESPN (es.pn), Experian (ex.pn), C-SPAN (cs.pn), happn (gethap.pn), Groupon (gr.pn).
    • Marketing example: The Hunger Games promotion used .pn domains (presented as Panem's country code) for campaign sites.
    • Subdomain services: Some providers offered two-letter .pn subdomains (e.g., eu.pn, me.pn); one provider (Free EU Hosting) announced in August 2017 it would discontinue eu.pn and me.pn subdomains due to reputation concerns.
    • Public premium sales (reported):
      • poker.pn — US$1,670 (Jan 2009)
      • 5.pn — US$470 (Nov 2009)
      • 3.pn — US$1,250 (Sep 2012)

    Operator

    Pitcairn Island Administration

    Whois

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

domain:       PN

organisation: Pitcairn Island Administration
address:      Floor 17
address:      151 Queen Street
address:      Auckland Central
address:      Auckland 1010
address:      New Zealand

contact:      administrative
name:         TLD Registry Services Management
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 1865 332211
e-mail:       registrymanagement@nominet.uk

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 1865 332211
e-mail:       registrytechnical@nominet.uk

nserver:      DNS1.NIC.PN 213.248.219.128 2a01:618:403:0:0:0:0:128
nserver:      DNS2.NIC.PN 103.49.83.128 2401:fd80:403:0:0:0:0:128
nserver:      DNS3.NIC.PN 213.248.223.128 2a01:618:407:0:0:0:0:128
nserver:      DNS4.NIC.PN 2401:fd80:407:0:0:0:0:128 43.230.51.128
nserver:      DNSA.NIC.PN 156.154.100.3 2001:502:ad09:0:0:0:0:3
nserver:      DNSB.NIC.PN 156.154.101.3 2001:502:2eda:0:0:0:0:3
nserver:      DNSC.NIC.PN 156.154.102.3 2610:a1:1009:0:0:0:0:3
nserver:      DNSD.NIC.PN 156.154.103.3 2610:a1:1010:0:0:0:0:3

whois:        

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: https://nic.pn

created:      1997-07-10
changed:      2024-02-15
source:       IANA

    Registrars