.sj

Overview

• .sj is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) reserved for Svalbard and Jan Mayen, two territories administered by Norway.
• The domain is managed by Norid (the registry that operates .no) and was delegated on 21 August 1997.
• .sj is inactive and not open for public registration; Norwegian policy expects entities connected to these territories to use .no instead.

History

• Allocation: .sj was designated and delegated on 21 August 1997 (at the same time as .bv for Bouvet Island).
• Management: Norid operates the .sj delegation; legal oversight is under Norwegian authorities (Norwegian Communications Authority and related regulations).
• Policy stance: Norwegian policy has been to keep .sj reserved and not commercialize it. The domain remains in the DNS root but unused for third‑party registrations.

Usage and Audience

• Intended use: Entities connected with Svalbard and Jan Mayen.
• Actual use: Not in use — organizations and individuals connected to these areas typically use .no or reserved second-level names such as svalbard.no and jan-mayen.no.
• Audience: Local governments, institutions, research stations or other organizations associated with Svalbard or Jan Mayen would be the natural audience if the domain were ever opened.

Registration Rules

• Registrations: No registrations are being taken; .sj is not open for registration.
• Regulation: If .sj were ever activated for use, it would be governed by the same Domain Regulation that applies to .no and .bv and follow Norid's policies.
• Commercialization: Norwegian policy states the domain will not be sold or commercialized; Norid has indicated any status change would require thorough evaluation.

SEO and Brand Impact

• Because .sj is inactive and unavailable for registration, it has no current SEO presence or brand adoption in practice.
• Norwegian guidance that .no is sufficient means organizations seeking a Norwegian online identity rely on .no rather than .sj, preserving the established trust and recognition of .no.

Notable Cases or Examples

• In June 2015, a proposal by computer scientist Håkon Wium Lie and Norway's Socialist Left Party suggested using .sj (and .bv) as online "free havens" aimed at protecting users from surveillance. The proposal did not result in opening the domains for registration.
• Reserved second-level names include svalbard.no and jan-mayen.no which are used for region-specific web addresses instead of .sj.

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

domain:       SJ

organisation: Norid A/S
address:      Abelsgate 5
address:      Trondheim N-7465
address:      Norway

contact:      administrative
name:         Hilde Thunem
organisation: Norid A/S
address:      Postboks 4769 Torgarden
address:      Trondheim  NO-7465
address:      Norway
phone:        +47 73 55 73 55
e-mail:       hilde.thunem@norid.no

contact:      technical
name:         Jarle Greipsland
organisation: Norid A/S
address:      Postboks 4769 Torgarden
address:      Trondheim  NO-7465
address:      Norway
phone:        +47 73 55 73 55
e-mail:       jarle@norid.no

nserver:      NAC.NO 128.39.2.22 2001:700:0:102:0:0:0:aa53
nserver:      NN.UNINETT.NO 158.38.0.181 2001:700:0:503:0:0:aa:5302
nserver:      SERVER.NORDU.NET 193.10.252.19 2001:948:4:2:0:0:0:19
nserver:      X.NIC.NO 128.39.8.40 2001:700:0:412f:0:0:0:40
nserver:      Y.NIC.NO 193.75.4.22 2001:8c0:8200:1:0:0:0:2
nserver:      Z.NIC.NO 158.38.8.133 2001:700:0:52d:158:38:8:133
ds-rdata:     16935 13 2 ccef4dfbddb2886951a928b83f52be462ed1f63553dcaddd433935fc41a218af

whois:        

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information:
remarks:      https://www.norid.no/en/omnorid/toppdomenet-sj/

created:      1997-08-21
changed:      2022-01-14
source:       IANA