Overview
- .trust is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) introduced through ICANN's New gTLD Program.
- Operated by NCC Group plc and its subsidiary NCC Group Domain Services (originally Artemis Internet), .trust is positioned as a security- and brand-protection-focused namespace.
- The registry provides verification tools and a dedicated Security Operations Center (SOC) to help registrants adhere to security best practices and comply with the .trust Technical Policy.
History
- The original applicant for .trust was Deutsche Post AG; those rights were sold to NCC Group plc.
- The .trust Registry Agreement was assigned to NCC Group’s subsidiary (Artemis Internet, renamed NCC Group Domain Services) on October 16, 2014.
- .trust was delegated to the DNS root zone on December 6, 2014.
- The .trust Technical Policy was published publicly and was presented around ICANN 51.
Usage and Audience
- The TLD is aimed at entities prioritizing brand protection and high security standards.
- Intended users include organizations that want to signal trustworthiness for online transactions and to leverage verification and monitoring services offered by the registry.
- The TLD is categorized under Commerce in gTLD classifications.
Registration Rules
- A Sunrise period opened for .trust on December 16, 2014 and ran until March 7, 2015 (concurrent with the ICANN-mandated name collision period).
- NCC Group operates an ICANN-accredited registrar (NCC Group Secure Registrar) to offer end-to-end domain services for .trust.
- Registrants are expected to comply with the publicly available .trust Technical Policy; the registry provides verification mechanisms and ongoing SOC monitoring to enforce security and compliance.
SEO and Brand Impact
- .trust is explicitly positioned as a high-assurance, security-focused TLD intended to support brand protection and convey trust for transactional websites.
- The registry emphasizes security controls, verification processes, and continuous monitoring as part of its brand proposition for registrants.
Notable Cases or Examples
- Deutsche Post AG was the original applicant and later transferred its rights to NCC Group plc.
- The registry agreement assignment to NCC Group’s subsidiary occurred on October 16, 2014, and delegation to the root zone took place on December 6, 2014.
- Artemis Internet (NCC Group subsidiary) had applied for .secure in the 2012 round but withdrew that .secure application on December 16, 2014.
Operator
Internet Naming Co.
Whois
% IANA WHOIS server
% for more information on IANA, visit http://www.iana.org
% This query returned 1 object
domain: TRUST
organisation: Internet Naming Co.
address: 23 Lime Tree Bay, West Bay
address: Grand Cayman KY1-1505
address: Cayman Islands (the)
contact: administrative
name: Shayan Rostam
organisation: Internet Naming Co.
address: 23 Lime Tree Bay, West Bay
address: Grand Cayman KY1-1505
address: Cayman Islands (the)
phone: +1.424.888.0690
e-mail: partners@inaming.co
contact: technical
name: Francisco Obispo
organisation: Tucows.com, Co.
address: 96 Mowat Avenue
address: Toronto ON M6K3M1
address: Canada
phone: +1 (416) 535-0123
e-mail: trs-ops@tucows.com
nserver: NS01.TRS-DNS.COM 2620:57:4001:0:0:0:0:1 64.96.1.1
nserver: NS01.TRS-DNS.INFO 185.159.198.3 2620:10a:80ab:0:0:0:0:3
nserver: NS01.TRS-DNS.NET 2620:57:4002:0:0:0:0:1 64.96.2.1
nserver: NS01.TRS-DNS.ORG 185.159.197.3 2620:10a:80aa:0:0:0:0:3
ds-rdata: 33872 13 2 d324a81281464251e04686f4e75d2978b119496fe596012a89647ff6af0eefc3
whois: whois.nic.trust
status: ACTIVE
remarks: Registration information: https://internetnaming.co
created: 2014-11-26
changed: 2025-05-15
source: IANA
Registrars