• AI Domains
  • Pricing
  • Membership

    • .vg

    Country-code top-level domains

    Overview

    .vg is the country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the British Virgin Islands. Introduced on 20 February 1997, it permits registrations directly at the second level and does not require registrants to be associated with the British Virgin Islands.

    History

    • Introduced: 20 February 1997.
    • Registry and sponsorship:
      • The registry operates under nic.vg; KSregistry GmbH is listed as the registry provider and the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of the Virgin Islands (TRC) is the sponsoring organisation.
    • 2013–2014 registry dispute and re-delegation:
      • In March 2013 several domain registrars (for example GoDaddy) suspended new .vg registrations due to a dispute over control of AdamsNames Ltd., the IANA-accredited registry at the time.
      • A former partner created Meridian TLD and claimed accreditation; disputes resulted in registry interruption.
      • On 10 April 2014 IANA re-delegated the .vg zone to KSregistry, and sponsorship to the TRC.
      • Zone changes made after 8 March 2013 were lost because Meridian TLD did not provide the zone file to KSregistry.
      • KSregistry provided a limited window (15 April 2014 10:00 UTC to 11 May 2014 23:59 UTC) for accredited registrars to update, renew, or delete domains; new registrations were allowed after 12 May 2014 10:00 UTC.

    Usage and Audience

    • Intended use: entities connected with the British Virgin Islands.
    • Actual use: open second-level registration and no local-presence requirement have led to broader use by international registrants.
    • Notable usage patterns:
      • Some sites with controversial or piracy-related content have used .vg domains (for example, The Pirate Bay).
      • .vg has also been used by video-gaming related blogs and websites.

    Registration Rules

    • General policy and disputes:
      • Dispute policy: Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP).
      • NIC.VG terms require registrants to guarantee the chosen name/use does not impair third-party rights, violate law or morality, or bring NIC.VG, the sponsor, or the Virgin Islands into disrepute.
      • Registrants must not use the domain name for reselling sub-domains.
    • Geographic and official names:
      • Registrations that include the name of a geographic region or any officially recognized body require written consent from the relevant authority.
    • Structure and restrictions:
      • Registrations are available directly at the second level.
      • Wikipedia lists "None" under general restrictions; NIC.VG terms impose the guarantees and consent requirements above.
    • Allowed characters and length:
      • Domain names may contain 1 to 63 characters.
      • Allowed characters: letters A–Z (case-insensitive), numbers 1–9, and hyphens.
      • Hyphens cannot begin or end the domain name.

    SEO and Brand Impact

    • The TLD's permissive registration policy (no local-presence requirement, second-level registrations) has enabled use by a wide range of sites, including some piracy-related sites and gaming blogs.
    • That pattern of use has informed public and industry perceptions of the TLD; specific search-engine treatment is not detailed in the provided sources.

    Notable Cases or Examples

    • The Pirate Bay has used .vg domains during periods of operation.
    • The 2013 ownership dispute (AdamsNames Ltd. vs. Meridian TLD) and the subsequent IANA re-delegation to KSregistry in April 2014 are major events affecting the .vg zone and namespace.

    Operator

    Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of the Virgin Islands

    Whois

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

domain:       VG

organisation: Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of the Virgin Islands
address:      27 Fish Lock Road, 3rd Floor
address:      Road Town, Tortola
address:      Road Town Tortola VG 1110
address:      Virgin Islands (British)

contact:      administrative
name:         Chief Executive Officer
organisation: Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of the Virgin Islands
address:      27 Fish Lock Road, 3rd Floor
address:      Road Town, Tortola
address:      Road Town Tortola VG 1110
address:      Virgin Islands (British)
phone:        284-468-4165
fax-no:       284-494-6786
e-mail:       gmalone@trc.vg

contact:      technical
name:         CTO
organisation: CentralNic
address:      Saddlers House, 4th Floor
address:      44 Gutter Lane
address:      London EC2V 6BR
address:      United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)
phone:        +44 20 33 88 0600
fax-no:       +44 20 33 88 0601
e-mail:       tld.ops@centralnic.com

nserver:      A.NIC.VG 194.169.218.104 2001:67c:13cc:0:0:0:1:104
nserver:      B.NIC.VG 185.24.64.104 2a04:2b00:13cc:0:0:0:1:104
nserver:      C.NIC.VG 212.18.248.104 2a04:2b00:13ee:0:0:0:0:104
nserver:      D.NIC.VG 212.18.249.104 2a04:2b00:13ff:0:0:0:0:104

whois:        whois.nic.vg

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: http://nic.vg

created:      1997-02-20
changed:      2021-12-03
source:       IANA

    Registrars