.мкд

Overview

• .мкд (Punycode: .xn--d1alf) is the internationalized country-code top-level domain (IDN ccTLD) for North Macedonia, expressed in the Cyrillic script.
• The string .мкд corresponds to the Unicode code points U+043C U+043A U+0434 and transliterates to "mkd".
• The domain is administered and sponsored by MARnet (Macedonian Academic Research Network).
• Intended use: entities connected with North Macedonia using the Cyrillic script.

History

• 19 November–3 December 2012: MARnet opened a public call for proposals for a national Cyrillic domain; proposals had to contain letters of the country's name.
• 3 December 2012: MARnet shortlisted six proposals (.мкд, .мак, .македонија, .рмкд, .рм, .рмак).
• January 2013: Final winner announced following a public vote; .мкд won the vote.
• 3 September 2013: MARnet applied for the string .мкд via the IDN ccTLD Fast Track process.
• 14 April 2014: IDN Fast Track DNS Stability Panel review found the applied-for string presented none of the identified stability or security threats and posed an acceptably low risk of user confusion.
• 20 March 2014: .мкд was officially approved and registered.
• April 2014 (implemented 21 April 2014 per registry notes): .мкд was delegated to MARnet and became active in the DNS.

Usage and Audience

• Audience: organizations, businesses, and individuals in North Macedonia using Cyrillic-script names and content.
• Relationship to existing ccTLD: .мкд complements the ASCII ccTLD .mk, which is also managed by MARnet.
• Adoption snapshot: 424 registered .мкд domains (data recorded October 2021).

Registration Rules

• Eligibility: Any legal entity or individual person may register a .мкд domain according to MARnet policy.
• Registry: MARnet (Macedonian Academic Research Network) operates registrations and publishes domain rules on its website (https://marnet.mk/).
• Script: Registrations use Cyrillic; the top-level string itself is Cyrillic (.мкд) and represented in DNS as the ASCII-compatible encoding .xn--d1alf.

SEO and Brand Impact

• Delegation review: The IDN Fast Track DNS Stability Panel concluded the string posed an acceptably low risk of user confusion and no DNS stability or security threats were identified during review.
• Branding: As a national Cyrillic ccTLD, .мкд provides a localized domain option for Macedonian-language content and Cyrillic-script branding (transliteration: "mkd").

Notable Cases or Examples

• Public selection: In the final public vote for the Cyrillic domain, .мкд received 1,670 of 2,288 votes (73%), winning decisively over five other candidates.
• Technical representation: The domain is listed in DNS/ICANN records as the IDN ccTLD delegated to MARnet (Punycode .xn--d1alf).

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

domain:       мкд
domain-ace:   XN--D1ALF

organisation: Macedonian Academic Research Network Skopje
address:      Blvd. Partizanski Odredi 17
address:      Skopje 1000
address:      North Macedonia

contact:      administrative
name:         Aleksandar Poposki
organisation: Macedonian Academic and Research Network MARnet
address:      Blvd. Partizanski Odredi 17
address:      Skopje 1000
address:      North Macedonia
phone:        + 389 2 3256561
e-mail:       info@marnet.mk

contact:      technical
name:         Vladislav Bidikov
organisation: Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering
address:      "Rugjer Boshkovikj" 16, P.O. Box 393
address:      Skopje 1000
address:      North Macedonia
phone:        +389 23070377
fax-no:       +389 23088222
e-mail:       vladislav.bidikov@finki.ukim.mk

nserver:      B.DNS.SI 153.5.81.140 2001:1470:8000:53:0:0:0:44
nserver:      DNS-MK.UNIVIE.AC.AT 2001:628:453:bb:0:0:0:4 78.104.145.4
nserver:      MK-E.NS.NIC.CZ 185.43.134.12 2001:148f:fffd:0:0:0:0:12
nserver:      TLD1.MARNET.MK 194.149.137.168

whois:        whois.marnet.mk

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: http://marnet.mk/

created:      2014-04-21
changed:      2024-02-21
source:       IANA