A country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) is a two-letter TLD reserved for a particular country or dependent territory under ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country codes. Each nation typically has one ccTLD; for example, .de for Germany, .fr for France, .au for Australia, and .br for Brazil.
ccTLDs are administered by local domain registrars or government-designated organisations in each country. Registration policies vary widely—some countries restrict ccTLDs to residents or local businesses, while others open them to anyone worldwide. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) oversees the global ccTLD system.
Common examples:
| Country | ccTLD |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | .uk |
| Canada | .ca |
| Germany | .de |
| China | .cn |
| India | .in |
| Mexico | .mx |
ccTLDs differ from gTLDs (.com, .org, .net), which are not restricted to any country. Some ccTLDs have become popular for brandable second-level domains—.io (British Indian Ocean Territory) and .co (Colombia) are widely used by tech startups and businesses globally, even outside their origin countries.
TipCheck your domain registrar's policies before purchasing a ccTLD; some require proof of local presence or residency, while others have no restrictions.
When registering a ccTLD, you follow the same DNS setup as any domain: pointing nameservers, configuring A records, MX records, and other DNS entries through your registrar's control panel.