GSA releases rules for .gov domain

Registration for .gov

The General Services Administration released a final rule March 28 that lays out a new policy for registering .gov domain names.

GSA was delegated jurisdiction of the .gov domain in 1997. The domain is used by federal agencies and some nonfederal entities such as the states and Native Sovereign Nations to promote government services and increase the ease of finding those services.

In the final rule, posted in the Federal Register, GSA said it "reserves the right to charge for domain names in order to recover cost of operations."

Currently, GSA does not charge a fee, but it "has the authority to employ a system of collection that includes a one-time setup fee for new registrations, which will not exceed $1,000, depending on the level of assistance that may be provided by GSA, and a recurring annual charge that will not exceed $500 for all .gov domains."

The rule also explains naming conventions for Native Sovereign Nations, states, cities and other entities wanting a .gov domain. For instance, examples of acceptable names for states include virginia.gov, tennesseeanytime.gov, wa.gov, nmparks.gov, mysc.gov, emaryland.gov, and ne-taxes.gov.

The chief information officer of the government organization must authorize the domain name, according to the rule.

Registration can be done online at GSA's Web site at www.nic.gov.