Guide
.brand: When Your Trademark Becomes the Domain
What if your brand wasn't before the dot, but was the dot? That is a .brand TLD.
What it is
A .brand top-level domain lets a company use its own brand name as the part of the address after the last dot — shop.nike instead of nike.com. According to ICANN's New gTLD Program, a .brand TLD is reserved to a single trademark holder: only the brand owner, its affiliates and its licensees can register names under it.
How it differs from gTLDs and ccTLDs
Country-code TLDs such as .ch, .de and .fr are assigned to a country or territory. Registration conditions vary; not all are open worldwide without restrictions.
Generic TLDs such as .com, .org and .net are often broadly available, subject to their registration policies.
A .brand is also a gTLD, but its registrations are restricted to the brand owner and eligible affiliates and licensees.
Who has one
Examples include .microsoft, .sky, .google, .bmw and .audi. Check each TLD’s current status in the IANA Root Zone Database.
Who can apply
A .Brand TLD applicant (e.g., organization) must:
- Answer specific application questions with respect to its dot brand status; and
- Submit one or more Signed Mark Data (SMD) files from the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) to prove that its brand name is a registered trademark.
Find out more about requirements here.
Prior to submitting an application, a .Brand TLD applicant must have valid SMD file(s) covering the exact brand name the applicant wants to use as a TLD.
The advantages
A closed .brand gives its operator greater control over who can use names such as login.brand or france.brand. This reduces unauthorised registrations inside that TLD. It does not eliminate security risks or impersonation under other extensions; technical and organisational safeguards still matter.
The drawbacks
Cost: The regular ICANN evaluation fee for the 2026 round is USD 227,000 per application. Exceptions and additional evaluation fees may apply. Registry operations, advice and ongoing fees are additional.
Commitment: The TLD must correspond to the protected brand. It cannot simply be renamed when the business rebrands, so a substantial investment may lose its value.
Application windows: Applications depend on the rounds opened by ICANN. There is no guaranteed ten-year schedule.
The 2026 timeline
As of 10 September 2026, the application window has closed. It ran from 30 April to 12 August 2026.
ICANN’s 13 August update says the evaluation fee must arrive by the later of 19 August 2026 at 23:59 UTC or seven days after the invoice was sent, at 23:59 UTC.
ICANN expected to announce Reveal Day and subsequent milestone dates in mid-September 2026. Check the official program announcements for updated dates.
Applications proceed through evaluation, potential objections, resolution of competing strings, contracting and technical steps. Timing depends on the application.
See ICANN’s round-closure update and the New gTLD Program.
The bottom line
A .brand creates a dedicated digital namespace. It can be valuable for an established brand, but requires long-term funding, operational capability and confidence in the name’s permanence. Businesses expecting a rebrand should weigh that commitment carefully.