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Domain name glossary
Short, plain-English definitions of the terms used on this site.
- Aftermarket
- Buying and selling domain names that are already registered, as opposed to registering unused ones.
- Auth code (EPP code, TAC)
- A password-like code from your current registrar that lets another registrar take over a domain. For .uk it becomes the "Transfer Authorisation Code" from 9 February 2027.
- ccTLD
- Country-code top-level domain, such as .uk, .de or .fr.
- DNS
- Domain Name System: the system that turns a domain name into the addresses computers use.
- DRS
- Nominet's Dispute Resolution Service for .uk names. Since 7 July 2026, cases are administered by WIPO.
- Escrow
- A third party holds the buyer's money until the domain has been transferred and checked.
- Expired / dropped domain
- A name the owner did not renew. After the grace and redemption periods it may become available again.
- gTLD
- Generic top-level domain, such as .com, .net, .org or newer ones such as .web.
- Inspection period
- The time a buyer has, in escrow, to confirm they have received the domain before the money is released.
- IPS tag
- The label that identifies a .uk registrar. Changing it moves a .uk domain to another registrar (until February 2027).
- Lander / for-sale page
- A simple page on a domain saying it is for sale, often with a price or offer form.
- Nameservers
- The servers that tell the internet where a domain's website and email are hosted.
- Nominet
- The registry that runs .uk.
- Parking
- Pointing an unused domain at a page of ads or a for-sale notice.
- Push transfer
- Moving a domain between two accounts at the same registrar, or (for .uk until 2027) by changing the IPS tag.
- RDAP
- Registration Data Access Protocol, the modern replacement for WHOIS lookups.
- Registrant
- The person or organisation that holds the domain name.
- Registrar
- The company you register and renew a domain through.
- Registry
- The organisation that runs an extension, for example Nominet for .uk or Verisign for .com.
- Sunrise
- An early period when a new extension is open only to trade mark holders.
- UDRP
- Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy, used for .com and most generic domains.
- WHOIS
- The older system for looking up who manages a domain. Being replaced by RDAP.