The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the international body that manages top-level domains, will open a new application round for generic top-level domains (gTLDs) in April 2026. The most well-known top-level domain (TLD) in the Netherlands is ‘.nl’, the suffix that follows the final dot in a domain name.
A generic top-level domain (gTLD) is a non-country-specific domain that, in principle, can be used by anyone, such as ‘.org’, ‘.net’, ‘.info’, and ‘.com’. Since 2012, ICANN has also permitted gTLDs for organisations that want to emphasise an association with a specific city, region, or purpose, often for marketing purposes.
The Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK) advises against government bodies applying for their own generic top-level domain. This recommendation aligns with the Netherlands’ Digitalisation Strategy (NDS) and the pursuit of a recognisable digital government under the ‘1 government’ principle.
For organisations within the national government, compliance with the Dutch Government Domain Name Policy is mandatory. In principle, these organisations use 1 top-level domain: ‘.nl’, the official country code TLD (ccTLD) for the Netherlands. Introducing new gTLDs risks proliferation and brings other drawbacks, including high costs and complex implementation and management.
Background
Domain names play a critical role on the internet. They serve as recognisable and memorable addresses for websites, web portals, and email systems. For the government, domain names act as signposts, guiding citizens to digital public services.
During ICANN’s 2012 application round, some governments applied for new gTLDs, such as ‘.politie’ (police). Drawing on the lessons from that round, governments are now, in 2026, strongly advised against applying for new top-level domains. This advice is grounded in 7 key considerations:
1. Identifiability
A government organisation’s own top-level domain does not enhance the recognisability of the digital government. Further fragmentation of government domain names makes it more difficult for citizens to find and identify official government services online. The recognisable government is perceived as a trusted sender, a reputation worth preserving.
2. 1 Government principle
The ‘1 government’ concept addresses the current landscape of numerous web portals across government agencies that citizens must navigate. The goal is to ensure that regardless of where they turn, citizens receive the correct answer. This is a core objective of the NDS. New top-level domains undermine this principle by driving further fragmentation, which hampers efforts to strengthen resilience, improve service delivery, accelerate processes, and ensure quality.
3. Uniform domain name extension
An exploration is currently underway into a uniform second-level domain name or suffix (e.g., .gov.nl or .overheid.nl) as a standardised solution to improve the recognisability of Dutch government domains.
4. Costs
Applying for, setting up, and maintaining a gTLD is extremely expensive. Beyond the initial application fee, there are ongoing annual costs to retain the gTLD. Additional expenses include technical maintenance (often outsourced) and other costs for implementation, management, and promotion; ICANN’s administrative application fee: minimum USD 227,000. Annual ICANN fee after allocation: USD 25,000. These costs exclude the technical upkeep provided by an ICANN-accredited Registry Service Provider, as well as additional expenses for implementation, management, and promotion.
5. Complexity
Maintaining a gTLD is technically complex and requires specialised expertise. Compliance with legal regulations and modern internet standards is essential. Only a limited number of accredited providers can deliver these services, making it practically impossible for government organisations to develop this capability in-house.
6. Longevity
ICANN initially grants a gTLD for 10 years, with automatic renewal assumed. This makes a gTLD effectively ‘permanent’, locking in ongoing operational costs for technical management.
7. Continuity
A gTLD places high demands on operational continuity. Bankruptcy or acquisition of the managing party could result in the gTLD and all underlying domains falling into the hands of another entity. The organisation risks losing control of its gTLD and associated domains, potentially rendering them inaccessible on the internet.
