TLD Types & Classification

How top-level domains are categorized: gTLDs, ccTLDs, sTLDs, and the new gTLD program.

TLD (Domaine de Premier Niveau)

The last segment of a domain name (e.g., .com, .org, .uk).

gTLD (Domaine de Premier Niveau Générique)

Top-level domain with 3+ characters not tied to a specific country.

ccTLD (Domaine de Premier Niveau de Code Pays)

Two-letter TLD assigned to a specific country or territory.

Nouveau gTLD (Nouveau Domaine de Premier Niveau Générique)

Generic top-level domains introduced through ICANN's 2012+ New gTLD Program.

TLD Hérité (Legacy TLD)

Original gTLDs (.com, .net, .org) that predate the New gTLD Program.

sTLD (Domaine de Premier Niveau Sponsorisé)

Specialized TLD with eligibility requirements, managed by a sponsoring organization.

TLD de Marque (.brand)

New gTLD using a company's brand name, operated exclusively by that company.

TLD Géographique (GeoTLD)

New gTLD representing a geographic region (city, state, or territory).

IDN TLD (Domaine de Premier Niveau à Nom de Domaine Internationalisé)

TLD written in non-Latin scripts (Arabic, Chinese, Cyrillic, etc.).

SLD (Domaine de Deuxième Niveau)

The part of a domain name directly left of the TLD (e.g., 'example' in example.com).

FQDN (Nom de Domaine Complet)

Complete domain name with all labels from host to TLD (e.g., www.example.com.).

TLD Restreint

TLD that limits registration to eligible organizations or individuals.

TLD d'infrastructure (.arpa)

Special-purpose TLD (.arpa) reserved exclusively for DNS infrastructure and protocol use.

TLDs de test réservés

IANA-reserved TLDs (.test, .example, .invalid, .localhost) guaranteed never to resolve in the public DNS.

Opérateur TLD (opérateur de registre)

Entity authorized by ICANN to administer all domain registrations within a specific TLD.

TLD délégué

TLD formally added to the DNS root zone by IANA and resolvable on the public internet.

TLD ASCII

TLD composed entirely of ASCII characters, natively compatible with all DNS software without encoding.

TLD ouvert

TLD with unrestricted registration policies open to any person or entity worldwide.

TLD communautaire

TLD designed to serve a specific community of interest with eligibility restrictions and community-aligned policies.

TLD générique restreint

Legacy gTLDs (.biz, .name, .pro) intended for specific uses but with limited enforcement of registration restrictions.

Chaîne TLD

The proposed character sequence for a new TLD, evaluated by ICANN for similarity, geography, and conflicts.

TLD de marque (.brand)

Company-operated new gTLD using a brand name as the extension, unavailable for public registration.