Delegated TLD
A delegated [[tld|TLD]] is one that has been formally added to the DNS root zone by [[iana|IANA]], meaning it is live and can resolve on the public internet. An undelegated TLD is one that has been approved or applied for but whose nameserver records have not yet been inserted into the root zone. The distinction matters because a TLD can pass ICANN evaluation and have a signed Registry Agreement yet remain undelegated for months during technical setup. All TLDs visible in the IANA Root Zone Database are delegated.
Example
After ICANN approved .music in 2022, the TLD went through technical readiness checks and was formally delegated to the root zone before registrations opened.