What is .am?
Outside Armenia, plenty of people know .am for a different reason: it reads as AM radio and audio brands. That second meaning doesn't change who's in charge, though. The domain still belongs to Armenia, and its registry sets the rules.
A little context on Armenia: the capital is Yerevan, the main language is Armenian, the currency is the Armenian dram (AMD) and the international dialing code is +374. It's landlocked.
Next door on the map, you'll find .az for Azerbaijan, .ge for Georgia, .ir for Iran and .tr for Türkiye.
IANA lists "Internet Society" Non-governmental Organization as the manager of .am, with an address in Armenia. The registry's website is https://www.amnic.net. ccTLD managers set their own policies — who can register, which second-level names exist, pricing to registrars — so those rules differ from country to country.
Under the hood, the root zone points to 4 name servers for .am, every one of them reachable over IPv6. The delegation is DNSSEC-signed, so resolvers can verify that answers for .am haven't been tampered with on the way. Registration data is published over WHOIS (the WHOIS server is whois.amnic.net).
Armenia also has another country-code domain in the root zone: .հայ (Armenian).
Same registry, other endings
1 other TLD shares this operator.
.am FAQ
What country is .am?
.am is the country-code top-level domain for Armenia, in Western Asia. Online it's also used for AM radio and audio brands.
What does .am mean?
Officially, .am is simply the ISO 3166-1 code for Armenia. Online, it's also used for AM radio and audio brands — a "domain hack" that uses the letters for what they spell.
What does .am mean in an email address?
Only that the sender's domain is registered under .am. Because .am is also used for AM radio and audio brands, it doesn't necessarily mean the person is in Armenia.
Who owns the .am domain?
IANA lists "Internet Society" Non-governmental Organization as the manager of .am: it runs the registry and sets the rules for Armenia's ccTLD. Individual .am names belong to whoever registers them.
Can I register a .am domain from the US?
It depends on "Internet Society" Non-governmental Organization's policy. Some ccTLDs are open to anyone in the world, while others require a local address, company or trademark. Check the registry (https://www.amnic.net) or an accredited registrar before you buy.
Is .am DNSSEC-signed?
Yes. The root zone has a DS record for .am, so DNSSEC validation works all the way down from the root.
How do I look up who owns a .am domain?
Query the registry's registration data service: the WHOIS server is whois.amnic.net. Many registrants use privacy services, so personal details may be hidden.
Sources
Data from IANA root zone version 2026102000. Last changed November 27, 2024. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
