What is .azure?
Brand TLDs operate under Specification 13 of ICANN's registry agreement. It lets a trademark owner keep every second-level name for itself, so you won't find .azure names for sale at any registrar.
.azure entered the DNS root zone on June 6, 2015, 11 years ago. It came out of ICANN's New gTLD Program, the 2012 application round that grew the root from 22 generic TLDs to well over a thousand.
Microsoft Corporation also runs 7 other TLDs, including .bing, .hotmail, .microsoft, .office and .skype.
On the technical side, .azure is served by 8 authoritative name servers, every one of them reachable over IPv6. It is also DNSSEC-signed: the root zone carries a DS record for .azure, which lets validating resolvers check its answers cryptographically. Registration data is published over RDAP.
Same registry, other endings
7 other TLDs share this operator.
.azure FAQ
What country is .azure?
None. .azure is a generic top-level domain, so it isn't tied to any country.
Who owns the .azure domain extension?
Microsoft Corporation operates .azure as its registry, under a registry agreement with ICANN.
When was .azure created?
.azure was delegated to the DNS root zone on June 6, 2015.
Is .azure a valid domain?
Yes. .azure is an active top-level domain in the DNS root zone, delegated in 2015, so .azure addresses work in every browser.
Can I buy a .azure domain?
No. .azure is a brand TLD under ICANN Specification 13, so names are reserved for Microsoft Corporation.
Is .azure DNSSEC-signed?
Yes, the root zone holds a DS record for .azure.
Sources
Data from IANA root zone version 2026102000. Last changed February 2, 2026. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
