What is .courses?
ICANN's records put the delegation of .courses on February 25, 2015. Like most of the newer endings, it was applied for in the 2012 New gTLD Program round and its registry agreement was signed on December 4, 2014.
Registry Services, LLC operates a large portfolio of 36 TLDs, including .abogado, .beer, .biz, .blackfriday and .boston.
Under the hood, the root zone points to 6 name servers for .courses, every one of them reachable over IPv6. The delegation is DNSSEC-signed, so resolvers can verify that answers for .courses haven't been tampered with on the way. Registration data is published over RDAP and WHOIS (the WHOIS server is whois.nic.courses).
Same registry, other endings
35 other TLDs share this operator.
.courses FAQ
What does .courses mean?
.courses is a generic top-level domain named for the word "courses", and it's aimed at education & research. It doesn't belong to any country.
What is .courses used for?
.courses is mostly used for education & research. Like most gTLDs, it's a label of intent rather than a guarantee — check the site, not just the ending.
What country is .courses?
None. .courses is a generic top-level domain, so it isn't tied to any country.
Who owns the .courses domain extension?
Registry Services, LLC operates .courses as its registry, under a registry agreement with ICANN.
When was .courses created?
.courses was delegated to the DNS root zone on February 25, 2015.
Is .courses a valid domain?
Yes. .courses is an active top-level domain in the DNS root zone, delegated in 2015, so .courses addresses work in every browser.
Can I buy a .courses domain?
.courses names are sold through ICANN-accredited registrars. Some gTLDs restrict who can register, so read Registry Services, LLC's policy if you're unsure.
Is .courses DNSSEC-signed?
Yes, the root zone holds a DS record for .courses.
Sources
Data from IANA root zone version 2026102000. Last changed October 14, 2026. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
