What is .is?
Why .is? The letters come from Ísland, the Icelandic name for Iceland.
Outside Iceland, plenty of people know .is for a different reason: it reads as English sentences like "this.is". That second meaning doesn't change who's in charge, though. The domain still belongs to Iceland, and its registry sets the rules.
A little context on Iceland: the capital is Reykjavik, the main language is Icelandic, the currency is the Icelandic króna (ISK) and the international dialing code is +354.
IANA lists ISNIC - Internet á Íslandi hf. as the manager of .is, with an address in Iceland. The registry's website is https://www.isnic.is. 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 5 name servers for .is, every one of them reachable over IPv6. The delegation is DNSSEC-signed, so resolvers can verify that answers for .is haven't been tampered with on the way. Registration data is published over RDAP and WHOIS (the WHOIS server is whois.isnic.is).
.is FAQ
What country is .is?
.is is the country-code top-level domain for Iceland, in Northern Europe. Online it's also used for English sentences like "this.is".
What does .is mean?
Officially, .is is simply the ISO 3166-1 code for Iceland. Online, it's also used for English sentences like "this.is" — a "domain hack" that uses the letters for what they spell.
What does .is mean in an email address?
Only that the sender's domain is registered under .is. Because .is is also used for English sentences like "this.is", it doesn't necessarily mean the person is in Iceland.
Who owns the .is domain?
IANA lists ISNIC - Internet á Íslandi hf. as the manager of .is: it runs the registry and sets the rules for Iceland's ccTLD. Individual .is names belong to whoever registers them.
Can I register a .is domain from the US?
It depends on ISNIC - Internet á Íslandi hf.'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.isnic.is) or an accredited registrar before you buy.
Is .is DNSSEC-signed?
Yes. The root zone has a DS record for .is, so DNSSEC validation works all the way down from the root.
How do I look up who owns a .is domain?
Query the registry's registration data service: the WHOIS server is whois.isnic.is, and RDAP lookups go to https://rdap.isnic.is/rdap/. Many registrants use privacy services, so personal details may be hidden.
Sources
Data from IANA root zone version 2026102000. Last changed February 18, 2026. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
