What is .nec?
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 .nec names for sale at any registrar.
ICANN's records put the delegation of .nec on May 9, 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 January 8, 2015.
Under the hood, the root zone points to 4 name servers for .nec, 3 of them reachable over IPv6. The delegation is DNSSEC-signed, so resolvers can verify that answers for .nec haven't been tampered with on the way. Registration data is published over RDAP and WHOIS (the WHOIS server is whois.nic.nec).
.nec FAQ
What country is .nec?
None. .nec is a generic top-level domain, so it isn't tied to any country.
Who owns the .nec domain extension?
NEC Corporation operates .nec as its registry, under a registry agreement with ICANN.
When was .nec created?
.nec was delegated to the DNS root zone on May 9, 2015.
Is .nec a valid domain?
Yes. .nec is an active top-level domain in the DNS root zone, delegated in 2015, so .nec addresses work in every browser.
Can I buy a .nec domain?
No. .nec is a brand TLD under ICANN Specification 13, so names are reserved for NEC Corporation.
Is .nec DNSSEC-signed?
Yes, the root zone holds a DS record for .nec.
Sources
Data from IANA root zone version 2026102000. Last changed June 20, 2023. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
