What is .so?
Outside Somalia, plenty of people know .so for a different reason: it reads as short, punchy brand names. That second meaning doesn't change who's in charge, though. The domain still belongs to Somalia, and its registry sets the rules.
A little context on Somalia: the capital is Mogadishu, languages include Arabic and Somali, the currency is the Somali shilling (SOS) and the international dialing code is +252.
Next door on the map, you'll find .dj for Djibouti, .et for Ethiopia and .ke for Kenya.
IANA lists Ministry of Post and Telecommunications as the manager of .so. The registry's website is http://www.nic.so. 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 2 name servers for .so, every one of them reachable over IPv6. There is no DS record for .so in the root zone, which means the TLD is not DNSSEC-signed at the top level. Registration data is published over WHOIS (the WHOIS server is whois.nic.so).
.so FAQ
What country is .so?
.so is the country-code top-level domain for Somalia, in Eastern Africa. Online it's also used for short, punchy brand names.
What does .so mean?
Officially, .so is simply the ISO 3166-1 code for Somalia. Online, it's also used for short, punchy brand names — a "domain hack" that uses the letters for what they spell.
What does .so mean in an email address?
Only that the sender's domain is registered under .so. Because .so is also used for short, punchy brand names, it doesn't necessarily mean the person is in Somalia.
Who owns the .so domain?
IANA lists Ministry of Post and Telecommunications as the manager of .so: it runs the registry and sets the rules for Somalia's ccTLD. Individual .so names belong to whoever registers them.
Can I register a .so domain from the US?
It depends on Ministry of Post and Telecommunications's policy. Some ccTLDs are open to anyone in the world, while others require a local address, company or trademark. Check the registry (http://www.nic.so) or an accredited registrar before you buy.
Is .so DNSSEC-signed?
No. As of our last data refresh there is no DS record for .so in the root zone.
How do I look up who owns a .so domain?
Query the registry's registration data service: the WHOIS server is whois.nic.so. Many registrants use privacy services, so personal details may be hidden.
Sources
Data from IANA root zone version 2026102000. Last changed April 18, 2016. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
