What is .target?
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 .target names for sale at any registrar.
.target entered the DNS root zone on August 4, 2016, 10 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.
On the technical side, .target is served by 6 authoritative name servers, every one of them reachable over IPv6. It is also DNSSEC-signed: the root zone carries a DS record for .target, which lets validating resolvers check its answers cryptographically. Registration data is published over RDAP.
.target FAQ
What country is .target?
None. .target is a generic top-level domain, so it isn't tied to any country.
Who owns the .target domain extension?
Target Domain Holdings, LLC operates .target as its registry, under a registry agreement with ICANN.
When was .target created?
.target was delegated to the DNS root zone on August 4, 2016.
Is .target a valid domain?
Yes. .target is an active top-level domain in the DNS root zone, delegated in 2016, so .target addresses work in every browser.
Can I buy a .target domain?
No. .target is a brand TLD under ICANN Specification 13, so names are reserved for Target Domain Holdings, LLC.
Is .target DNSSEC-signed?
Yes, the root zone holds a DS record for .target.
Sources
Data from IANA root zone version 2026102000. Last changed May 11, 2024. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
