What is .vanguard?
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 .vanguard names for sale at any registrar.
ICANN's records put the delegation of .vanguard on August 28, 2016. Like most of the newer endings, it was applied for in the 2012 New gTLD Program round and its registry agreement was signed on September 3, 2015.
Under the hood, the root zone points to 4 name servers for .vanguard, every one of them reachable over IPv6. The delegation is DNSSEC-signed, so resolvers can verify that answers for .vanguard haven't been tampered with on the way. Registration data is published over RDAP and WHOIS (the WHOIS server is whois.nic.vanguard).
.vanguard FAQ
What country is .vanguard?
None. .vanguard is a generic top-level domain, so it isn't tied to any country.
Who owns the .vanguard domain extension?
The Vanguard Group, Inc. operates .vanguard as its registry, under a registry agreement with ICANN.
When was .vanguard created?
.vanguard was delegated to the DNS root zone on August 28, 2016.
Is .vanguard a valid domain?
Yes. .vanguard is an active top-level domain in the DNS root zone, delegated in 2016, so .vanguard addresses work in every browser.
Can I buy a .vanguard domain?
No. .vanguard is a brand TLD under ICANN Specification 13, so names are reserved for The Vanguard Group, Inc.
Is .vanguard DNSSEC-signed?
Yes, the root zone holds a DS record for .vanguard.
Sources
Data from IANA root zone version 2026102000. Last changed August 11, 2023. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
