Domain Structure

(Copyright pknic.net.pk)

All new domains that are registered under .PK, must belong to one of the following second-level or third-level domains. General guidelines for each categories are given below. Payment schedule for all the domain type are the same.

.PK General Second Level Domains without .com.pk etc Suffix
.COM.PK General Business, or Individual
.NET.PK Network Related Business
.ORG.PK Non-profit Organizations
.FAM.PK Family and Individuals
.BIZ.PK General Business, Promotional
.WEB.PK Web Sites
.EDU.PK Educational Institutes
.GOV.PK Domains for Government of Pakistan
.GOB.PK Domains for Government of Baluchistan
.GOG.PK Domains for Government of Gilgit Baltistan
.GKP.PK Domains for Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
.GOP.PK Domains for Government of Punjab
.GOS.PK Domains for Government of Sindh
.GOK.PK Domains for Government of Azad Kashmir

Applications for these domains must conform to the PKNIC registration policy agreement in addition to the requirements given below. In the case of any difference between the PKNIC registration policy and the specific domain terms and conditions described below, these terms and conditions will apply.

  1. The maximum domain name length is 63 characters (excluding the .pk portion), and the maximum length is 67 characters including .pk suffix
  2. For second level .PK domains, the minimum length for the domain name, exclusive of the .pk portion is four characters (e.g. 1234.pk). A four character name before .pk can not start with one of the PKNIC second level sub-domains (e.g. com, net, org, gov, gop, etc.). For example the following domain names are not acceptable:  (coms.pk, comm.pk, nets.pk, net2.pk, govs.pk, etc). The complete list of the .PK current and reserved sub-domains includes but is not limited to .COM.PK, .NET.PK, .ORG.PK, .FAM.PK, .BIZ.PK, .WEB.PK, .EDU.PK, .GOV.PK, .GOB.PK, .GOG.PK, .GKP.PK, .GOP.PK, .GOS.PK, .GOK.PK, .INFO.PK
  3. To help minimize website phishing attacks, the following restrictions are placed:
    • Any new domain registration, since August 2013, with a four character name before .pk can not contain one of the PKNIC second level sub-domains (e.g. com, net, org, gov, gop, etc.)
    • Any new second level domain registration, since May 2014, can not end with a reserved sub-domain for Government or Education (i.e. gov.pk, edu.pk, gop.pk, gos.pk, gob.pk, gog.pk, gok.pk, gkp.pk). Exceptions can be made for longer names who’s meaning are not easily confused with government or educational functions.
  4. For third level .COM.PK, etc domains, the minimum domain name of one character are allowed (e.g. a.com.pk). The label “pk” and all the second level suffix names are reserved for these domain types (e.g. can not register pk.com.pk, net.com.pk, com.com.pk, gov.com.pk, etc).
  5. A domain name can not begin with a dash “-“, and can not have two consecutive dashes “–“in it. These are reserved for IDN encodings
  6. Generic dictionary words are allowed (unless they violate other terms set forth here or in the general PKNIC Registration Policy).
  7. The domain name is not present in the list of reserved or blocked names. Examples of reserved namespace are INFO.PK, NAME.PK, etc.
  8. Domain names are not required to have pre configured name servers for them

    .EDU.PK Domain Requirements

    According to the domain name registration policy, the domain registrant for .edu.pk domain extensions must be a bona fide educational institute, with sizeable active students enrollment and the name of the registrant institute must reflect in the domain name. Therefore, for moderation purposes, the .edu.pk domain names are kept inactive after registration.

    For activation of the EDU domain, following requirements apply:

    • A letter of authorization signed by the Principal/Head of the institute on institute’s original stationary letterhead (no photocopies or laser printed letterheads).
    • A proof/claim of being a registered and active educational institute (i-e copy of registration documents with a government education body etc).
    • A CNIC copy of the authority signing the authorization letter.

    Send these documents to the address as under:

    PKNIC Collection
    84 Tipu Block, Garden Town
    Lahore. Pakistan

    The domain will be activated upon verification of the received documents.

    .GOV.PK Domain Requirements

    GOV.PK is used primarily for the Federal Government of Pakistan. For provincial domains, the name space of GOP.PK for Govt. of Punjab, GOS.PK for Sindh, GOB.PK for Baluchistan, GKP.PK for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, GOG for Gilgit Baltistan and GOK.PK for Azad Jammu & Kashmir are used.

    In certain circumstances a GOV.PK may be used for a high level Provincial Department, that is unique in the province, if the name of the province is prominent in the domain name (e.g. Punjab-Police.gov.pk, etc).

    To avoid inappropriate use of government domain names, the .gov.pk domain names are kept inactive after registration. For activation of the GOV domains, following requirements apply:

    • A letter of authorization signed by the Head of the government organization (or properly delegated authority).
    • This authorization letter must be on the original official stationary/letterhead (no photocopies or laser printed letterheads).
    • A CNIC copy of the authority signing the authorization letter.

    Send these documents to the address as under:

    PKNIC Collection
    84 Tipu Block, Garden Town
    Lahore. Pakistan

    The domain will be activated upon verification of the received documents.

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