What is .ac?
Outside Ascension Island, plenty of people know .ac for a different reason: it reads as academic and research projects. That second meaning doesn't change who's in charge, though. The domain still belongs to Ascension Island, and its registry sets the rules.
A little context on Ascension Island: the capital is Georgetown.
IANA lists Internet Computer Bureau Limited as the manager of .ac, with an address in Ascension Island. The registry's website is http://www.nic.ac. 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 4 name servers for .ac, every one of them reachable over IPv6. The delegation is DNSSEC-signed, so resolvers can verify that answers for .ac haven't been tampered with on the way. Registration data is published over WHOIS (the WHOIS server is whois.nic.ac).
Same registry, other endings
1 other TLD shares this operator.
.ac FAQ
What country is .ac?
.ac is the country-code top-level domain for Ascension Island, in Western Africa. Online it's also used for academic and research projects.
What does .ac mean?
Officially, .ac is simply the ISO 3166-1 code for Ascension Island. Online, it's also used for academic and research projects — a "domain hack" that uses the letters for what they spell.
What does .ac mean in an email address?
Only that the sender's domain is registered under .ac. Because .ac is also used for academic and research projects, it doesn't necessarily mean the person is in Ascension Island.
Who owns the .ac domain?
IANA lists Internet Computer Bureau Limited as the manager of .ac: it runs the registry and sets the rules for Ascension Island's ccTLD. Individual .ac names belong to whoever registers them.
Can I register a .ac domain from the US?
It depends on Internet Computer Bureau Limited'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.ac) or an accredited registrar before you buy.
Is .ac DNSSEC-signed?
Yes. The root zone has a DS record for .ac, so DNSSEC validation works all the way down from the root.
How do I look up who owns a .ac domain?
Query the registry's registration data service: the WHOIS server is whois.nic.ac. Many registrants use privacy services, so personal details may be hidden.
Sources
Data from IANA root zone version 2026102000. Last changed October 13, 2026. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
