What is .next?
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 .next names for sale at any registrar.
.next entered the DNS root zone on May 3, 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.
Next plc also runs one other TLD, including .nextdirect.
On the technical side, .next is served by 4 authoritative name servers, every one of them reachable over IPv6. It is also DNSSEC-signed: the root zone carries a DS record for .next, which lets validating resolvers check its answers cryptographically. Registration data is published over RDAP and WHOIS (the WHOIS server is whois.nic.next).
Same registry, other endings
1 other TLD shares this operator.
.next FAQ
What country is .next?
None. .next is a generic top-level domain, so it isn't tied to any country.
Who owns the .next domain extension?
Next plc operates .next as its registry, under a registry agreement with ICANN.
When was .next created?
.next was delegated to the DNS root zone on May 3, 2016.
Is .next a valid domain?
Yes. .next is an active top-level domain in the DNS root zone, delegated in 2016, so .next addresses work in every browser.
Can I buy a .next domain?
No. .next is a brand TLD under ICANN Specification 13, so names are reserved for Next plc.
Is .next DNSSEC-signed?
Yes, the root zone holds a DS record for .next.
Sources
Data from IANA root zone version 2026102000. Last changed August 11, 2023. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
