Guidance href="#guidance"

All government websites must have a .gov / .edu / .mil sponsored top-level domain.

About href="#about"

Generic top-level domains (gTLD) (.com, .org, etc.) are non-country extensions that indicate the purpose or source of the website.

sTLDs (.gov / .edu / .mil) are a subgroup of gTLDs managed by designated organizations and restricted to specific registrant types.

A .gov / .edu / .mil extension verifies that the website is managed by a United States government organization (federal, state, local). Government non-.gov gTLDs can potentially confuse users and create opportunities for non-government entities to spoof official government services. Adopting the .gov / .edu / .mil extension ensures users are visiting an official government website.

Examples href="#examples"

Example of government websites with a .gov sTLD:

• digital.gov
• whitehouse.gov

Links href="#links"

• .gov (Wikipedia)
• Get a .gov (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency)
• Sponsored top-level domain (Wikipedia)

Related

• Metadata
• URL
• Sitemaps
• Canonicalization
• Content security policy

Topics

• Domain
• Standards