.UK: 1.8 million domains available again
Release of .uk domain names reserved for .co.uk, .org.uk or .me.uk registrants from July 1-5, 2019.
Since June 2014, all .uk domain names with an equivalence in .co.uk, .org.uk or .me.uk, are simply blocked and reserved for holders of the third level equivalent domain. As of July 1st, things are changing and about 2 million domains will be available again.
June 25, 2019: end of priority registrations
Registrants of domain names previously registered in .co.uk, .org.uk or .me.uk had until June 25 to assert their rights.
Indeed, when launching this extension, more than 10 million domain names registered before October 28, 2013 had been blocked. In order to allow domain owners in one of the second-level extensions, to argue their rights in priority.
As this period has ended, it is now possible to register one of these domain names even if a .co.uk, .org.uk or .me.uk equivalent exists.
1st to 5th July 2019: complete release in 5 batches
During this period, the domain names still available will be released in 5 batches. Registration will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
- July 1st: domains starting with 0-9, A-B
- July 2nd: domains starting with C-F
- July 3rd: domains starting with G-M
- July 4th: domains starting with N-S
- July 5th: domains starting with T-Z
The opening of each batch will be at 3pm (UTC + 2).
8th to 12th July 2019: complete release in 5 batches
All remaining .uk domains will become available in their respective batches one week after the initial release date.
So, domains that are released in batch 1 (1st July) but not registered will become generally available through the normal registration process, one week later, i.e. on 8th July at or after 14.00 BST (UTC+1). Batch 2 will become available on 9th July, batch 3 on 10th July, etc.
The release schedule for Stage Two is as follows:
- July 8th: domains starting with 0-9, A-B
- July 9th: domains starting with C-F
- July 10th: domains starting with G-M
- July 11th: domains starting with N-S
- July 12th: domains starting with T-Z
The opening of each batch will be at 3pm (UTC + 2).
How to have the list of the concerned domain names?
On the 26th of June, the registry has published the official list of released domain names.
All domain names can be registered without any conditions, under the first come, first served rule.
How to place a pre-order and increase my chances of obtaining my domain?
Among other things, the advantage of using Netim is being able to place a pre-order before the release day of the domain name desired. Therefore you will considerably increase your chances of acquiring the desired domain.
For example, if I want to register a domain name starting with the letter N, I will not wait until July 4th to place my order. As of June 27th, I can place my pre-order in the system. That way, it can be submitted by Netim’s robots as soon as the concerned batch opens.
A confirmation email will be sent to inform you that your order has been taken into account. A full refund will be made if the domain can not be registered.
There are nice acquisitions to make, so go ahead ?
