Can a foreign company register a .us domain?

The rules below come from the registry's own usTLD policy documents, which are not numbered clause by clause, so we cite them by category, heading and paragraph. The registry is Registry Services, LLC, trading as GoDaddy Registry. The US NTIA awarded Neustar a ten-year contract for .us from August 2019.

Who can hold a .us domain

The Nexus Requirements Policy says every registrant must fall into one of three categories, and that remaining in compliance is a continuing requirement, not a test passed once at checkout.

The categories in detail

Category 3 is a foreign entity or organisation with a bona fide presence in the United States or any of its possessions or territories. The applicant must state its country of citizenship and must also either (1) regularly engage in lawful activities in the US, meaning sales of goods or services or other business, commercial or non-commercial, including not-for-profit work, or (2) maintain an office or other property within the US. The Nexus Codes document splits these into C31 (regular lawful activity) and C32 (an office or other facility). The Policy's Category 1 has a third limb, primary domicile in the US, which the Codes document does not give a separate code.

What counts as a bona fide presence

The Policy's Category 3 certification says the applicant certifies real and substantial lawful contacts with, or lawful activities in, the United States. It lists two factors, without limitation: regularly performing lawful activities in the US related to the purposes for which the organisation exists (selling goods, providing services, regular training, attending conferences), and maintaining an office or other facility in the US for a lawful business, noncommercial, educational or governmental purpose. Both factors carry the same exclusion: the activity or office must not exist solely or primarily to allow the registration.

Does a US trade mark or an office qualify?

An office or other facility qualifies, provided it serves a lawful business purpose. A US trade mark is not a listed criterion anywhere in the Nexus Requirements, and EuropeID states that a trade mark gives no access to .us. That differs from .ca and .au, where a local trade mark opens a route. A trade mark helps only as supporting evidence of genuine US trading.

What the registry says about proxies and trustees

Most registries say nothing about trustees. The .us registry is the exception: it says no.

Proxy and privacy registrations are prohibited

The Privacy Services Policy (updated August 2019) begins from a principle: the registration data supplied by the registered name holder belongs to that holder, so that the WHOIS is accurate and the Nexus Requirements can be enforced. It then bars the registrar and its resellers, affiliates, partners and contractors from offering anonymous or proxy registration services that stop the registry holding and displaying the true data, and bars registrars and resellers from using their own contact details, or proxy services they own, as registration data.

Responsibility sits with the registrant

The Specifications on Registrants' Rights and Responsibilities make the registrant solely responsible for the registration and its use. Paragraph 2 of the Nexus Dispute Policy has the registrant warrant that its statements are accurate and leaves it to decide whether the registration complies.

Spot checks, challenges and losing nexus

Three fields at registration

The registrar must collect a nexus certification, the category relied on, and a certification that the listed name servers are in the United States. If any is missing, the registration is rejected. A registration that fails nexus goes on a 30-day hold and, if not corrected, is cancelled without refund.

Spot checks

The registry runs regular spot checks. A selected registrant must give a written response with documents showing it meets the category it declared. For Category 3 the listed evidence is a bill of sale showing the registrant and a US buyer or, if the entity has a US address, a deed, lease or other official document showing that address, dated within two years. The registry recommends redacting identifier numbers.

Third-party challenges

Any person or entity can file a Nexus Dispute complaint with an approved provider (Rules, paragraph 3(a)). The complainant pays the fees (paragraph 3(c)) and the only remedy is cancellation (paragraph 3(e)). Either side may go to court, and the registry waits ten business days before acting on a decision (paragraph 3(g)). The domain cannot move to a new holder during the case or for fifteen business days after it (paragraph 7(a)).

If you lose nexus

The published documents set out no grace procedure for a registrant who stops qualifying. They say nexus is continuing, that evidence can be demanded, and that a successful challenge ends in cancellation. Cloudflare, a registrar, adds that inaccurate information or ignoring a request may lead to suspension or cancellation. If your US office closes or your US sales stop, plan to lose the domain unless another category applies.

Exit and transfer

Moving a .us to a new holder is a Change of Registrant under the Transfer Policy (sections 4.1 to 4.3). Both the prior and new registrant must confirm, and a 60-day inter-registrar transfer lock follows unless the registrant opted out (section 4.3.2). Registrars must refuse the change while a usDRP, usRS or TDRP case or a court order is pending (section 4.2.1). The new holder must itself meet nexus.

How registration works

You apply through an accredited registrar

.us is sold only through usTLD-accredited registrars and resellers, for one to ten years. The registrar collects the category (C11, C12, C21, C31 or C32), the application purpose and, for the foreign categories, the registrant's country code. The purposes are P1 business use for profit, P2 non-profit, club or association, P3 personal, P4 education and P5 government. The registry documents we read do not list them; we take them from CentralNic Reseller's registrar documentation.

Name servers

The Policy still lists a certification that the name servers are in the US. Registrars disagree: 101domain and InterNetX say they must be, while Openprovider says correct name server configuration is not required. Ask before you rely on offshore DNS.

Name format

Registrar sheets give 3 to 63 characters and no internationalised names (Openprovider, EuropeID), though InterNetX shows 1 to 63 and CentralNic Reseller lists IDN support. 101domain adds that a name may not resemble a telephone number or a ZIP code. We found no registry text that settles the length point.

What the public lookup shows

No privacy service is allowed, but the registry's own lookup shows little. When we queried its RDAP service in October 2026, the registrant's name, organisation, street, city, postcode and email were redacted under "server policy", and only the registrant's country and state or region appeared. The true data is still held and can be requested by someone with a legitimate interest, under the registry's Registration Data Terms and Conditions (2025 edition). Our guide to WHOIS privacy on restricted domains compares registries.

If you do not qualify: the routes

Form a US entity

Category 2 covers an entity incorporated in any state, and its text sets no foreign-ownership limit and no purpose test. The "not solely or primarily to register" wording appears only in the Category 3 factors. You still carry state filings, a registered agent and tax obligations, and a spot check asks for a document showing the entity's US address. See trustee service or local company.

Qualify under Category 3

If you already sell into the United States, a bill of sale to a US buyer is the registry's own example of Category 3 evidence. That is a route a foreign company with US customers can use without any third party.

Use a trustee

We checked ten providers and none sells a .us trustee. Read the comparison.

Frequently asked questions

Last updated October 2026. Registry policies change. If you spot something out of date, email info@trusteeindex.com.