.co is Colombia's country code, marketed worldwide as a short address for companies, communities and start-ups, and open to anyone. Google treats it as a generic domain, so it works for a business in any country.
We're PD Hosting, a London-based UK company and Nominet accredited registrar. We register your .co straight away, give you DNS management for it and keep it in the same client area as the rest of your domains. Read the section on the .com typo risk before you choose.
Per year. Compare every extension on our domain pricing page.
What is a .co domain?
- Type
- Country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Colombia, handled by Google as a generic domain. Source
- Manager
- Colombia's Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies (MinTIC), which sets policy for .co. Source
- Registry operator
- CentralNic Ltd, part of Team Internet Group, has run the registry day to day since 3 October 2025 under a contract awarded by MinTIC. Source
- Who may register
- Businesses and individuals anywhere, through an accredited registrar. There's no Colombian presence rule for a second-level .co. Source
- Restricted names
- Only the local subdomains such as gov.co, edu.co and mil.co are reserved for Colombian institutions and sold through the local registrar. Source
- Anti-abuse
- The registry publishes an anti-abuse policy and can act against names used for phishing, malware or other abuse. Source
- After expiry
- An expired .co stays in the normal renewal and restoration cycle for a limited time, during which the existing owner can still renew or restore it. Source
Facts checked against the registry on 9 November 2026.
Who a .co domain suits
A .co suits a new company that wants a crisp, brandable address: a coffee subscription start-up, a recruitment consultancy, a design collective or a community project. Many owners read it as short for company, collaboration or community, and the two letters keep logos and business cards uncluttered.
It also works for a business that already holds its .co.uk and wants a short international address, or for a founder whose ideal name is taken in .com but free in .co. Because Google treats .co as generic, it's suitable for customers in Britain, Europe or North America alike.
- A start-up or small company's main website
- A short link domain for campaigns and social profiles
- Community and membership projects
- An international address alongside your .co.uk
- Protecting a brand that already uses .com
Benefits of a .co domain
Two letters, easy to brand
A .co keeps the whole address short, which helps on screens, packaging and in conversation.
Open to everyone
No Colombian address or company is needed. Individuals and businesses in any country can register a .co.
Treated as generic by Google
Google lists .co among the country codes it handles like generic domains, so it doesn't target Colombia or limit you to one market.
Names you can still find
Good company names that went years ago in .com are often still free in .co.
.co is not .com: the typo risk, and how to manage it
The biggest practical issue with .co is that it is one letter short of .com. People who hear your address, or whose phones autocomplete it, will sometimes type .com instead. That has three consequences worth planning for.
- Lost visitors. Someone typing yourbrand.com reaches whoever owns that name, or nothing at all.
- Misdirected email. Customers replying to [email protected] may add an m without noticing, so their message goes to another domain's mail server.
- Look-alike abuse. Fraudsters sometimes register a .co version of a well-known .com to send convincing phishing emails, and the reverse can happen to a .co brand.
How to reduce the risk:
- Check who owns the matching .com before you commit. If it's an unrelated active business in your field, choose another name.
- If the .com is free, register it too and point it at your .co site, so mistyped traffic still reaches you. You can forward mail for it as well, using the free forwarding that comes with every domain.
- When you say the address aloud, spell it out: dot C O, not dot com.
- Publish SPF, DKIM and DMARC records for your .co mail, which makes spoofed messages using your name easier for receiving servers to reject.
None of this is a reason to avoid .co. Plenty of companies use it as their main address. It simply works better when you own the obvious misspelling and make the address unmistakable in print.
.co pros and cons
Works well if
- You want a short company address and the .com is taken
- You can also register or already own the matching .com to catch typing slips
- Your customers are international and you don't want a country signal
- You like an address that reads naturally as company or community
Look elsewhere if
- An unrelated business already owns the .com for your name: you'd keep losing traffic and email to them, so pick another name or a .co.uk
- You want the lowest running cost: .co renews at more than a typical .com or .co.uk
- Your audience is mainly in the UK and less familiar with .co: a .co.uk is what most British customers expect
.co compared with similar extensions
| Extension | Best for | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| .co | Start-ups and companies wanting a short address | Generic in Google; one letter from .com. |
| .com | The default worldwide | No confusion risk, but good names are scarce. |
| .co.uk | UK businesses | Similar letters, but clearly British and verified by the registrar. |
| .io | Tech and software products | Another short generic ccTLD, popular with developers. |
Register your .co domain
- Search for the name you want below.
- Add it to your basket and choose how many years to register it for.
- Check out. Your domain is registered straight away and appears in your client area, ready to point at your website and email.
Every domain includes DNS management, DNS backup and restore, and free mail forwarding.
.co questions
What does .co stand for?
Officially, Colombia: it is the South American country's code. Most owners use it as shorthand for company, corporation or community, and the registry markets it that way to businesses worldwide.
Do I need to be in Colombia to register a .co?
No. A second-level .co such as yourname.co is open to people and organisations in any country. Only the local subdomains used by Colombian government, education and military bodies are restricted.
Is a .co good for SEO?
Google treats .co as a generic domain, not as a signal for Colombia, so it ranks the same way a .com would. What helps rankings is useful content, a fast site and links from relevant sites.
Should I buy the .com as well as the .co?
If it's available, yes. Visitors and email senders sometimes add an m by mistake, so owning the .com and forwarding it to your .co site keeps that traffic and mail with you.
Is a .co trustworthy?
Yes, it's an established extension used by many legitimate businesses, and its registry runs a published anti-abuse policy. Trust comes mainly from your own site and email set-up, so protect it with SPF, DKIM and DMARC.
What does it cost to renew a .co each year?
Renewal of a .co with us is £49.95 a year, higher than the first-year price in the box above. Check the renewal figure when you compare costs.
Who runs the .co registry now?
Colombia's ICT ministry, MinTIC, sets the policy. Since 3 October 2025 the registry has been operated by CentralNic, part of Team Internet Group. Policy still comes from Colombia; the operator handles registrations, DNS and abuse reports.
Sources: IANA .co record · .CO registry · .CO registration policies · .CO anti-abuse policy · Google Search Central: managing multi-regional sites
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