.org is the international address for organisations that exist for a cause rather than a profit: charities, campaigns, clubs, open-source projects and community groups. It's one of the founding extensions from 1985, it's open to everyone without proof of status, and you can register it for between one and ten years.
From our London office, PD Hosting works as a Nominet accredited registrar and UK limited company. We register your .org instantly once you've checked out, show it in your client area with any .org.uk you hold, and remind you before it's due for renewal. Search for your organisation's name below.
Per year. Compare every extension on our domain pricing page.
What is a .org domain?
- Type
- Generic top-level domain dating from January 1985. Source
- Registry
- Public Interest Registry, a not-for-profit founded by the Internet Society, which has operated .org under agreements with ICANN first signed in December 2002. Source
- Who may register
- Unrestricted: individuals, companies and organisations of every kind may hold a .org. Charitable status isn't checked. Source
- Registration period
- A term of one to ten years. Source
- Renewal price notice
- The 2019 agreement removed the old price caps but still requires the registry to give registrars 180 days' notice of any renewal price increase. Source
- Email verification
- We confirm each .org owner's email address after registration and after changes to their details. Where 15 days pass without a reply, the rules require suspension until it's confirmed. Source
- Public WHOIS
- The public record withholds personal details such as the owner's name, address and email where data protection law applies. Source
- Transfers
- Between registrars using the domain's authorisation code. Source
Facts checked against the registry on 9 November 2026.
Who a .org domain suits
A .org fits organisations whose visitors come to support, join or learn rather than buy: a UK charity with donors overseas, an international campaign, a parent-teacher association, a sports club, a professional body, or an open-source software project with contributors around the world. Readers generally take the ending to mean the site is run for a purpose, not purely for sales.
Social enterprises, community interest companies and trade associations often pick it for the same reason. So do researchers, archives and hobby societies that publish information for the public good, and businesses running a foundation or volunteering programme separate from their trading site.
- A charity or not-for-profit with supporters outside the UK
- Campaigns, petitions and advocacy sites
- Clubs, societies and membership organisations
- Open-source projects and community documentation
- A company's charitable foundation or volunteering programme
Benefits of a .org domain
Read as purpose-led
Decades of use by charities, foundations and public projects mean many visitors associate .org with organisations that serve a mission, which can help when you're asking for donations or volunteers.
Works in any country
Unlike .org.uk, a .org carries no national label, so an international alliance or a campaign with partners in several countries doesn't look tied to Britain.
Operated by a not-for-profit
The .org registry is itself a not-for-profit organisation, set up by the Internet Society, so the extension's operator shares the outlook of many of its users.
Alongside your .org.uk
As a Nominet accredited registrar we can hold both your .org and your .org.uk in one account, so renewals and DNS for the pair stay together.
.org or .org.uk for a British charity or group?
Both endings say non-commercial, and neither requires proof of charitable status. The difference is geography. A .org.uk is part of the UK's country code, run by Nominet, and tells visitors and search engines that the organisation is British. A .org is generic and global, run under ICANN's rules, and says nothing about location.
A local food bank, a village hall committee or a regional youth football league will usually feel most at home on .org.uk: donors and members are in the UK, and the name is more likely to be free. A charity that raises funds internationally, a network with members in Europe and Africa, or a project whose contributors are spread worldwide will usually prefer .org.
Because neither ending checks status, a .org on its own doesn't prove an organisation is a registered charity. Donors who want reassurance look for a charity number and a listing with the relevant charity regulator, so show yours clearly on the site.
Many organisations register both, choose one as the address used in print and email, and redirect the other. That keeps supporters from landing on someone else's site if they guess the wrong ending, and it protects your name from impersonators who might collect donations under it.
.org pros and cons
Works well if
- You run a charity, campaign, club or community project
- Your supporters or members are spread across several countries
- You want a mission-led feel rather than a shop-like one
- You already have a .org.uk and want to secure the global version
Look elsewhere if
- You're a company selling products or services: .com or .co.uk sets clearer expectations
- Your organisation works only in the UK: .org.uk signals that more directly
- You hoped the ending would prove charitable status: it doesn't, so a charity number on your site matters more
.org compared with similar extensions
| Extension | Best for | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| .org | International charities and causes | Global, non-commercial and long established. |
| .org.uk | UK charities and community groups | Same non-commercial feel, with a British signal. |
| .community | Local groups and online communities | Spells out the purpose; less familiar to the public. |
| .com | Commercial businesses | Better when you're selling rather than campaigning. |
Register your .org 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.
.org questions
Do I need to be a registered charity to have a .org?
No. There are no eligibility checks for .org, so companies, individuals and informal groups can register one as well as charities. Most owners are non-profit or community organisations, which is why visitors read it as purpose-led.
Is a .org trusted by donors?
Generally yes: it's long established and widely used by charities and public projects. Because anyone can register one, though, trust really comes from what your site shows, such as your charity number, trustees and contact details.
Should a UK charity use .org or .org.uk?
Use .org.uk if your work and supporters are mainly in Britain, and .org if you raise funds or operate internationally. Holding both and redirecting one to the other protects your name and catches supporters who guess the other ending.
Does a .org rank differently in Google?
Not because of the extension. Google treats .org as a generic domain with no country attached, so a .org can rank in the UK or anywhere else on the strength of its content and links.
What's the renewal price for a .org?
Each year after the first, keeping your .org costs £23.95, a step up from the introductory figure. The registry no longer has a price cap, but it must give six months' notice before raising renewal prices.
Why is PD Hosting asking me to prove my .org email address works?
ICANN obliges registrars to verify that the owner's email address is real and reachable. We send a confirmation request after registration and after any contact change; if it isn't answered within 15 days, the domain is suspended until it is.
What happens to a .org that isn't renewed?
It stops working shortly after expiry, so the website and email go offline. After deletion the registry holds it for a 30-day redemption period, when it can still be recovered for an extra fee, and then releases it to the public.
Sources: IANA .org record · ICANN .org registry agreement · ICANN Registrar Accreditation Agreement (WHOIS Accuracy Program Specification) · ICANN Expired Registration Recovery Policy · Google: managing multi-regional sites
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