TLD

A TLD (top-level domain) is the most generic {{Glossary("domain")}} in the Internet's hierarchical {{Glossary("DNS")}} (domain name system). A TLD is the final component of a {{Glossary("domain name")}}, for example, "org" in developer.mozilla.org.

{{Glossary("ICANN")}} (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) designates organizations to manage each TLD. Depending on how strict an administrating organization might be, TLD often serves as a clue to the purpose, ownership, or nationality of a website.

Consider an example Internet address: https://developer.mozilla.org Here org is the TLD; mozilla.org is the second-level domain name; and developer is a subdomain name. All together, these constitute a fully-qualified domain name; the addition of https:// makes this a complete URL.

{{Glossary("IANA")}} today distinguishes the following groups of top-level domains:

country-code top-level domains (ccTLD)
- : Two-character domains established for countries or territories. Example: .us for United States.
internationalized country code top-level domains (IDN ccTLD)
- : ccTLDs in non-Latin character sets (e.g., Arabic or Chinese).
generic top-level domains (gTLD)
- : Top-level domains with three or more characters.
unsponsored top-level domains
- : Domains that operate directly under policies established by ICANN processes for the global Internet community, for example "com" and "edu".
sponsored top-level domains (sTLD)
- : These domains are proposed and sponsored by private organizations that decide whether an applicant is eligible to use the TLD, based on community theme concepts.
infrastructure top-level domain
- : This group consists of one domain, the {{Glossary("ARPA", "Address and Routing Parameter Area")}} (ARPA).

See also