Government domain names

Government domains portal

The government domains portal is where you can apply for and manage your domain names 24/7. It is managed by Liverton Security.

View and download related resources for example, the Domain name application form and guides on how to use the portal.

Eligibility for a government domain name

Government organisations are eligible to register a third-level .govt.nz domain name for a:

• new government organisation or business unit
• project or initiative with a significant public profile.

Learn how to:

• choose a domain name
• apply for a domain name.

About the service

The government domain name service:

• provides a straightforward application process
• makes the management of domain names easy and secure
• is free for all New Zealand central and local government organisations.

You can also apply for .health.nz and .mil.nz domain names using this service. For more information contact the Domain name service team.

Learn how to manage your domains.

Benefits of using the service

The government domain name service includes:

• 24/7 access to a DNS management portal
• 2-factor authentication for DNS management portal users
• registration of domain names in te reo Māori, including vowels with macrons
• 5 resilient and secure government nameservers offering Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC), Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) addressing, and 99.999% availability.

Benefits of using a .govt.nz domain name

All public-sector websites should use a .govt.nz domain name.

A .govt.nz domain offers a high level of trust and public recognition. This means the visitors to your website don’t have to worry about whether they’ve found a legitimate government service.

They’re also treated with extra authority by search engines and the algorithms that power other results such as voice assistant responses or snippets and information cards.