Network Working Group                         Federal Networking CouncilRequest For Comments: 1811                                     June 1995Category: Informational                 U.S. Government Internet Domain NamesStatus of this Memo   This memo provides information for the Internet community.  This memo   does not specify an Internet standard of any kind.  Distribution of   this memo is unlimited.Abstract   This document describes the registration policies for the top-level   domain ".GOV".   Thus far, Federal Agencies and their subsidiaries   have registered without any guidance.  This has resulted in multiple   registrations for Federal Agencies and naming schemes that do not   facilitate responsiveness to the public.  This document fixes this by   restricting registrations to coincide with the approved structure of   the US government.  The document cited, FIPS 95-1, provides a   standard recognized structure into which domain registrations for   top-level domains.  The IANA requires that an organization/country   apply for and get a 2 letter code from ISO/ITU (e.g., US for United   States) for additional top-level registration.   As a side effect, this reduces the number of .GOV level registrations   and reduces the workload on the Internic.U.S. GOVERNMENT INTERNET DOMAIN NAMES POLICY   The .GOV domain is delegated from the root authority to the US   Federal Networking Council.  The .GOV domain is for registration of   US governmental entities on the federal level only.  Registrations   for state and local governmental agencies shall be made under the .US   domain in accordance with the policies for that domain.   1) The document "Codes for the Identification of Federal and   Federally Assisted Organizations", FIPS 95-1 (or its successor)   lists the official names of US Government agencies.     A) Top-level entities (e.g., those with codes ending in 00 such as     "1200 Department of Agriculture"), and independent agencies and     organizations (e.g., "National Science Foundation and other non-     indented listings unless prohibited below) as listed in this     document are eligible for registration directly under .GOV.Federal Networking Council   Informational                      [Page 1]RFC 1811         U.S. Government Internet Domain Names         June 1995     B) Autonomous law enforcement components of top-level entities     (e.g., "Federal Bureau of Investigation", "Secret Service", "Coast     Guard") are also eligible for registration.     C) Cross-agency collaborative organizations (e.g., "Federal     Networking Council", "Information Infrastructure Task Force") are     eligible for registration under .GOV upon presentation of the     chartering document and are the only non-FIPS-listed     organizations eligible for registration under .GOV.     D) Subsidiary, non-autonomous components of top-level or other     entities are not eligible for separate registration.     International organizations listed in this document are NOT     eligible for registration under .GOV.     E) Organizations listed as "Federally Aided Organizations" are not     eligible for registration under .GOV and should register under     .ORG or other appropriate top-level domain.     F) Organizations subsidiary to "Department of Defense" must     register under the ".MIL" domain via the Defense Data Network     Network Information Center - contact registrar@nic.ddn.mil.   The only standard exceptions to these rules are changes to   governmental structure due to statutory, regulatory or executive   directives not yet reflected in the above document.  The requesting   agency should provide documentation in one of the above forms to   request an exception.  Other requests for exception should be   referred to the Federal Networking Council.   2) A domain name should be derived from the official name for the   organization (e.g., "USDA.Gov" or "Agriculture.GOV".)  The   registration shall be listed in the registration database under the   official name (per FIPS 95-1) for the organization or under the name   in the chartering document.   3) Only ONE registration and delegation shall be made per agency.   The .GOV registration authority shall provide registrations on a   first-come first-served basis.  It is an individual agency matter as   to which portion of the agency is responsible for managing the domain   space under a delegated agency domain.   4) Those agencies and entities that have multiple registrations under   .GOV may retain them for a maximum of 3 years from the publication   date of this document.  Within 6 months after the publication of this   document, one primary domain must be selected for the agency.  The   other (secondary) domains must cease further sub-delegations and   registrations at this time.  As of 1 year after the publication ofFederal Networking Council   Informational                      [Page 2]RFC 1811         U.S. Government Internet Domain Names         June 1995   this document, the secondary domains will become undelegated and will   revert to the control of the .GOV owner. As of 2 years after the   publication of this document, all registrations in the secondary   domains must be mirrored in the primary domain and those names should   be used where possible. At the 3 year point, all secondary domain   registrations will be deleted.   5) Those agencies and entities already registered in .GOV but not   listed in FIPS 95-1 (e.g., DOE labs, state entities) may retain their   registration within the constraint of the single registration rule   (see para 4).  No further non-FIPS-listed registrations will be made.   State and local entities are strongly encouraged to re-register under   .US, but this is not mandatory.References   [1] Federal Information Processing Standards Publication 95-1 (FIPS       PUB 95-1, "Codes for the Identification of Feral and Federally       Assisted Organizations", U.S. Department of Commerce, National       Institute of Standards and Technology, January 4, 1993.   [2] Postel, J., "Domain Name System Structure and Delegation", RFC       1591, USC/Information Sciences Institute, March 1994.Security Considerations   Security issues are not discussed in this memo.Author's Address   Federal Networking Council   4001 N. Fairfax Drive   Arlington, VA 22203   Phone: (703) 522-6410   EMail: execdir@fnc.gov   URL:  http://www.fnc.govFederal Networking Council   Informational                      [Page 3]