New requests for an ac.uk Domain
Eligibility Guidelines for a Name under ac.uk
1. Eligibility for an ac.uk domain name
These eligibility requirements apply to all new requests for registering and managing an ac.uk domain name. Organisations applying for an ac.uk domain name must fit both of the mandatory requirements and at least one of the eligibility requirements.
1.1 Mandatory requirements
An organisation may register one or more names in the ac.uk domain provided that it meets the initial requirement of a permanent physical presence in the UK and that the majority of its activities are publicly funded by UK government funding bodies, OR it is a Learned Society.
1.2 Eligibility requirements
The organisation’s primary function must also satisfy at least one of the following criteria:
i. it has central government funding to provide teaching at tertiary level. Eligible organisations would be:
- higher education establishments;
- further education establishments;
- sixth form colleges;
- specialist colleges, which aim to promote opportunities for high quality education and training in residential or day settings, for students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities;
- adult community learning (ACL) centres which receive direct funding from their Local Education Authority.
Tertiary education is defined as a programme of learning provided to persons over the age of 16, which is intended to lead to the acquisition of publicly recognised qualifications , such as:
- a vocational qualification or GCE A Levels or a qualification awarded by the Scottish Qualifications Authority, such as Scottish Vocational Qualifications and Higher National Qualifications ;
- a higher diploma or certificate ;
- higher education , such as a course of undergraduate study;
- a course of post-graduate studies (including a higher degree course);
- a course at a higher level in preparation for a qualification from a professional body ; or
ii. part of its set of core activities is to conduct publicly funded academic research where a reasonable proportion of the results are placed in the UK public domain; or
iii. its primary purpose is to provide support (other than teaching) for organisations that work with, and provide other services to, tertiary level educational establishments or the associated research community; or
iv. it has the status of a Learned Society , which is a society that exists to promote an academic discipline or group of disciplines. Most learned societies are non-profit organisations, whose activities typically include holding regular conferences for the presentation and discussion of new research results, and publishing or sponsoring academic journals in their discipline. Some also act as professional bodies, regulating the activities of their members in the public interest or the collective interest of the membership.
Please note:
Where necessary, the assessment that the "core activities" or "primary purpose" fits one or more of the categories above will be determined from the organisation's Articles of Association, Prospectus or equivalent documentation;
Applications for domain names should include clear and concise information detailing eligibility of the organisation requesting the domain name and how it qualifies for registration in the ac.uk domain. Applications with insufficient information will be rejected by the Naming Committee;
1.3 Not eligible for an ac.uk domain name
The following are not eligible for an ac.uk domain name:
- Individuals;
- Privately-funded organisations/institutions;
- Schools;
- ISPs and hosting companies;
- Departments or faculties within eligible institutions – should be sub-domains;
- International organisations/institutions.
2. Rules for the choice of an ac.uk domain name
An eligible organisation may take out as many names within the ac.uk domain as it wishes, subject to the following rules which apply to each requested domain name:
a. A request will not be allowed if it is for a name that is either one or two characters in length;
b. Three Letter Acronyms (TLAs) will not be accepted unless it can be clearly demonstrated that the organisation it is deemed to represent is well-known throughout the UK academic and research community as the requested TLA. Example organisations that do qualify are 'Workers' Educational Association' with wea.ac.uk and 'University College London' with ucl.ac.uk. Please also see precedents.
c. A request will not be allowed if it is for a name that is currently a second level domain name under the uk domain (e.g. org, co, and the like, such as co.ac.uk) or a top-level domain name in the DNS (e.g. com, edu, and the like, such as com.ac.uk) will not be allowed;
d. The requested name must, in JANET(UK)'s opinion, be representative of the requesting organisation's name, or otherwise a detailed explanation is required. The requested name must also be unlikely to present a substantial risk of confusion with other similarly named organisations or activities already registered under ac.uk;
e. A project or service must be centrally funded and of wide relevance to the ac.uk community. It must be of at least 2 year's duration and be UK-based;
f. Generic domain names, which could be applicable to a number of eligible sites, must provide evidence that they have the backing and approval from the majority of relevant members of the UK academic and/or research community, in order to be permitted to have that generic domain name;
g. Internationalised Domain Names that start with the characters “xn- -“ (ie. “xn” followed by two dashes) may not be registered;
h. Domain names must not coincide with internet protocols such as ‘www’, ‘ftp’,‘dns’ or ‘whois’.
Subject to these constraints, names will be approved on a "first come, first served" basis.
Precedents - Should these rules be revised at a later date, existing registrations will remain valid even if they would otherwise fall outside the revised rules. These names are regarded as exceptional, and should not be regarded as setting a precedent.
3. Appeals
If you would like to appeal against a decision made on your domain name application, you need to email naming-admin@ja.net, detailing precisely how you feel that the requested name meets the eligibility criteria and rules for the choice of a domain name. The appeal must also include details of funding, the primary objectives and status of the organisation, as well as the level of courses provided, or – in the case of projects – the longevity of confirmed funding and from what source.
4. Additional Information:
If a name is allocated as a result of misrepresentation on the part of the requester or its principal, JANET(UK) reserves the right to withdraw the allocated name. In such a circumstance the domain name owners will be contacted and given 2 weeks’ notice in order to appeal against the decision. There will be no compensation for costs (direct or indirect) incurred by the organisation as a result of the need to rename.
The acceptance of a name is conditional on that name being used specifically and exclusively for the organisation on whose behalf it is registered. The Committee expect that the use of an approved name will lead directly to the homepage (or “under construction” trailer) for that organisation and not to that of its ISP or any other organisation. Abuse of this principle will result in the name being withdrawn.
Organisations should NOT print a domain name on any stationery or publications until they have received formal notification that the name has been approved. An appeal against rejection may not be made on the grounds that the requested name has already been published.
Sarajane Brock
Domain Administrator
November 2006