Nominet is the registry for the United Kingdom's ccTLD .uk, which also includes .co.uk, .org.uk and .me.uk, all of which are currently available through Gandi. And they have officially announced a rate increase on the domains they offer for both creation and renewal.

This increase is set to take place on March 1, 2016 (at 0:00 UTC). The price changes are as follows:

- Creation and renewal of a domain for one year at A rates:

£5.00 (currently £4.00)

€ 8.00 (currently € 7.00)

$9.00 (currently $8.00)

- Creation and renewal of a domain for between two and ten years at A rates:

£5.00 (currently £3.00)

€ 8.00 (currently € 6.00)

$9.00 (currently $8.00)

We should point out that this means that there is no longer a multi-year discount for .uk renewals in Euros or Pounds sterling. As is presently the case in US Dollars, it will be the same rate per year to renew for one year as it is to renew for more than one year at a time.

So, as we generally like to do before a rate increase like this, we would suggest that if you are the owner of a .uk domain (including of course .co.uk, .org.uk and .me.uk), that you renew it now if possible before the change takes effect. We recommend renewing for as many years as possible.

Take this example, for instance: before March 1st, it will cost £27 (that's € 54 or $72) all together to renew a .uk domain for nine years. After March 1st, though? That price goes up to £45 (€ 72 or $81).

Or, if there's a .uk domain that you've had your eye on, now is the time to get it.

Register a .uk?

To  celebrate its first anniversary, Nominet is having a lovely promotion :  50% off new 1-year registrations from June 10th to July 31st (that's only £2).

During this period, Nominet will also be having weekly prize draws on newly-registered domains with prizes valued up to £1,000.
If you're among the 55% of small businesses in UK that does not have a web presence, this is the right time to start and get your .UK!

Register a .UK? :

Dear .UK,

Those letters are so familiar, and yet, we don't really know you at all. You've always been so distant, separated from us by your second-level domains .co, .org, and .me, with their cold, uncompromising restrictions...

Now, you've promised we can be together, and that anyone who meets your residency standards will be able to register a .UK of their very own!

Registration priority

Registrants of existing third-level .uk domains (.co.uk, .org.uk, and so on) will have priority rights to the corresponding .UK domain for five years(*). (Five years! This is the internet, .UK. Five years is a long time. But that's cool, we can wait.)

Here's how it will go down if the same domain name exists with different registrants in multiple second-level .UK TLDs (e.g. .co.uk, .org.uk...):

• Top priority will go to the registrant of the corresponding .co.uk,
  
• The owner of the .org.uk will get next priority,
• Finally, registrants of the corresponding .me.uk will get their chance.
  

.UK verification

Nominet has established an automated verification system to confirm the owners of new .UK domains meet residency requirements. The rule is pretty straightforward:

• .UK registrants must have a verifiable physical address in the United Kingdom.
• If the address doesn't pass the automated verification, it must be manually validated, by Nominet or by Gandi. If this hasn't been completed within 30 days, the domain will be locked, and bovines shall be hurled over the walls of your castle.

Gandi doesn't offer a trustee service for .UK yet, but we're working on it.

Prices

The prices of .uk domains will be the same as .co.uk. That is to say, the price of a one-year registration will be $9.00, or £4.00, or 7,00 €, depending on your currency of choice, and a two-year registration ends up being a bit less.

Details can be found on the .UK TLD pricing page.

New API method

Users of our API may be interested to note that we've added a new API method to verify eligibility for .UK domains.

So, how do I get my .uk?

Start the registration process as you would with any other domain, while logged into the Gandi account that owns the corresponding .co.uk, .org.uk or .me.uk domain. If you have any trouble, contact our support team or on Twitter @gandibar.

(*) valid for domains registered up to June 10, 2014 for the .co.uk rule, and prior to October 29th, 2013 for the other third-level .uk domains.

The United Kingdom's official extension, available at Gandi in one of three forms: .co.uk, .org.uk, or .me.uk, is standardizing its registration duration period.

Until now, these domains were only available for registration for a single two-year period at a time. This rule us now obsolete, however, and so you can now register a .co.uk, .org.uk, or .me.uk for just one year if you want.

Register a .UK: