Quick answer
Who controls a .link domain, and what does it cost?
.link domain at PanamaRegistrar, as of October 2026: $11.99 a year, the same price to renew. .link is managed by Nova Registry Ltd. in Valletta, Malta, a European Union state, with Tucows in Toronto, Canada, as technical operator under an ICANN registry agreement.
.link registry facts
| Registry manager (IANA) | Nova Registry Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Registry location | Valletta — Malta |
| Back-end operator | Tucows.com, Co., Toronto (Canada) |
| Legal framework | ICANN registry agreement (new gTLD, 2012 round) |
| Dispute policy | UDRP + URS |
| Who can register | Anyone: no residence, nexus or purpose rule |
| WHOIS / RDAP | WHOIS whois.uniregistry.net · RDAP rdap.uniregistry.net/rdap/ |
| DNSSEC | Yes (DS record in the root zone) |
| Registration term | 1 to 10 years |
| Price at PanamaRegistrar | $11.99/year; renewal $11.99/year; transfer $11.99 |
| IANA record last updated | 26 June 2026 |
Who runs the .link registry, and from which country?
Nova Registry Ltd., 136 St. Christopher Street, Valletta, is the .link manager in IANA's database. Tucows.com, Co. in Toronto is technical operator. The registry website listed by IANA is uniregistry.link, and the lookup hosts still carry the Uniregistry name: whois.uniregistry.net and rdap.uniregistry.net. IANA updated the record on 26 June 2026. .link is a new gTLD under ICANN contract, and its manager is a Maltese company.
Can a court in Malta take down or seize a .link domain?
A Maltese court has authority over Nova Registry, and Maltese law applies to the company. As an EU member, Malta also applies EU rules on recognising judgments from other member states. The database operator, Tucows, is in Canada. We found no published Nova Registry procedure for court orders. A .link name is therefore reachable through Malta and Canada at registry level, whatever PanamaRegistrar decides.
What does PanamaRegistrar do with a complaint about a .link domain?
Nothing happens to a .link domain on a complaint alone. Copyright, defamation, political or competitor complaints need a decision from a Panamanian court; a foreign judgment must first be recognised in Panama by exequatur. Phishing, malware, botnets and fraud that takes money from victims are suspended within 24 hours of a well-documented report, child sexual abuse material immediately, and the URLs are reported to NCMEC. You are told before any action on your domain, unless the law or the court order forbids it; with Domain protection, every complaint is also read by a person before any action on the domain. This rule covers what PanamaRegistrar does, not the registry or our registrar partner. Steps and time limits: takedown procedure and how we handle complaints.
Who uses .link domains, and why?
Link hubs and short links are the uses the dataset lists for .link. The extension suits redirect pages, campaign links and link-in-bio pages. Registration is open, for 1 to 10 years. Short-link services attract abuse reports, so the strict exceptions on phishing and malware are the rules most likely to apply to them.
Which registry rules are specific to .link?
Lookup host names show the extension's history: whois.uniregistry.net and rdap.uniregistry.net, while IANA names Nova Registry Ltd. as manager. Tools that hard-code an older WHOIS host may fail. .link supports DNSSEC and IDN. Its back end is Tucows in Toronto, the same operator as for .cloud and the Radix extensions.
What does the WHOIS show for a .link domain?
.link allows WHOIS privacy, free at PanamaRegistrar. The public record on whois.uniregistry.net shows the registrar, the dates, the nameservers and the status codes; your details stay private. With Domain protection, the registry receives our company's details, so a link page does not expose its owner's address.
Do I need Domain protection for a .link domain?
No, it is optional: +$29 per year, on top of the .link price. Domain protection registers the domain in the name of DomaineGoat LLC, so the registration record and WHOIS/RDAP show our company, never you, and you can take it back in your own name for free. A transfer lock is on, and any transfer or DNS change must be confirmed from your account. We then hold only your email, and a person reads every complaint before any action on the domain; that review exists only with the option. It does not move the registry or change its courts.
Which dispute policy applies to .link?
.link is a new gTLD, so the UDRP and the URS apply. Short-link names that copy a brand are typical URS cases, decided quickly by an examiner. We lock the domain when a provider asks, apply the decision and tell the customer, who can answer the complaint. Our steps for trademark cases: UDRP and URS.
How much does a .link domain cost, and how is it renewed?
At PanamaRegistrar, as of October 2026, .link costs $11.99/year; renewal is $11.99/year, and a transfer $11.99 with one year added, as ICANN rules provide for generic extensions. Term: 1 to 10 years. Payment is in crypto (BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC) from a prepaid balance, minimum top-up $25. Every extension: price list.
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.link questions
Who manages the .link registry?
Nova Registry Ltd., listed by IANA at 136 St. Christopher Street, Valletta, Malta. Tucows.com, Co. in Toronto is technical operator. The lookup hosts are whois.uniregistry.net and rdap.uniregistry.net, and the registry website listed by IANA is uniregistry.link.
Will a redirect service on .link be suspended for abuse?
Only if a redirect leads to phishing, malware, a botnet, child abuse material or fraud that takes money from victims, and the report is well documented. Other complaints need a Panamanian court decision. Reports go to [email protected]; see report abuse.
Is Maltese law relevant to my .link domain?
For the registry, yes: Nova Registry is a Maltese company, so Maltese courts and EU rules on judgments apply to it. Your relationship with PanamaRegistrar is under Panamanian jurisdiction, and a foreign judgment binds us only after recognition in Panama by exequatur.
Can PanamaRegistrar stop the .link registry from acting on a court order?
No. The .link registry, Nova Registry Ltd., keeps its own copy of the registration and applies the law of its own country. PanamaRegistrar decides only what its own service does: we act on Panamanian court orders, not on unverified complaints. Our registrar partner also keeps its own legal duties. We tell you when we learn of a registry-level action, unless the law or the order forbids it. See the registry jurisdiction index.
How do I pay for a .link domain?
In crypto only: BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC. Top up your balance (minimum $25), then register the .link domain from it at $11.99/year. Send the exact amount on the exact network; the top-up is credited after the network confirmations. No ID and no KYC: one verified email per domain, never published.
Sources (4)
- IANA Root Zone Database: .link delegation record — IANA (checked 2026-10-19)
- Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy — ICANN (checked 2026-10-19)
- Uniform Rapid Suspension (URS) — ICANN (checked 2026-10-19)
- Amazon Route 53 developer guide: .link registration rules — Amazon Web Services (checked 2026-10-08)