Simply, a domain name is what lets you find stuff on the Internet. Ideally, it's easy to remember, like www.cuna.org. A “gTLD”, or generic Top-Level Domain, refers to the letters to the right of the dot of a web address, such as .com, .org, .net or .creditunion.

Think wholesaler. A registry operator manages domain name registrations, establishes policies for domain name allocation and operates the domain. The registry operator for .creditunion is CUNA Performance Resources, LLC., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Credit Union National Association.

Think retailer. A registrar provides domain name registration services directly to registrants. They help registrants find, register, renew or delete domain names. They also take care of sending the appropriate information to a centralized registry database.

We publish a list of all .creditunion accredited registrars on our registrar page. .creditunion domain names may also be sold by resellers operating under a contract with one of the accredited registrars.

A registrant is any company, organization or individual who registers a domain name. Only a credit union with a main office location in the United States is eligible to register a .creditunion domain.

ICANN is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. It's the non-profit, private organization responsible for coordinating IP addresses, space allocation, domain names and other Internet services.

The sunrise period is a pre-launch phase giving you the opportunity to claim rights to domain names similar to your mark. The reason you may want to do this is to prevent “cybersquatting,” the practice of registering variations of well-known company or brand names as Internet domains. The goal of a cybersquatter is reselling the names for a profit.

The general availability phase follows the sunrise period. This is where eligible buyers can buy .creditunion domain names on a first-come, first-served basis. General availability for .creditunion domain names begins June 6, 2017.

In order to have a .creditunion domain name, you must be a credit union whose main office location is within the United States. Your eligibility will be verified before you're allowed to make the purchase. Our policies page has the information about our eligibility requirements.

General availability begins June 6, 2017.

It wasn't available. It's already the top-level country-level domain for Cuba.

Of course not.

You must provide this information:

• The legal name of the credit union
• Your name
• Your address
• Your email address
• Your phone number
• Your CUID or charter number

It's easy. Just use the WhoIs search function to look up the domain name. If the response is “No Match” for the name you searched, it means you can buy it.

There are several reasons why this might be the case. Either,

• The domain name has already been registered,
• The domain name is reserved for use by the registry operator, or
• ICANN has determined the domain name may not be released

Accredited and approved registrars and resellers are your only way to register a .creditunion domain. There's a full list of approved registrars here.

It may simply be your current registrar has chosen not to register .creditunion domain names. Or perhaps they just haven't decided yet. In any case, the list of registrars on our website will always be up to date.

No. Domain names are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis; no preference will be given to those who currently have a specific domain name in another TLD. For the record, we did reserve a number of domain names we knew could potentially be used by several credit unions. We still have to work through the best approach for allocating these names with the respective credit unions.

Yes, you can. However, the contact information provided in the registration process must be for your credit union in order for us to verify your eligibility.

You can register as many domain names as you like as long as they correspond with your credit union's name or a domain name you've registered for in the past.

Registrars set their own registration fees. Domain name registration fees will vary by registrar based on factors including additional services registrants may purchase. The retail price we're suggesting is $120 per domain name.

It's simply the process we use to determine whether or not you're eligible to register a .creditunion domain name.

The following information is verified:

• Organization location and credit union status - we verify you're an active U.S. credit union and that your main office location and credentials meet the requirements for a .creditunion domain name. View registration policy.
• The domain name you've selected - we'll verify the domain name you've applied for meets the requirements of our registration policy.
• Your physical address
• Your telephone number
• Your employment - we will contact you, if necessary, to verify you've provided accurate contact information.

You can continue using your current domain name.

Yes, you may redirect visitors from your current domain to a .creditunion domain name.

You bet. It works the same way as redirecting visitors from your current domain to your .creditunion domain.

When the expiration date is reached, the name is inactivated. That means it won't be accessible on the Internet and can no longer be used for email. The registration information for the name will still show up on the .creditunion WhoIs, but the DNS information will no longer be published to the Internet.

As soon as a renewal or transfer is accepted for your expired domain name, the name will be reactivated.

Any information you want to change must be submitted to your registrar. Contact your registrar directly with your questions about making an update to WhoIs information.