Parish Council Domains Helper Service

If your council is thinking of moving over to a .gov.uk domain, the Parish Council Domains Helper Service can get you started on your journey.

Step-by-step guidance is available on the UK website. This will take you all the way through the process from getting council approval to choosing your registrar and what to do when you’re set up. Alternatively you can register for a short online session with the Parish Council Domains Helper Service

So far the Parish Council Helper Service has helped more than 1100 parish councils to successfully move to a .gov.uk domain.

A new initiative from SLCC – for councils in England & Wales
Any .gov.uk Approved Registrar can choose to participate in the Parish Council Helper Service by registering with CDDO. In practice, around 25 .gov.uk Approved Registrars are actively providing the enhanced technical support. The current list of all Parish Council Helper Service Registrars is available in the guidance on the GOV.UK website.

Understanding that budget is a primary concern for parish, town and community councils, SLCC has made an arrangement with the following registrars who are offering a £100 discount:

• Aubergine
• Cloudy IT
• Cloud Next
• Parish Online
• WHAMOS LTD

The discount is likely to be in place for the next 12 months with a regular review of its success. You can claim the discount if your council migrates over to a .gov.uk, .gov.wales or .llyw.cymru domain for website, emails and supporting services.

To make use of the promotion, simply contact the company of choice directly to discuss your needs.

If you are an Approved Registrar and you’d like to be included in the arrangement above please contact Gemma Rickard, Head of Marketing, Membership & Digital, [email protected]

Follow good practice
SLCC recommends following government guidance on migrating to .gov.uk domains. We also encourage all clerks to compare the prices, support and services offered by these and other Parish Council Domains Helper Service registrars. This will ensure you choose the right supplier for your council’s needs and budget.

You can also ask for recommendations and discuss pricing with other parish councils or on forums such as the SLCC forum.

More information
If you have any questions regarding the Parish Council Domains Helper Service please email at [email protected].

Questions regarding the promotional discount should be addressed to [email protected] 

Last year CDDO became part of the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). This week it was announced that, in line with this reorganisation, CDDO will become part of DSITs’ Government Digital Services (GDS). This will not impact the Parish Council Domains Helper Service – you’ll just notice a change in branding when it comes to presentations etc.

Below is a map showing councils who have moved to a .gov.uk domain.

Please note:

• The map is updated on a bi-monthly basis and is not ‘live’ – it’s an indicator of where councils have .gov.uk and other domains across the country
• The colours represent the different domains of councils. Readers should consult the domain legend to understand which colour represents which domain