If your council is thinking of moving over to a .gov.uk domain, now is the time to contact the Parish Council Domains Helper Service and get started on your journey. Complete this simple form and the team will register your interest and invite you to one of their introductory sessions.
The introductory sessions are all virtual and last about 45 minutes. You will be able to pick a date and time that is most convenient to you.
Any council moving ahead with a .gov.uk domain will receive help and guidance at every stage: from getting the greenlight to proceed, to picking the best Approved Registrar for your circumstances, to getting set up on your new domain, all the way through to maintaining good practices after you ‘go live’. They’ll also tell you how you can access the £100 + VAT funding to help with initial costs.
The funding available is already over 70% committed and is only available in this financial year, so if choosing a .gov.uk domain is on your to-do list now would be a great time to make the first step.
Who can claim funding and how
- The £100 + VAT government funding is available to councils that are:
- Moving to a .gov.uk domain
- Already have a .gov.uk domain but are purchasing additional services such as .gov.uk emails for the first time
- Funding is allocated on a first-come, first-served, once per council basis
- It can only be accessed via the Parish Council Domains Helper Service’s shortlist of Approved Registrars.
What to do next
- Talk to your council colleagues about the need to take action
- Register for one of their free, no obligation, online sessions and find out more about .gov.uk domains, how to progress an application and access available funding.
Their aim is to communicate at each significant funding milestone – the next update will be when they reach 90% allocation.
Click here to find out more about the Parish Council Domains Helper Service.
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