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.
All councils aspiring to move over to a .gov.uk domain with the help of government funding, should note that 85% of funding has now been allocated. The Parish Council Domains Helper Service anticipates that – as demand is currently very high – all funds will be allocated by early January 2025.
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.
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
