Sponsored TLDs

A sponsored TLD (abbreviated "sTLD") is a top-level domain that is managed by a sponsor for a specific community (ethnic, geographic, professional, or technical). The sponsor manages the whole TLD, setting and enforcing registration rules.

Their eligibility restrictions vary widely, for example you may be able to register a subdomain for:

• .aero: You operate in the air-transport industry
• .asia: You are in the Asia-Pacific territory
• .jobs: You are a HR manager
• .coop: You are a cooperative association
• .post: You are a postal service

But probably not for:

• .gov: You are the US government
• .mil: You are the US military
• .edu: You are a US higher education institution
• .int: You are an intergovernmental treaty-based organisation

So in total, as of 2025, there are 9 sTLDs:

• .aero is managed by SITA
• .asia is managed by DotAsia Organisation
• .coop is managed by DotCooperation LLC
• .edu is managed by Educause
• .gov is managed by the USA
• .int is managed by the IANA
• .jobs is managed by Employ Media LLC
• .mil is managed by the USA
• .post is managed by the Universal Postal Union

NB: 5 ex-sTLDs are not sponsored TLDs anymore (just regular gTLDs now): .cat, .mobi, .museum, .tel, .travel, and .xxx.

References

• Wikipedia article on sponsored TLDs
• Registry agreements of ex-sTLDs
• IANA TLDs with categories