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Support Subject: domain
Support File Number: 5
Support File Title: What characters are allowed in a domain name?
Details:
Regardless of the extension, all domain names must follow the same character rules. You can use letters (abc...z), numbers (123..) and dashes/hyphens (---). Spaces are not allowed and the domain can't begin or end with a dash.
A little known fact is that you CAN have multiple dashes right next to each other. (e.g. domain--names.com) Opened up a few more possibilities?
The easiest way to make sure your domain name will not cause you any problems later is to register it using all lowercase letters.
A domain name can contain up to 67 characters, although some domain registrars have still not reconfigured their services to accommodate these longer domain names (domain names used to be limited to 26 characters until mid-1999)
This 67 character limit includes the "." (dot) and the top level domain.
So in the case of a ".com" name, for instance, you'll be able to specify up to 63 characters yourself.
Some top domains from specific countries have additional limitations on length and on the number of characters in a domain. Some even specify a minimum length for a domain name, such as 3 characters or more. This site is designed to give you an introduction to the subject - for the specific rules of each of the over 200 top-level domains, you'll have to read the small print when you register a domain.
Many domain name registries forbid domain names that contain any of the so-called 7 "taboo" words that are banned on US network television. I am not going to list these here, but most have to do with sexual or bodily functions. If one of these words shows up in a domain name the name will be automatically rejected. Some adventurous registries are allowing such names to be registered - you'll just have to experiment if you are inclined to go after this kind of name.
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