Summary of name restrictions

.aero is a specialized Top Level Domain (TLD) and unlike most other TLDs, it has a number of restrictions. This page provides a summary of the restrictions. For full information you can always turn to our Domain Management Policy. You can also browse the list of individual reserved names here.

Spelling conventions

You can register .aero domain names, which:

  • are at least 3 characters and no more than 63 characters long (except Airline codes) e.g. XXX.AERO or MYNAME.AERO
  • in the case of an allocated sub-domain (i.e. domain name on the 3rd level or higher) should be at least 2 characters and no more than 63 characters long e.g. CC.CAA.AERO
  • do not contain a hyphen on the 3rd and 4th position (tagged domains) e.g. XX--AA.AERO
  • contain only letters (a-z), numbers (0-9) and hyphens, or a combination of these
  • start and end with an alphanumeric character, not a hyphen.

Names which cannot be registered

Country names and names of geographical areas: names, corresponding to country codes, country names and geographical areas cannot be registered.

Other reserved names: there are a number of names which cannot be reserved.

Names which can only be registered following a special rule

Airline codes: all 2-character airline designators are reserved for airlines only. All names are pre-activated and you can simply type [code].aero. Registration follows a special procedure.

Flight numbers: these names are only available for registration by airlines and airports. Special registration and transfer rules apply, for details see Domain Management Policy.

Route Codes: these names are only available for registration by airports. Special registration and transfer rules apply, for details see Domain Management Policy.

Special Industry Names: Special industry names can be allocated by the Sponsor following a consultation with Dot Aero Council to any member of the aviation community, who will use the domain name for the best benefit of the aviation community. You can request an allocation of a reserved name, indicating the reasons for allocation, by e-mailing to: aero.enquiries@sita.aero. For details see Domain Management Policy.

Subdomains: Registrations in subdomains are not allowed. Such registrations are possible in subdomains airport.aero and ailine.aero, but only for industry codes (e.g. in XXXX.AIRPORT.AERO, XXXX must be an ICAO location code). You can register these names only if you belong to the registrant group of Airports or Airlines and commercial operators.