How to Get a Free Locality Domain in the US

For those who enjoy the early-internet aesthetic and the prestige of a geographically specific domain, there is a hidden gem in the US DNS infrastructure: the locality domain. These domains, following the format *.city.state.us, allow individuals and organizations to claim a piece of digital real estate tied to their physical location—often for free.

This guide explores how to navigate the legacy systems of the 1990s to secure one of these domains, while synthesizing insights from the community on the risks and rewards of using such a niche system.

What is a Locality Domain?

A locality domain is a domain name associated with a specific location in the United States. Examples include frederick.seattle.wa.us. These were established in 1992 and have been maintained under government contract ever since.

To be eligible, you must be a US citizen or permanent resident, a US-incorporated organization, or an organization with a bona fide presence in the US. Unlike modern TLDs, these are not bought through a standard checkout process; they are requested through a delegation system.

Step-by-Step Registration Guide

1. Identify Your Locality and Registrar

Registration is not centralized. Many locality domains have been delegated to various companies (often old-school ISPs or consultancies) that handle the registration.

• Find the Registrar: Refer to the delegated subdomains list. Note that this list is dated (2009), so you may need to hunt for current contact emails. For example, a registrar listed as NW Nexus may now be NuOz Corporation.
• General Entities: If your specific town isn't listed, you can try registering under gen.your-state.us, which is intended for general independent entities.
• The "Screwed" Scenario: If a locality is not delegated, the manager (NeuStar) typically only allows local government agencies to register them. For private citizens, this is often a dead end.

2. Set Up Your Nameservers

Unlike commercial registrars, locality registrars require you to have nameservers ready before you apply.

Amazon Lightsail is a recommended option because it provides free DNS zones for non-top-level domains. To set this up:

1. Create an AWS account and navigate to the Lightsail console.
2. Go to Domains & DNS $\rightarrow$ Create DNS zone.
3. Select "Use a domain from another registrar" and enter the domain you intend to register.
4. Note the provided nameservers and their IP addresses (use a tool like dig or an online DNS lookup to find the IPs).

3. Complete the Registration Form

Fill out the Interim .US Domain Template v2.0. Key sections include:

• Fully-Qualified Domain Name: Your desired domain (e.g., yourname.city.state.us).
• Organization Information: If applying as an individual, use your personal address.
• Description: Briefly explain the purpose of the domain (e.g., "personal website").
• US Nexus Requirements: For US citizens, select (iii) personal use and Nexus Category (category 11) Natural person who is a United States Citizen.

4. Submission and Activation

Email the completed form to the registrar. Since these processes are manual and not automated, it can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks. Once confirmed, you can return to your DNS provider (like Lightsail) and point your records to your web host (e.g., GitHub Pages).

Community Insights and Caveats

While the process is a nostalgic trip into the early web, the community highlights several critical warnings.

The Privacy Trade-off

There is a significant debate regarding WHOIS privacy. While some sources suggest that only the registrar's information is shown, experienced users warn that the .us TLD generally forbids WHOIS privacy services.

"The .US TLD does not permit whois privacy services. The full legal name and address of the registrant will be shown in my experience... That is why I opted for .org for a small town."

Stability and "Bit Rot"

Because these domains rely on legacy ISPs and small companies, they are fragile. Some users reported that their domains disappeared when the local registrar went out of business or the owner died.

"I had ulevitch.delmar.ca.us delegated to me until one day some IT dweeb just deleted it... I'd caution against this path for something you actually care about."

Technical Edge Cases

Some commercial services may struggle with these domains because they are not recognized as standard Top-Level Domains (TLDs). This can lead to annoying edge cases in software that expects a standard domain.com or domain.org structure.

Summary Table: Locality Domains vs. Modern TLDs

Feature	Locality Domain (*.city.state.us)	Modern TLD (.com, .nyc, .io)
Cost	Often Free	Annual Fee
Registration	Manual/Email-based	Instant/Automated
Privacy	Limited/No WHOIS Privacy	Privacy Guards Available
Stability	Dependent on legacy registrars	High (Industry Standard)
Requirement	US Nexus/Residency	None (usually)