Quick answer
What happens to domains when a country code is retired?
When ISO 3166 deletes a country code, ICANN's retirement policy gives the matching domain 5 years before it leaves the internet root, and 10 years at most. Pearlcay sells short country-code domains with no KYC, paid in crypto, and .io is not retired: IANA lists it as active, with no removal date, in a record updated on 22 October 2026.
Who decides when a country-code domain ends?
Two bodies, in two steps. ISO keeps the list of country codes. IANA keeps the root zone, where each country-code domain is listed. RFC 1591 ties them together: IANA says it does not decide what is a country, and uses the ISO 3166 list instead.
The ISO 3166 maintenance agency adds and removes codes on a regular basis. When a code is deleted, the domain built on it has no basis left. Until 2022, no written policy said what came next. The ccNSO, the group of country-code managers inside ICANN, wrote one. The ICANN Board adopted it on 22 September 2022.
The retirement policy in seven lines
| What starts it | The ISO 3166 maintenance agency deletes the two-letter code from ISO 3166-1 |
|---|---|
| First step | IANA sends the domain's manager a Notice of Removal and publishes it |
| Default end date | 5 years after the notice |
| Longest wait | 10 years after the notice: 5 by default, plus up to 5 more on request |
| How to ask for more time | The manager files a retirement plan within 12 months of the notice (24 at most if IANA agrees). IANA answers within 90 days |
| What a plan covers | When to stop new registrations and renewals that run past the end date, and how to tell registrants |
| Left out | The technical removal from the root zone, which IANA operates itself |
Which country-code domains were retired?
Pearlcay counted the country-code domains that left the root zone in the records cited here, checked on 2 November 2026: five, and all five predate the 2022 policy.
| Domain | Stood for | Replaced by | Code change | Left the root zone | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .zr | Zaire | .cd | ZR became CD in 1997 | IANA lists it as not delegated since 21 June 2001 | IANA |
| .cs | Czechoslovakia | .cz and .sk | CS ended in 1993 | Gone from IANA and RIPE records in early 1995 | Lupa.cz |
| .tp | Portuguese Timor | .tl | TP became TL in 2002 | Planned for 28 February 2015 | IANA report |
| .yu | Yugoslavia | .rs and .me | YU became CS on 23 July 2003; CS gave way to RS and ME in 2006 | 1 April 2010 | IANA report |
| .an | Netherlands Antilles | .cw and .sx | AN deleted in 2010 | IANA lists it as not delegated since 6 August 2015 | IANA |
Dates are those of the cited IANA records and reports. The ISO years come from the ccNSO board report and from ISO 3166-3, the list of former country codes.
How long did a retirement take?
Between 5 and 13 years in the three best-documented cases:
- .an: about 5 years, from the code deletion in 2010 to the end of its delegation in 2015.
- .yu: nearly 7 years, from the first code change in July 2003 to April 2010. The deadline moved once, from 30 September 2009 to 30 March 2010.
- .tp: about 13 years, from the code change in 2002 to 2015.
The 2022 policy sets a clearer default: 5 years from a published notice.
What happens to people who own a name on a retired domain?
In each case, the successor domain took the old names.
- .tp: existing registrants were given matching names under .tl. New .tp registrations stopped in 2005, say the government's representatives in IANA's report.
- .yu: holders got matching .rs names first. By June 2009, 4,266 .yu domains remained, down from 32,772.
- .an: ICANN's 2011 resolution refers to a plan to move registrations from .an to .cw and .sx.
A matching name is not a given in a future case. The manager is expected, but not required, to write a retirement plan with IANA, and a plan typically says how registrants are told.
Why is .su still alive?
The ISO code SU left the standard when the Soviet Union ended: ISO 3166-3 gives it a validity of 1974 to 1992. The domain stayed. IANA lists .su as active, managed by ROSNIIROS, in a record updated on 5 August 2026, with no removal date.
In March 2025, Domain Name Wire reported that in early February 2025, IANA's operator sent the .su manager a private letter about a phase-out by 2030. Domain Incite reported that on 13 March 2025, at ICANN 82, ICANN's CEO said no formal notice had been sent and gave no timeline for sending one.
The 2030 date is therefore a report, not an official date. IANA says a removal date appears in the root zone database once a Notice of Removal is published.
.io and the Chagos Islands: what is known on 2 November 2026
The code IO belongs to the British Indian Ocean Territory, which is the Chagos Archipelago. In 2024, the UK and Mauritius agreed that Mauritius would have sovereignty. Here is the dated record, from official and press sources.
| Date | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 3 October 2024 | The UK and Mauritius announce an agreement: Mauritian sovereignty over the whole archipelago, with the UK keeping Diego Garcia for an initial 99 years. The treaty is neither signed nor ratified. | UK Foreign Secretary's statement, 7 October 2024 |
| 14 November 2024 | ICANN says IO remains in ISO 3166-1, that retirement would apply only if IO is removed, and that nothing about .io has been decided. | ICANN blog |
| 22 May 2025 | The UK and Mauritius sign the treaty. | Al Jazeera |
| 13 April 2026 | Domain Incite reports that the US has not yet given formal written consent, and that the UK has run out of time to pass its bill in the current session. | Domain Incite |
| 29 April 2026 | The parliamentary session ends without the implementing bill passing. | Al Jazeera |
| 2 October 2026 | The treaty is signed but not in force. Talks continue: Mauritius's prime minister was in London on 26 September. | Al Jazeera |
| 22 October 2026 | IANA updates its .io record: status active, manager Internet Computer Bureau Limited, no retirement date. | IANA |
What is not decided about .io?
Four things are open.
- Whether the treaty enters into force. As of 2 October 2026, it has not.
- What ISO would do. ICANN says a change of sovereignty would likely lead the ISO 3166 committee to review the standard. No source says what it would decide.
- Whether .io would then be retired, and when. Retirement applies only if IO is removed from ISO 3166-1. If it applies, the default is 5 years from a published notice.
- What a new jurisdiction would change. ICANN notes that a manager must keep an operational link with its territory, so a change might require adjustments even without retirement.
ICANN called much of the discussion 'simply speculation' in November 2024. Today, IANA shows .io as active with no retirement date. No source cited here asks a .io owner to act.
What should I check before I buy a country-code domain?
- Look the code up in IANA's Root Zone Database. Check that its status is active and that no removal date is shown.
- Read the term and renewal rules of the ending on its page here, for example the .io page.
- Check the price history: have .ai, .io or .gg prices gone up?
- Keep the registrant email working. A retirement plan typically includes telling registrants.
Which domain extensions belong to islands? lists the registry and the technical operator behind each ending we sell, and the short domain extensions we sell each have their own page.
Retired country codes: questions
What is a retired country code domain?
A country-code domain whose two-letter code was deleted from ISO 3166-1, so that IANA removes it from the root zone after a notice period. Examples are .zr, .cs, .tp, .yu and .an.
How long does a retired domain keep working?
Under the 2022 ICANN policy, 5 years from the Notice of Removal by default, and 10 years at most. Earlier cases ran from about 5 years (.an) to about 13 years (.tp) after the code change.
Is .io going away?
No decision has been taken. IANA lists .io as active with no removal date (record updated 22 October 2026). The UK and Mauritius treaty, signed on 22 May 2025, was not in force on 2 October 2026. Retirement would start only if IO left ISO 3166-1.
Is .su retired?
No. IANA lists .su as active. Reports from 2025 describe a phase-out plan for 2030, but ICANN's CEO said on 13 March 2025 that no formal notice had been sent.
Can I still buy a .io at Pearlcay?
Yes. A .io costs $35.99/year the first year and $62.99/year at renewal, with no KYC, paid in crypto. See the .io page.
What happens to my domain if my country code is retired?
In past cases, the successor domain offered matching names: .tp to .tl, .yu to .rs. It is not a given. The manager is expected, but not required, to write a retirement plan with IANA, and a plan typically says how registrants are told.
Sources (19)
- RFC 1591: Domain Name System Structure and Delegation (March 1994) — IETF / RFC Editor (checked 2026-11-02)
- Approved resolutions, regular meeting of the ICANN Board, 22 September 2022 (resolution 2022.09.22.09) — ICANN (checked 2026-11-02)
- Board report: proposed policy for the retirement of ccTLDs (ccNSO, 17 September 2021) — ccNSO / ICANN (checked 2026-11-02)
- Retirement of a ccTLD (process, 5-year default, extensions) — IANA (checked 2026-11-02)
- .zr: Root Zone Database record — IANA (checked 2026-11-02)
- Cesta k milionu registrovaných domén vedla přes první zrušení národní domény na světě (Czech; 20 November 2012) — Lupa.cz, Jiří Peterka (checked 2026-11-02)
- ISO 3166-3: codes for formerly used country names — Wikipedia (checked 2026-11-02)
- Report on the removal of the .TP top-level domain (26 January 2015) — IANA (checked 2026-11-02)
- Removal of the .YU domain formerly representing Yugoslavia (1 April 2010) — IANA (checked 2026-11-02)
- .an: Root Zone Database record — IANA (checked 2026-11-02)
- Minutes of the special meeting of the ICANN Board, 11 October 2011 — ICANN (checked 2026-11-02)
- .su: Root Zone Database record (updated 5 August 2026) — IANA (checked 2026-11-02)
- ICANN moves to retire Soviet-era .SU country domain name (11 March 2025) — Domain Name Wire (checked 2026-11-02)
- No timeline to retire Soviet Union from the DNS (13 March 2025) — Domain Incite (checked 2026-11-02)
- Foreign Secretary's statement on the Chagos Islands (7 October 2024) — GOV.UK (checked 2026-11-02)
- The Chagos Archipelago and the .io domain (14 November 2024) — ICANN, Kim Davies (checked 2026-11-02)
- .io safe for now as Trump puts Chagos deal on ice (13 April 2026) — Domain Incite (checked 2026-11-02)
- UK-Mauritius Chagos sovereignty deal stalls amid fears of further delays (2 October 2026) — Al Jazeera (checked 2026-11-02)
- .io: Root Zone Database record (updated 22 October 2026) — IANA (checked 2026-11-02)