| Introduced | 1988 |
|---|---|
| TLD type | Country code top-level domain |
| Status | Active |
| Registry | Fundação para a Computação Científica Nacional |
| Sponsor | Fundação para a Computação Científica Nacional |
| Intended use | Entities connected with Portugal |
| Actual use | Very popular in Portugal |
| Registration restrictions | Various restrictions for different subdomains; .com.pt is unlimited |
| Structure | Registrations are taken directly at second level or at third level beneath some second-level labels |
| Website | dns.pt |
| DNSSEC | yes |
.pt is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Portugal and is managed by the Fundação para a Computação Científica Nacional (FCCN). It has the following second-level domains:
Registration directly at second-level is available, with restrictions:
The *.com.pt is the easiest to obtain as there are no restrictions on naming or on local presence.
Since July 1, 2005, some accented characters have been supported in domain names (IDN). Currently permitted characters: à, á, â, ã, ç, é, ê, í, ó, ô, õ, ú. These are the only accentuated characters used in Portuguese words.
Apart for .gov.pt, Portuguese subdomains were slow to catch on, because many people had already registered under .pt when the new ones became available. Many companies, colleges and people still prefer to use a .pt because these are harder to get (the chance of getting a spam link is very low) and simpler to remember. There are also inconsistencies: for example, the website of the Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) is not www.mne.gov.pt, but www.min-nestrangeiros.pt. However, the .com.pt subdomain is being heavily promoted by the registry, and now has a large number of registrations and active Web sites. Others such as .nome.pt for individuals are still very uncommon.
In the early years, FCCN tried to keep control of the .pt domain using very stringent rules, which were adjusted a number of times. The precedent set by domains which were already registered but which would not be able to be registered under updated rules led to lawyers requesting the registry of any domain based on the principle of equal treatment. When the situation was out of control, FCCN tried to promote subdomains like com.pt. Nevertheless, since the registration directly under .pt was still available, users tended to prefer these.
It is estimated that the .pt suffix comprises a little less than 10% of all the Portuguese-language internet.[1] It is the third most popular Portuguese-language suffix, after .br and .com, and ahead of .net, .org and .info, all above 10 million pages.