About .coop

Launched on January 30, 2002 and ICANN approved, .coop is a sponsored top-level domain (sTLD) for the identification and use of cooperative organizations around the world. Unlike other global top-level domain names such as .com, or .org, the purchase and use of .coop domain names is restricted only to bona fide cooperatives and cooperative service organizations that ascribe to the Cooperative Principles of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), such as member ownership and control.

  • The .coop sponsor, DotCooperation LLC (DCLLC), is a wholly owned subsidiary of the NCBA and sets eligibility and verification policies for use of the new domain and provides operational support.
  • The .coop operator, Midcounties Cooperative Domains Ltd (MCD), is a wholly owned subsidiary of Midcounties Cooperative, Ltd and is responsible for the operation and maintenance of .coop's servers.

Our founders

The following cooperative organizations provided monetary and functional support to DCLLC before the launch of .coop. They continue to provide .coop with valuable input and endorse the use of the .coop domain. These leading organizations were instrumental in making .coop available to cooperatives worldwide!