.example

---

title: ".example" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["top-level-domains", "placeholder-names", "internet-properties-established-in-1999"] description: "Reserved internet domain" topic_path: "general/top-level-domains" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.example" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Reserved internet domain ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox Top level domain"]

Field	Value
name	example
introduced	1999
type	Reserved top-level domain
status	Reserved to prevent confusion and conflict
registry	IANA
sponsor	None
intendeduse	Example top-level domain for documentation
actualuse	Sometimes used in intended manner in documentation
restrictions	No registrations are possible
structure	As needed in example usage
document
disputepolicy	None
website	None
::

|name=example |image= |introduced=1999 |type=Reserved top-level domain |status=Reserved to prevent confusion and conflict |registry=IANA |sponsor=None |intendeduse=Example top-level domain for documentation |actualuse=Sometimes used in intended manner in documentation |restrictions=No registrations are possible |structure=As needed in example usage |document= |disputepolicy=None |website=None |}}

The name example is reserved by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) as a domain name that may not be installed as a top-level domain in the Domain Name System (DNS) of the Internet.

Reserved DNS names

In 1999, the Internet Engineering Task Force reserved the DNS labels example, invalid, localhost, and test so that they may not be installed into the root zone of the Domain Name System.

The reason for reservation of these top-level domain names is to reduce the likelihood of conflict and confusion. This allows the use of these names for either documentation purposes or in local testing scenarios.

Purpose

The top-level domain is explicitly intended to be used in documentation or other technical writing, when domain names are presented as examples in usage or presentation of concepts of the Domain Name System or the Internet.

References

ja:トップレベルドメイン#特殊用途 ::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::