A sponsored top-level domain (sTLD) is one of the categories of top-level domain

Top-level domain

A top-level domain is one of the domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System of the Internet. The top-level domain names are installed in the root zone of the name space. For all domains in lower levels, it is the last part of the domain name, that is, the last label of a...

s (TLDs) maintained by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority

Internet Assigned Numbers Authority

The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority is the entity that oversees global IP address allocation, autonomous system number allocation, root zone management in the Domain Name System , media types, and other Internet Protocol-related symbols and numbers...

 (IANA) for use in the Domain Name System

Domain name system

The Domain Name System is a hierarchical distributed naming system for computers, services, or any resource connected to the Internet or a private network. It associates various information with domain names assigned to each of the participating entities...

 of the Internet

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

.

IANA currently distinguishes the following groups of top-level domains:

• country-code top-level domains (ccTLD)
• generic top-level domain
  Generic top-level domain
  A generic top-level domain is one of the categories of top-level domains maintained by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority for use in the Domain Name System of the Internet....
  
  s (gTLD)
  • sponsored top-level domains (sTLD)
  • unsponsored top-level domains
• infrastructure top-level domain (.arpa
  .arpa
  The domain name arpa is a top-level domain in the Domain Name System of the Internet. It is used exclusively for technical infrastructure purposes...
  
  )

A sponsored TLD is a specialized top-level domain that has a sponsor representing a specific community served by the domain. The communities involved are based on ethnic, geographical, professional, technical or other theme concepts proposed by private agencies or organizations that establish and enforce rules restricting the eligibility of registrants to use the TLD. For example, the .aero TLD is sponsored by SITA, which limits registrations to members of the air-transport industry.

TLD	Eligibility	Sponsors
.aero .aero .aero is a generic top-level domain used in the Domain Name System of the Internet. It is the first sponsored top-level domain based on a single industrial theme. The aero domain is reserved for companies, organizations, associations, government agencies, and individuals in aviation-related...	Members of the air-transport industry	SITA SITA SITA is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry...
.asia .asia .asia is a sponsored top-level domain sponsored by the DotAsia Organization, with the back-end registry operated by Afilias. It was approved by ICANN on 19 October 2006 as a sponsored TLD...	Companies, organisations and individuals in the Asia-Pacific region	DotAsia Organisation
.cat .cat .cat is a sponsored top-level domain intended to be used to highlight the Catalan language and culture. Its policy has been developed by ICANN and Fundació puntCAT...	Catalan linguistic and cultural community	Fundació puntCat
.coop .coop The domain coop is a sponsored top-level domain in the Domain Name System of the Internet. It is intended for the use of cooperatives, wholly owned subsidiaries, and other organizations that exist to promote or support co-operatives....	Cooperative associations Cooperative A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...	DotCooperation LLC
.edu .edu The domain name edu is a sponsored top-level domain in the Domain Name System of the Internet. The "domain is intended for accredited post-secondary educational U.S. institutions" and this intention is strictly enforced....	Post-secondary institutions accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education	EDUCAUSE EDUCAUSE EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is "to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology." Membership is open to institutions of higher education, corporations serving the higher education information technology market, and other related...
.gov .gov The domain name gov is a sponsored top-level domain in the Domain Name System of the Internet. The name is derived from government, indicating its restricted use by government entities in the United States. The gov domain is administered by the General Services Administration , an independent...	United States Government	General Services Administration General Services Administration The General Services Administration is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. The GSA supplies products and communications for U.S...
.int .int The domain name int is a sponsored top-level domain in the Domain Name System of the Internet. Its name is derived from the word international, characterizing its use for world-wide purposes....	Organizations established by international treaties between governments	IANA Internet Assigned Numbers Authority The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority is the entity that oversees global IP address allocation, autonomous system number allocation, root zone management in the Domain Name System , media types, and other Internet Protocol-related symbols and numbers...
.jobs .jobs The domain name jobs is a sponsored top-level domain in the Domain Name System of the Internet. Indicated by its name, the domain is restricted to employment-related sites....	Human resource managers	Society for Human Resource Management
.mil .mil The domain name mil is the sponsored top-level domain in the Domain Name System of the Internet for the United States Department of Defense and its subsidiary or affiliated organizations. The name is derived from military. It was one of the first top-level domains, created in January 1985.The...	United States Military	DoD Network Information Center
.mobi .mobi The domain name mobi is a top-level domain in the Domain Name System of the Internet. Its name is derived from the adjective mobile, indicating its use by mobile devices for accessing Internet resources via the Mobile Web....	Providers and consumers of mobile products and services	dotMobi
.museum .museum museum is a sponsored top-level domain in the Domain Name System of the Internet used exclusively by museums, museum associations, and individual members of the museum profession, as these groups are defined by the International Council of Museums .In joint action with the J...	Museums	Museum Domain Management Association Museum Domain Management Association The Museum Domain Management Association was created in 2000 by the International Council of Museums and the J. Paul Getty Trust. MuseDoma is the sponsoring organization for the .museum top-level domain.- External links :* * * *...
.tel .tel The domain name .tel is a top-level domain in the Domain Name System of the Internet. It was approved by ICANN as a sponsored top-level domain, and is operated by Telnic...	For businesses and individuals to publish contact data	Telnic Ltd.
.travel .travel The domain name travel is a top-level domain in the Domain Name System of the Internet. Its name suggests the intended and restricted use by travel agents, airlines, bed and breakfast operators, tourism bureaus, and others in the travel industry....	Travel agents, airlines, hoteliers, tourism bureaus, etc.	Tralliance Corporation
.xxx .xxx .xxx is a sponsored top-level domain intended as a voluntary option for pornographic sites on the Internet. The sponsoring organization is the International Foundation for Online Responsibility . The registry is operated by ICM Registry LLC. The ICANN Board voted to approve the sTLD on March 18,...	Pornographic sites	ICM Registry LLC