[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 77 (Thursday, April 21, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23493-23494]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-09294]


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GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

[Notice-ME-2016-01; Docket No: 2016-0002; Sequence No. 10]


Notice of Fee Amounts To Be Set by the General Services 
Administration's Request for the Registration and Annual Renewal of 
.gov Second-Level Domains

AGENCY: Office of Government-wide Policy (OGP); Office of Information, 
Integrity, and Access; General Services Administration (GSA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: GSA is proposing to increase the yearly fee assessed to 
entities that utilize the federal .gov top-level domain. The current 
fee of $125 per annum has not been raised since the publication of the 
Federal Management Regulation final rule, Internet GOV Domain on

[[Page 23494]]

March 28, 2003. The fee increase will compensate GSA for the increased 
operational costs of maintaining the .gov top-level domain (TLD). The 
fee will be the same for new registrations and for annual renewals. 
This document establishes the fee for all entities that use the .gov 
TLD at $400 per annum, effective January 1, 2017.

DATES: Effective: May 23, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Mr. Lee Ellis, Office of 
Government-wide Policy, at 202-501-0282, or via email to 
[email protected] for clarification of content. For information 
pertaining to status or publication schedules, contact the Regulatory 
Secretariat Division at 202-501-4755. Please cite Notice ME-2016-01.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The .gov domain was first established in 1985 under the Internet 
Engineering Task Force of the Internet Society, RFC 920, 1480, 1591, 
1811, and 2146 as a generic top-level domain (TLD) for government 
entities in the United States. In 2003, GSA published the Federal 
Management Regulation final rule, Internet GOV Domain (41 CFR part 102-
173), at 68 FR 15089 (March 28, 2003), which codified existing guidance 
and best practice methods for domain management, then stratified across 
governmental and non-governmental bodies, and expanded the .gov domain 
to permit inclusion of state, local, and tribal governments (SLTTs).
    GSA is designated as the TLD owner and Domain Policy Authority for 
governmental entities in the United States, including Federal, state, 
local and tribal governments. OGP oversees the enabling rule (41 CFR 
part 102-173, Internet GOV Domain--hereafter ``Final Rule'') and 
administers the .gov domain registration and renewal process in 
accordance with the original rule and the .gov Domain Registration and 
Management Guidance. The rule and the guidance govern registrations and 
renewals for second-level domains under the top level .gov domain.
    When GSA published the Final Rule in 2003, it initiated the 
assessment of fees for the registration and annual renewal .gov domains 
by Federal Government agencies, the Legislative Branch, the Judicial 
Branch, and SLTTs. At the time, GSA stated in the Federal Register that 
the Final Rule ``merely establishes a ceiling for the charges that GSA 
may assess in the future if circumstances require it. These charges, if 
established, will be based on the costs of operations and market 
rates.''
    Since publication of the Final Rule, all bodies seeking to register 
and use a .gov domain are assessed a $125 per annum fee for 
registration and for annual renewals. The fee has remained unchanged 
since 2003, even as new laws, enhanced security protocols, protections 
and controls, and increased operational costs have substantially raised 
the overall cost for GSA to manage the .gov domain.
    OGP solicited advice and feedback from stakeholders representing 
all levels of government, internationally, as well as the private 
sector to better inform decision-making about whether a per annum fee 
increase should occur. The research details also yielded insight as to 
the amount the increase would be considered reasonable.
    41 CFR 102-173.45 sets the fee for new .gov domain registrations at 
no more than $1,000 per year, and the charge for annual .gov domain 
renewals at no more than $500 per year. The current fee of $125 per 
annum has been in effect since publication of the Final Rule. To 
compensate for increased operational costs and security requirements of 
maintaining the .gov domain, GSA will raise the fee for both new 
registrations and annual renewals to $400 per annum. This fee will be 
the same for all entities who apply to initially register, or renew, an 
existing registration of a .gov second-level domain name and are 
approved, per 41 CFR 102-173.

    Dated: April 14, 2016.
Troy Cribb,
Associate Administrator, Office of Government-wide Policy, General 
Services Administration.
[FR Doc. 2016-09294 Filed 4-20-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6820-14-P