---
title: Reserved names
description: 
published: 1
date: 2024-09-11T10:15:26.234Z
tags: 
editor: markdown
dateCreated: 2024-02-09T05:42:01.227Z
---

# Reserved name

Existing TLDs and over 100,000 Alexa websites are reserved on the Handshake blockchain. Upon removing collisions, generic, and exclusions (e.g. 1 or 2 character names), approximately 80,000 names remain. Using the root key and DNSSEC, domain owners can cryptographically prove ownership to the Handshake blockchain to claim names. 100,000 was chosen as a number which the ownership is clear and has already gone through policy and process.

## End of the claims

Reserved domains were able to be claimed for 4 years after the launch of Handshake. This deadline has passed. Rather than let all the domains be registered by anyone after this deadline passed (how the original code was written), Handshake did a soft fork to stop the top 10,000 domains from being registered. If any of these 10,000 domains want to be claimed, Handshake will need to do a hard fork to re-enable claims.

## Existing TLDs
All existing [ICANN TLDs](https://github.com/handshake-org/hs-names/blob/master/names/tld.json) ([ccTLDs](https://github.com/handshake-org/hs-names/blob/master/names/cctld.json), [gTLDS](https://github.com/handshake-org/hs-names/blob/master/names/gtld.json), [rTLD](https://github.com/handshake-org/hs-names/blob/master/names/rtld.json)) are reserved and can't be opened at auction.

## Alexa
The Handshake blockchain pre-reserves the [top ~100,000 domain names](https://github.com/handshake-org/hs-names/blob/master/names/alexa.json) from the Alexa top 1 million domain names. Since the Handshake blockchain only thinks in terms of top-level domains, existing domains on the Alexa top 1 million are "converted" to TLDs.

For example:

`google.com` -> `google`
`bbc.co.uk` -> `bbc`

### Rules
In order to have your domain pre-reserved, there are a few rules implemented in generate.js that it must conform to:

- The domain's deepest subdomain must not be in the blacklist.
- The domain's deepest subdomain must not be a pseudo-TLD for an existing naming project.
- The domain's deepest subdomain must not be a trademarked name.
- The domain must not collide with an existing top-level domain in ICANN's root zone, as all existing TLDs are also pre-reserved. For example, `google.com` would lose to `google`.
- The domain must not collide with a higher-ranked domain. For example, `google.co.uk` would lose to `google.com`. Only the owner of the higher-ranked domain is able to redeem it.
- The domain must not be deeply nested. `bbc.co.uk` will work, but `jeffs-blog.wordpress.com` will not.
- The domain must abide by Handshake policy standards (no leading or trailing hyphens or underscores).
- The domain must not be a single letter.
- If the domain is ranked lower than 50,000, the domain must not be two letters.
- If the domain is ranked lower than 50,000, the domain must not be an [English word](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/handshake-org/hs-names/master/names/words.json).

## Blacklist
The following list is permanently reserved:

- `example`
- `invalid`
- `local`
- `localhost`
- `test`

## Late Additions
Names which were added *after* the final snapshot:

- `charity` - A new gTLD added on ICANN's system.
- `inc` - A new gTLD added on ICANN's system.
- `ss` - ccTLD for South Sudan.
- `xn--mgbah1a3hjkrd` - iccTLD for Mauritania.
- `cpa` - A new gTLD added on ICANN's system.
- `gay` - A new gTLD added on ICANN's system.
- `xn--qxa6a` - iccTLD for .eu in Greek.
- `llp` - A new gTLD added on ICANN's system.

Names which were *removed* after the final snapshot:

- `goodhands` - A gTLD removed from ICANN's system.
- `jlc` - A gTLD removed from ICANN's system.
- `panerai` - A gTLD removed from ICANN's system.
- `spiegel` - A gTLD removed from ICANN's system.
- `statoil` - A gTLD removed from ICANN's system.
- `telecity` - A gTLD removed from ICANN's system.
- `vista` - A gTLD removed from ICANN's system.
- `epost` - A gTLD removed from ICANN's system.
- `zippo` - A gTLD removed from ICANN's system.
- `blanco` - A gTLD removed from ICANN's system.
- `active` - A gTLD removed from ICANN's system.
- `bnl` - A gTLD removed from ICANN's system.
- `cartier` - A gTLD removed from ICANN's system.
- `chrysler` - A gTLD removed from ICANN's system.
- `dodge` - A gTLD removed from ICANN's system.
- `doha` - A gTLD removed from ICANN's system.
- `duns` - A gTLD removed from ICANN's system.
- `everbank` - A gTLD removed from ICANN's system.
- `honeywell` - A gTLD removed from ICANN's system.
- `iselect` - A gTLD removed from ICANN's system.
- `ladbrokes` - A gTLD removed from ICANN's system.
- `mobily` - A gTLD removed from ICANN's system.
- `mopar` - A gTLD removed from ICANN's system.
- `piaget` - A gTLD removed from ICANN's system.
- `srt` - A gTLD removed from ICANN's system.
- `starhub` - A gTLD removed from ICANN's system.
- `uconnect` - A gTLD removed from ICANN's system.
- `warman` - A gTLD removed from ICANN's system.
- `xn--mgbb9fbpob` - An iccTLD removed from ICANN's system.
- `lancome` - A gTLD removed from ICANN's system.
