.ch

For the Swiss newspaper, see .ch (newspaper).

.ch

Introduced	1987
TLD type	Country code top-level domain
Status	Active
Registry	SWITCH Information Technology Services
Sponsor	SWITCH Information Technology Services
Intended use	Entities connected with Switzerland
Actual use	Very popular in Switzerland
Registration restrictions	Two letter domain names are restricted to cantons
Structure	Registrations permitted at second level
Documents	Terms and conditions
Dispute policies	Dispute Resolution Proceedings
Website	www.nic.ch
DNSSEC	yes

.ch is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Switzerland. It is administered by SWITCH Information Technology Services.

The ".ch" domain derives from Confoederatio Helvetica (Helvetic Confederation), the Latin name for the country, which was used because of its neutrality with regard to the four official languages of Switzerland. CH is the ISO 3166-2 code for Switzerland and also is used on vehicle plates. In addition to Confoederatio Helvetica, the ".ch" domain has been jokingly used as a shortening of the word chocolate, in relation to Switzerland's love for it.

Domain names must be at least three letters long. Two letter domain names are restricted to the Swiss cantons, as well as the domain ch.ch of the Federal Chancellery of Switzerland. The only exception so far was the former domain of the Expo.02 which was held in Switzerland, www.expo.02.ch.

Registrations of internationalized domain names have been accepted since March 2004.

External links

• IANA .ch whois information
• .ch NIC registry