Pear Space is an official JISC domain registrar for .gov.wales and llyw.cymru domains for Wales, as well as .gov.scot for Scotland. If you are located in Scotland or Wales and need an official government domain then look no further for affordable domain services with DNS hosting and 24/7 support included as standard.
Choose your domain
We can provide Scottish and Welsh devolved government domains for all levels of local government and agencies in Scotland and Wales. For more information get in touch and we’ll be happy to register your new domain for you. If you need a website for your new domain we can also build fully accessible websites in English, Welsh, and all the official languages of Scotland.
Scotland
.gov.scot
It is recommended that all government bodies including all tiers of government in Scotland adopt a .gov.scot domain for official websites and email addresses
Expert advice and guidance
Fully managed application process
Free secure DNS hosting
24/7 technical support
£50 / year
Price excludes VAT. Billed 2 years at a time.
wales
.gov.wales
The official domain recommended for English language websites and email addresses for Welsh government bodies including all tiers of local government.
Expert advice and guidance
Fully managed application process
Free secure DNS hosting
24/7 technical support
£50 / year
Price excludes VAT. Billed 2 years at a time.
cymru
.llyw.cymru
All Welsh government bodies should publish Welsh versions of their website and email addresses using the official Welsh government domain in addition to the English domain..
Expert advice and guidance
Fully managed application process
Free secure DNS hosting
24/7 technical support
£50 / year
Price excludes VAT. Billed 2 years at a time.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are so many things to consider when ordering a government domain, below we've done our best to answer the most common questions we get asked. If you have a question we've not answered though then just get in touch.
Do I need to register both .gov.wales and .llyw.cymru?
Yes, you must have both an English and Welsh language website and those must be on the relevant domain type. You cannot redirect either domain to the other, so it is not permitted to have domain.llyw.cymru redirect to domain.gov.wales/cy for example.
Who is eligible for a .gov.wales or .llyw.cymru domain?
Essentially any layer of the Welsh government is eligible for a .gov.wales and .llyw.cymru domain name. This includes the following:
Welsh Government agencies and departments
Welsh Government sponsored bodies
Welsh Government commissions and inquiries
Welsh Governemnt wholly-owned subsidiary companies
Inspectorates
Independent statutorry office holders
National bodies not otherwise covered
Unitary authorities
Community and town councils
Fire and Rescue services
National Park Authorities
Joint authorities, joint committees, and partnership bodies including one or more of the above.
If you aren't sure, get in touch to discuss with us.
Who is eligible for a .gov.scot domain?
Registration of .gov.scot domains is limited to the following organisations:
Scottish Government agencies and departments
Executive agencies
Non-departmental bodies and national bodies
Scottish local authorities
Scottish Government commissions, enquiries, and tribunals
Current holders of .gov.uk domains, providing that the domain means the .gov.scot naming principles.
Other organisations such as individuals, private companies, arms lengths organisations, community interest groups, charities etc are not eligible.
What are the naming rules for .gov.wales, .llwy.cymru, and .gov.scot domains?
The rules for registering a .gov.wales or .llyw.cymru, or a .gov.scot domain are fairly simple. Domains should reflect the actual name of the organisation, and their geographic reach, and should be as short and "sayable" as possible. You can remove prepositions and conjunctions such as "and" from domains to keep them shorter.
In Wales domains for town or community councils and similar should have a suffix such as "towncouncil" or "-tc" in the domain.
Domains should have only alphanumeric characters and numbers, with exceptions for accented characters in the case of .llyw.cymru domains or Gaelic language domains.
Gaelic language in .gov.scot domains.
It is permitted under the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 to register a separate Gaelic language domain where the English and Gaelic names are different, and it is encouraged to register both English and Gaelic language domains. For example you could register highland.gov.scot and gàidhealtachd.gov.scot
The .scot TLD supports the character sets of the six native languages of Scotland: English, Scots, Gaelic, Orcadian, Stelandic, and Doric.
Are accents supported in .llyw.cymru and .gov.scot domains?
Yes, if your Welsh or Gaelic language domain needs to use accents these are supported and will be approved.
The .scot TLD supports the character sets of the six native languages of Scotland: English, Scots, Gaelic, Orcadian, Stelandic, and Doric.
Can I use an acronym or abbreviation in the domain?
Generally you should avoid abbreviations or acronyms as these will likely be rejected. If it can be shown that an abbreviation or acronym is widely used and understood then it may be accepted on a case by case basis.
Is a domain suffix a requirement for .gov.wales and .llyw.cymru domains?
Generally yes, larger unitary authorities or cities can register their full name without a suffix, for example carmartenshire.gov.wales. City councils must use their full city name, for example cyngordinasbangor.llyw.cymru
Other organisations can choose between their full name or a suffix, but must have the same pattern in English and in Welsh. For example barrytowncouncil.gov.wales or barry-tc.gov.wales in the case of a town council.
If there are two towns of the same name then the domain must additionally reflect the geographic location, for example argoed-caerphilly-cc.gov.wales and argoed-flintshire-cc.gov.wales
Can I transfer a .gov.wales, .llyw.cymru, or .gov.scot domain to Pear Space?
Yes! Transferring a domain to Pear Space is quick and simple and completely free. Just get in touch and we will arrange to transfer your domain over for you.
What if I already own a .gov.uk domain?
It is a requirement that .gov.wales and .llyw.cymru domains be your primary domain and must not redirect. Similarly .gov.uk domains must not redirect. Generally speaking it is permissable for a legacy .gov.uk domain to be retained for a period of time and redirected whilst transitioning to a new Welsh domain but this is at the discretion of CDDO and Nominet.
