Claim Your Free Local Domain: A Developer's Guide to .City.State.US Addresses

If you're a developer or entrepreneur in the US, there's a hidden gem in the domain world that most people overlook: locality domains. These are second-level domains tied to specific cities and states, like myproject.denver.co.us or startup.austin.tx.us. Better yet? They're completely free to register.

While most developers gravitate toward traditional TLDs (.com, .dev, .io), locality domains offer something unique: geographic authenticity and a direct connection to your community. Plus, they've been around since 1992, maintained under government contract, so they're not going anywhere.

Let's break down exactly how to claim one.

What Are Locality Domains, Anyway?

Locality domains are second-level domains administered by various organizations across US cities and states. They were established to create a hyperlocal web presence tied to actual geography. The US government delegated management of these domains to different registrars decades ago—which is both great (free registration) and occasionally frustrating (outdated contact info).

To register one, you need to be:

• A US citizen or permanent resident
• An organization incorporated in the US
• An organization with a legitimate US presence and active operations

Step 1: Find Your Locality Domain

Not every city has an active delegation manager yet. The first step is checking the official list of delegated .US subdomains to see if your city participates.

Pro tip: The delegation list is old (some entries date to 2009), so contact information may be outdated. If the registrar listed has been acquired or restructured, try searching for the company's current domain or support email. For example, Seattle's domain (seattle.wa.us) is now managed by NuOz Corporation, even though older lists reference NW Nexus.

If your specific city isn't listed, you have a backup option: gen.your-state.us domains (like mycompany.gen.oh.us). These are specifically designated for general independent entities and organizations.

Step 2: Set Up Free Nameservers (The Tricky Part)

Here's where most people get stuck. Unlike traditional domain registrations where your registrar provides nameservers, locality domain registration requires you to already have nameservers in place before you submit your application.

The good news? Amazon Lightsail offers free DNS hosting for exactly this use case. You don't need to rent a Lightsail server—just use their DNS zone functionality.

Here's how:

1. Create an AWS account and navigate to the Lightsail console
2. Click "Domains & DNS" in the left sidebar
3. Select "Create DNS zone"
4. Choose "Use a domain from another registrar" and enter your intended locality domain name
5. Click "Create DNS zone" and note the nameservers displayed

AWS will provide you with 3-4 nameservers (typically with names like ns-123.awsdns-45.com). Write these down—you'll need them for the registration form.

Step 3: Complete the Registration Form

The official registration document is the Interim .US Domain Template v2.0. It's a bit bureaucratic, but most sections are straightforward:

Key fields:

• Domain name: Your fully-qualified domain name (e.g., myproject.denver.co.us)

• Organization information: If you're registering as an individual, fill this with your personal details

• Domain description: Explain what you'll use it for (website, project hub, community resource, etc.). You can use it for other purposes later without amendment

• Operational date: Your birth date works fine if registering individually

• Administrative & technical contacts: Both can be you; use your email address

• Nameservers (sections 8-9): This is critical. Enter your Lightsail nameserver hostnames, then look up their IP addresses using a DNS lookup tool or the dig command:

  dig ns-123.awsdns-45.com +short
  

• US Nexus requirements (section 10): Select the appropriate category (personal use, business operations, etc.) based on your situation

Step 4: Submit and Point Your DNS

Once approved, configure your actual DNS records in the Lightsail DNS zone console. Point your A records to your web host's IP address, set up MX records for email, or create CNAME records for subdomains.

Why This Matters for Developers

Locality domains are underutilized for good reason—the process involves government bureaucracy and legacy systems. But they offer compelling advantages:

• Cost: Completely free (no renewal fees either)
• Authenticity: Perfect for community projects, local startups, or city-specific initiatives
• Uniqueness: They're rare enough to stand out in portfolios or project demos
• Permanence: Government-backed infrastructure means they're not going anywhere

Whether you're building a local business directory, community coding meetup site, or civic tech project, a locality domain adds credibility and geographic grounding that .com alternatives can't match.

The process takes patience and some detective work to find the right registrar contact, but the payoff is a distinctive, permanently free domain rooted in actual geography. That's a bargain even NameOcean's competitive pricing can't beat.

Ready to explore other domain options? Check out how to manage DNS records across multiple registrars, or dive into our guide on SSL certificates for all your domains.