.example

The name example is reserved by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) as a domain name that may not be installed as a top-level domain in the Domain Name System (DNS) of the Internet.^[1]

example

Introduced	1999
TLD type	Reserved top-level domain
Status	Reserved to prevent confusion and conflict
Registry	IANA
Sponsor	None
Intended use	Example top-level domain for documentation
Actual use	Sometimes used in intended manner in documentation
Registration restrictions	No registrations are possible
Structure	As needed in example usage
Documents	RFC 2606
Dispute policies	None
Registry website	None

Reserved DNS names

In 1999, the Internet Engineering Task Force reserved the DNS labels example, invalid, localhost, and test so that they may not be installed into the root zone of the Domain Name System.^[1]

The reason for reservation of these top-level domain names is to reduce the likelihood of conflict and confusion. This allows the use of these names for either documentation purposes or in local testing scenarios.

Purpose

The top-level domain example is explicitly intended to be used in documentation or other technical writing, when domain names are presented as examples in usage or presentation of concepts of the Domain Name System or the Internet.

See also

• example.com
• 192.0.2.0/24, 198.51.100.0/24, 203.0.113.0/24 – IPv4 ranges reserved for documentation and example code.^[2]
• 2001:db8::/32 – IPv6 range reserved for documentation.^[3]