Upcoming TLDs / .chef
Can you register a .chef domain?
Source: ICANN 2026 round applications, checked October 27, 2026. Not in the IANA root zone as of October 26, 2026.
What .chef would mean
In their own words, from the public part of each application (question 118):
"Chef" refers to a skilled professional cook, typically the lead person responsible for directing food preparation and managing a kitchen.
A chef is a professionally trained cook who prepares, creates, and oversees the production of food in restaurants, hotels, catering services, or other food establishments. Chefs manage kitchens, develop recipes, and ensure food quality and safety.
CHEF is a person skilled in preparing and cooking food, especially in a professional kitchen. Ingredients go in. Something worth remembering comes out.
Who applied for .chef
Registry Services, LLC
US, stage: Pre-Evaluation Processing
1. Mission and Purpose of the Applied-for gTLD
Squarespace Registry LLC
US, stage: Pre-Evaluation Processing
".CHEF" is proposed as an open namespace for culinary professionals, food enthusiasts, and anyone who has mastered their craft. Restaurants, catering services, personal chef businesses, culinary schools, food media creators, and recipe platforms all represent core registrant categories. The word "chef," however, has always carried a meaning beyond the kitchen: it connotes mastery, precision, and creative command of a discipline. A software architect known for elegant system design, a financial strategist known for complex deal-making, or an athlete known for a signature skill are each, in the …
XYZ.COM LLC
US, stage: Pre-Evaluation Processing
1. Mission and purpose. This gTLD will be operated as an open, unrestricted generic top-level domain. Its purpose is to expand naming choice in the DNS by making this term available at the top level for any lawful use chosen by the registrant. Registrations will be available to all registrants on a first-come, first-served basis through ICANN-accredited registrars, subject only to the Registry Agreement, ICANN Consensus Policies, and applicable law. The applicant will not operate this gTLD on an exclusive basis.
What happens next
- April 30, 2026: Application window opened (done)
- August 12, 2026: Application window closed (done)
- October 7, 2026: Reveal Day: ICANN published every applied-for string (done)
- October 21, 2026: Replacement period ended (applicants could switch to a backup string) (done)
- November 17, 2026: String Confirmation Day: the final list of applied-for strings
- March 16, 2027: Community input and objections period ends
Dates from ICANN’s Reveal Day announcement, checked October 27, 2026. We re-check the applications every day and this page changes when they do.
When will .chef be available?
ICANN has not set a date. The final list of applied-for strings comes on String Confirmation Day (November 17, 2026), community input and objections run until March 16, 2027, and ICANN processes applications after a prioritization draw in 2027. Registration opens only after ICANN delegates .chef and its registry announces launch dates.