tld.expert / guides

Is it risky to build my company on a .io domain because of the Chagos Islands deal?

The near-term risk is low. As of October 2026 the UK-Mauritius Chagos treaty, signed in May 2025, is unratified: its implementing bill could not complete in April 2026 because US consent stalled. Even if the IO code later left the ISO 3166-1 list, ICANN's retirement policy starts a phase-out of at least five years.

Updated October 19, 2026 · 4 primary sources, listed below

Timeline: what has actually happened

DateEvent
Oct 2024UK and Mauritius announce agreement to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago (the British Indian Ocean Territory, whose code is IO).
Nov 14, 2024ICANN’s Kim Davies: “IO” persists in ISO 3166-1, no change to the standard; a sovereignty change does not automatically change .io.
May 2025UK and Mauritius sign the treaty. Ratification requires UK implementing legislation and US consent (Diego Garcia hosts a US-UK base).
Apr 13, 2026UK minister tells the Commons the Diego Garcia and BIOT Bill cannot complete this session or be carried over, after delays agreeing an exchange of notes with the US. Domain Incite: “.io safe for now.”
Oct 2026Treaty still unratified. .io resolves and registers normally.

What would have to happen for .io to end

  1. The treaty is ratified and sovereignty actually transfers.
  2. The ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency removes IO from the ISO 3166-1 list. That is a separate decision; ICANN says it is not a foregone conclusion.
  3. Only then does ICANN’s ccTLD retirement policy start: a five-year window to phase the domain out, which ICANN says may be extended.

So the realistic worst case is a multi-year, announced migration, not a domain that stops working overnight. The precedent is .yu, wound down over years after Yugoslavia broke up.

What .io costs while you wait

RegistrarFirst yearRenewalChecked
Porkbun$28.12$51.802026-10-19
Cloudflare Registrar$32.00$50.002026-10-19
Dynadot$28.89$53.502026-10-19

Google still treats .io as a generic TLD for search (it is on Google’s gccTLD list), so the Chagos question has no SEO effect today.

How to build on .io without the risk

Still choosing? Compare .io vs .ai or see best TLDs for dev tools.

Common questions

What would actually trigger the end of .io?

Removal of IO as an assigned code in the ISO 3166-1 standard. A change of sovereignty alone does not do it: ICANN wrote in November 2024 that IO persists in the standard and that it is not a foregone conclusion that a sovereignty change will change .io.

How long would I have to move?

ICANN's community-developed retirement policy opens a five-year window to phase the domain out once the code is removed, and that window can be extended. Retired ccTLDs like .yu were wound down over years, not overnight.

Who runs .io today?

.io is operated by a UK-based subsidiary of Identity Digital, and registrations keep working normally. Domain Incite reports .io brings in over $40 million a year, which gives every party an incentive to keep it running.

How do I hedge if I am on .io?

Own the .com (or another long-term domain) for your brand now, keep it redirecting, and put email on a domain you are certain to keep. Then a forced move would be a planned redirect, not an emergency.

Sources

  1. ICANN (Kim Davies, VP IANA Services), “The Chagos Archipelago and the .io domain” (November 14, 2024).
  2. Domain Incite (Kevin Murphy), “.io safe for now as Trump puts Chagos deal on ice” (April 13, 2026).
  3. UK Parliament, “Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill” (April 30, 2026).
  4. Google Search Central, “Managing multi-regional sites (.io treated as generic)” (December 10, 2025).

Extensions on this page

.io.ai.co.dev.com.app

More straight answers