Upcoming TLDs / .lab
Can you register a .lab domain?
Source: ICANN 2026 round applications, checked October 27, 2026. Not in the IANA root zone as of October 26, 2026.
What .lab would mean
In their own words, from the public part of each application (question 118):
Lab' is a short form of 'laboratory', meaning a room or building equipped for scientific research, experimentation, and testing.
Lab is an English word, an abbreviation of laboratory: a place or team dedicated to research, experimentation, testing, and development. It is widely used in business, science, and technology naming to denote innovation and hands-on creation.
“Lab” is a common English abbreviation of "laboratory." Refers to places, teams, or projects engaged in research, experimentation, testing, development, and technical, scientific, medical, educational, or creative activity.
Shortform of Laboratory
“Lab” is an abbreviation of “laboratory,” meaning a place or environment used for research, experimentation, testing, development, or learning.
A lab is a place or environment dedicated to research, experimentation, testing, innovation, or development. Labs may be scientific, educational, technical, creative, or commercial, bringing together tools to discover, improve, or create solutions.
"Lab" is an established English noun, a shortening of "laboratory," meaning a room or building equipped for scientific experiment, research or teaching. By extension, any workspace or team set up for experimentation and development.
Who applied for .lab
Aruba PEC S.P.A.
IT, stage: Pre-Evaluation Processing
The mission and purpose of the applied-for .lab gTLD is to serve a namespace built around innovation, experimentation, and development-oriented activity. "Lab" carries an immediate association with research and being on the cutting edge, a positioning that brands, studios, and creators can attach to, while also fitting traditional laboratory contexts in academia, biomedical services, and research. Intended registrants include makers and creative studios; founders and teams building betas, prototypes, and side-projects; companies showcasing their innovation work through a dedicated brand lab; …
Hostinger
Hostinger UAB, LT, stage: Pre-Evaluation Processing
The .lab gTLD will give a dedicated home to one of the most widely used naming patterns in science, technology, and creative work: the lab, a place or team built around research, testing, experimentation, and making. Its intended registrants include startups and innovation teams, research groups, testing and diagnostic services, design and media studios, and educational and maker communities (e.g., idea.lab, photo.lab, bio.lab). Today these registrants settle for long or compromised names in legacy TLDs because the natural form does not exist. Operated as an open registry with accessible …
Interlink Systems Innovation Institute K.K.
JP, stage: Pre-Evaluation Processing
Interlink Systems Innovation Institute K.K. (the “Applicant”) is applying for .lab to establish a globally recognizable namespace for laboratories, research, experimentation, innovation, and building on the Internet. The applied-for gTLD string “.lab” is based on the widely recognized abbreviation for “laboratory,” used in scientific, academic, medical, technological, creative, and industrial contexts. The term “lab” also applies to research groups, innovation teams, design studios, AI teams, and experimental projects.
Make A Difference Institute Limited
HK, stage: Pre-Evaluation Processing, ICANN applicant support
The Make a Difference Institute (MaD) is a think-and-do collaborative platform where people can explore creativity for good, meet cross-disciplinary changemakers and synergize across sectors for innovative solutions to social challenges – a social innovation lab. In alignment with the mission of MaD, the .lab gTLD will be an open general-purpose domain inviting the world to experiment with innovative responses to our time’s challenges.
ShortDot (Ireland) Limited
IE, stage: Pre-Evaluation Processing
The mission of .lab is to provide a recognizable namespace for research, experimentation, innovation, testing, learning, and creative development. Intended registrants include laboratories, businesses, researchers, educators, developers, creators, students, and experimental projects. The registry intends .lab to support both physical and virtual labs while remaining reliable and secure. Its mission is sustainable because experimentation and innovation are continuing activities across scientific, technical, educational, and creative fields.
Squarespace Registry LLC
US, stage: Pre-Evaluation Processing
".LAB" is proposed as an open namespace for anyone whose work is defined by inquiry, experimentation, and building something new. Academic and scientific research institutions are the most immediate registrants, but the lab identity has expanded well beyond the university or corporate R&D division. Product labs, innovation studios, early-stage startups, independent think tanks, design studios, and developers building side projects all operate under the same orientation: something is being tested, explored, or made that does not yet exist. Educational makerspaces and student innovation programs …
Wezen Exploration, Inc.
US, stage: Pre-Evaluation Processing
The mission and purpose of this TLD is to expand consumer choice by providing a clear namespace associated with laboratories, experimentation and research. Registrants may include researchers, educators, developers, institutions and collaborators. The purpose is sustainable because research and experimentation are continuing sources of discovery and innovation. The gTLD is not dependent on a single industry, technology, or business model and can accommodate evolving uses as technology and Internet activity develop.
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 .lab 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 .lab and its registry announces launch dates.