Moving your parish council to a .gov.uk domain
This guide is for parish council clerks who want to set up or move their council to a .gov.uk domain.
Applies to England
The .gov.uk domain was specifically created for use by central, devolved and local UK public sector organisations. Parish councils are eligible to use the .gov.uk domain name for websites and emails.
The Government Digital Service (GDS) has set up the Parish Council Domain Helper Service that helps parish councils migrate to .gov.uk domains.
The service provides a minimum set of digital services that GDS recommends a parish council should buy to enable them to operate using a .gov.uk domain name.
Your first step is to get council approval to use a .gov.uk domain name. If you’ve already done this, you can start at step 2. Understand your role as a registrant.
1. Get council approval to buy a .gov.uk domain
Get council approval to apply for a .gov.uk domain name during one of your official meetings so that it is recorded in your minutes.
Explain the benefits of a .gov.uk domain name to your council
The benefits for parish councils include having:
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the trusted and professional .gov.uk brand that people will recognise
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increased transparency and security compared to personal email accounts
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the ability to manage email accounts by removing staff when they leave
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easy access to staff email accounts to fulfil FOI obligations
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continuous central government monitoring for potential security vulnerabilities
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better legal protection because it’s based in a UK jurisdiction
All permanent staff and councillors must use individual .gov.uk email accounts rather than free personal email accounts to improve professionalism, maintain transparency and to increase security within the parish council sector.
Read more on the benefits of using a .gov.uk domain.
2. Understand your role as a registrant
As the clerk of the parish council you are the registrant. This role means you have control over the domain name and all related services, such as emails and the website. The supplier who registers and manages your gov.uk domain is called a registrar.
As the registrant you are accountable for:
- contacting a registrar to apply for and manage your domain name
- making sure you follow the rules for using a .gov.uk domain name
When your parish council has agreed to move to a gov.uk domain, you can start to look for a registrar to work with and send the application for you.
Email parish.helper@domains.gov.uk if you have any questions about being a registrant.
3. Check the services you need
You will need to buy a domain, web hosting, email accounts and possibly get a new website.
The costs will vary depending on the services you are buying, the size of your council and which supplier you choose. For example, the more councillors you have the more email accounts you will need to buy.
When you understand the services you need, you can plan your budget. This will help your council make a smooth and cost-effective move to a .gov.uk domain.
Use the checklist below to decide what services your parish council needs.
| Service | Do you need this? | What this will provide |
| .gov.uk domain | Yes | You must have a domain to have any digital services such as a website and emails. |
| Email addresses | Yes | The parish clerk must have a role-based .gov.uk email. To meet your FOI and transparency obligations, you must give email addresses to each councillor and to any permanent staff. Free email accounts do not look professional and some providers will scan emails to personalise and target advertising. |
| .gov.uk website | Yes | You need this as you are legally required to publish information on a website. Currently the smallest councils, known as Parish Meetings, are not legally required to have a website. |
| Renewing existing domain name | Yes | Because it is an asset, you will need to continue renewing your old domain name annually. This will prevent anyone else from registering it and impersonating your organisation. Read more guidance on how to stop using your non-government domain name. |
| Website hosting | Yes | You will need this to make your website available on the internet. |
| Website accessibility | Yes | All public sector websites must publish an accessibility statement to meet their legal requirements. This can include details of what you know needs fixing. Read more guidance on how to make your website accessible and publish an accessibility statement. You can do a basic accessibility check to see if there are improvements needed to your current website. If you buy a new .gov.uk website, you should expect it to be fully accessible. You do not have to buy or build a fully accessible website if you can prove your council cannot afford it. This is known as a disproportionate burden. |
| Moving email data | Optional | You may need this if you are moving from another domain and want to still have access to your email history. |
| Transfer of your old website | Discuss with your registrar | You may want this if you have a current website you want to move from a different domain. |
| Design of a new website | Discuss with your registrar | You may need this if you want to create a new site that is suitable for the .gov.uk. domain. For example, if you currently have a page on another organisation’s site. |
4. What to expect from the Parish Council Domain Helper Service Registrars
As part of the Parish Council Domains Helper Service, we have a list of suppliers who have experience working with parish councils and have agreed to provide extra support to help you move to or set up a .gov.uk domain. We refer to them as Parish Council Domain Helper Service Registrars on this page.
The Parish Council Domain Helper Service Registrars on the list have committed to providing you with the following under this service:
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A website and an email service using a unique .gov.uk third-level domain. For example,
yourparishname.gov.uk. You can have your web pages hosted on another .gov.uk registrant’s website if that’s easier for you, but you must use your unique .gov.uk third-level domain for your email service. -
A separate mailbox for the clerk, and each member of the council and staff, using the .gov.uk domain. For example,
clerk@yourparishname.gov.uk. This is so that official correspondence can be easily recognised and individuals are best protected. This is explained in more detail in the benefits of getting a .gov.uk domain. -
Helpful support in non-technical language.
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Active ongoing support including telephone, online ticket, email or video calls.
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A technical point of contact to keep your domain name secure. This means that your registrar will manage the technical aspects of any services you buy from them and if you have bought your email and website services from another provider, you can ask your registrar to engage with them on your behalf to fix any technical issues.
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Help with .gov.uk email and device set up, appropriate for non-technical users.
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Minimal disruption during the set up of your new domain and services, and migration from any existing email and website providers.
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Regularly check your domain, email and website using MyNCSC. Directly fix any issues with services they provide to you or help you engage with your other suppliers to fix issues.
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Ensure that your domain is protected according to how .gov.uk domains are protected, including taking responsibility for making changes to your domain name.
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Ensure your email and website meet public sector email security standards, accessibility requirements for public sector bodies. If you have bought your email and website services from another provider, you can ask your registrar to liaise with them to ensure compliance.
5. The list of Parish Council Domain Helper Service Registrars
GDS does not endorse or recommend any individual registrar or service offered under the Parish Council Domains Helper Service, beyond listing the registrars who declare their ability to meet the requirements.
GDS is not involved in any commercial or pricing decisions that registrars or other service providers make. However, you can ask for recommendations and discuss pricing with other parish councils or on forums such as the Community Clerks’ Network Facebook page.
Purchasing your services
As a parish council, you are free to choose to buy a complete service from a single registrar, or to buy different services from multiple suppliers (for example, a registrar for the domain, and a separate provider for website design/hosting and email) according to your individual needs and budget.
Digital services are offered at many different levels of performance, availability, security, quality, and price. However, it is crucial that all services meet all specified GDS and NCSC standards. Your registrar must make it clear to you whether or not the services you are buying constitute a complete Parish Council Domain Helper service.
If engaging with multiple suppliers, your parish council is responsible for liaising between suppliers when needed.
6. What to do when you’ve set up your domain
Your registrar will usually manage your domain for you but we recommend you do the following.
6.1. Check your .gov.uk website and emails are working properly before sending out any communications.
6.2. When your .gov.uk emails are set up, it’s a good idea to redirect messages from your old inbox to the new .gov.uk one for a reasonable amount of time before shutting it down completely. You may also be able to set an out of office message. Your registrars will let you know the options available to you.
6.3. Make sure everyone working for the council signs and agrees to follow an IT policy. You can download this template IT policy and adapt it for your parish council.
6.4. Ask staff and councillors to complete the free top tips for staff training from the National Cyber Security Centre.
6.5. Make sure your website is compliant with website accessibility laws. You can follow guidance on doing a basic accessibility check if you cannot do a detailed one.
6.6. Publish content in HTML where possible. You can upload documents in PDF or other file formats but these may not be as accessible as HTML. However, PDFs and other formats can be formatted so that they meet accessibility laws. Read this guidance on making non-HTML documents accessible. Your registrar can provide help and support in this area.
6.7. Publish an accessibility statement on our website, which includes telling people how to get in touch with you if they need a more accessible document. For example, some people may need a document in large print, an audio recording or braille. You can use this sample accessibility statement template and adapt it for your council.
6.8. Remember to renew your previous non-gov.uk domain every year if you have one. If it is not renewed, anyone else can buy that domain and potentially use it to impersonate your council online.
6.9. Understand your obligations by reading the getting started with your .gov.uk domain name guidance.
7. Who to contact if you need help
In most cases, a Parish Council Domain Helper Service Registrar will be able to answer your questions and guide you through the process of setting up and using your .gov.uk domain name.
However, you can email parish.helper@domains.gov.uk if you need any impartial advice.
You can also sign up to a 60-minute workshop for more information on moving to a .gov.uk domain.
Updates to this page
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Updated the service name to the Parish Council Domain Helper Service and included a section for what to expect from the Parish Council Domain Helper Service Registrars.
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Rewritten section 5 to provide more comprehensive instructions on what to do after setting up the domain.
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First published.