Eligibility
- DLCIs: Eligible for a custom MIT domain name.
- Student groups: Eligible if formally recognized by the Association of Student Activities (ASA).
- Not eligible: Personal websites, portfolios, and CV sites. If necessary to include information from these kinds of sites, they can be linked to on an appropriate page, such as an “About” or “Team” page within the website.
Domain Name Format
- Only domains of the format https://yoursite.mit.edu are permitted. No other top-level domains are allowed.
- Fourth-level subdomains are not permitted. (Example: do not use blog.yoursite.mit.edu, use yoursite.mit.edu/blog)
- Multiple domain names pointing to the same site are not permitted.
- Domain names may not contain numbers or symbols (e.g., ?, #).
- When possible, spell out your department or group name and avoid acronyms.
- Naming conflicts: In cases where multiple groups request the same or similar domain names, priority will be given to Institute-level organizations and DLCIs.
- Transferability: Domain names are not transferable between unrelated groups. If a group disbands, merges, or changes names, the domain will be retired or reassigned at the Institute’s discretion.
- Faculty lab sites need to include “lab” or “group” and not just the person’s name: namelab.mit.edu but not name.mit.edu
- Eligible student groups need to use “club” or “group” in their domain name if there would be ambiguity without it: danceclub.mit.edu but not dance.mit.edu.
Site Maintenance and Use
- Site requestors are responsible for ongoing site maintenance.
- Sites inactive for over one year (no edits or no traffic) may be removed.
- Domain names must be used within six months of being claimed. If no site with substantive content exists within that time, the domain may be revoked.
- Placeholder content (e.g., “lorem ipsum” text, default template images) is not permitted.
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Completed sites must include:
- A valid contact email address in the footer
- The required accessibility link on all pages in the footer, including the homepage
- All sites must use HTTPS and follow best security practices for keeping software, themes, and plugins patched and up to date.
- Each site must maintain an active MIT contact. If the listed contact leaves MIT or is no longer responsible for the site, ownership must be updated promptly.
Standards and Requirements
- All sites must comply with MIT accessibility standards and should follow generally accepted web accessibility practices.
- Sites must follow MIT branding guidelines for including the MIT logo and full MIT name.
- Sites must comply with all Institute policies, including but not limited to:
- MIT does not redirect mit.edu domains to personal websites.
- Cybersquatting (claiming domains without building a site) is prohibited.
Administrative Authority
MIT reserves the right to rescind any domain name at any time for any reason.
Request Process
Requests are reviewed by representatives from the Provost's Office, Office of the Vice President for Research, Office of the General Counsel, Institute Office of Communication, and Information Systems & Technology. Approval or denial is at their discretion, based on these guidelines and the best interests of the Institute.
Applicability
This policy applies to all domain names made on or after December 19, 2025.
MIT websites created before this date are not required to conform to these policies.