TLD Trust

tld_trust quantifies how strict a TLD's registration requirements are, scored from 1 to 5. A higher score means the registry itself performed more identity verification before the domain was issued.

The field is returned by the domain and email endpoints on Pro plans, and is available in Gates as domain.tld_trust.

Trust levels

Score	Level	What it means	Examples
1	Open	No verification. Anyone can register in seconds.	.com, .net, .org, .xyz, .io
2	Low Trust	Rules exist on paper (residency, ID) but enforcement is minimal.	.fr, .ar, .barcelona
3	Moderate Trust	Verifiable business number or national ID required and checked.	.com.au, .it, .bd
4	High Trust	Restricted to specific institution types with accreditation documents.	.bank, .ac.uk, .ac.jp
5	Absolute Trust	Not available for public registration. Government, military, or brand TLDs.	.gov, .mil, .apple

Reading the score

A score of 1 doesn't mean the domain is suspicious; most legitimate businesses use open TLDs. It means the TLD itself provides no identity signal. For scores of 3 and above, the TLD becomes a meaningful trust signal on its own because the registry verified the entity behind the domain.

The score depends only on the TLD, so it is available immediately for any domain and never changes between lookups of the same TLD. The value is null when the domain's TLD is not one of the several thousand UserCheck scores, which in practice means an unusual or newly delegated one.

For background on why registration requirements differ so widely between TLDs, see Using TLDs as a Trust Signal.