Get Your Parish Council a .gov.uk Domain — We Handle the Application

A .gov.uk domain is the clearest possible signal that a website is official and trustworthy. For parish and town councils, it tells residents, businesses, and other organisations that your website is the genuine, authoritative source of council information — not an unofficial page or a third-party platform.

The Cabinet Office and DLUHC actively encourage parish and town councils to use .gov.uk domains as their primary web presence. Many councils are still operating on .co.uk, .org.uk, or .com domains that give no indication of their official status. A .gov.uk domain changes that immediately.

Beyond trust signals, a .gov.uk domain supports your compliance position under the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018. It aligns your web presence with the standards expected of public sector bodies and makes it easier to demonstrate compliance to residents and auditors.

We are approved .gov.uk registrars — one of a small number of agencies authorised to submit applications on behalf of eligible organisations. We handle every step of the process on your behalf. The council clerk or chair signs the paperwork; we do everything else.

Eligibility check. We confirm your council is eligible for a .gov.uk domain. Parish councils, town councils, and other eligible public bodies in England qualify. We check this before any application is submitted.

Application preparation. We prepare the full application — domain name selection, eligibility documentation, and registrant details. We advise on the right domain name format for your council (most parish councils use the format parishname-pc.gov.uk).

Submission and approval. We submit the application to Jisc, the official .gov.uk registry. Approval typically takes five to ten working days once documentation is verified. We manage all communication with the registry on your behalf.

Domain activation. Once approved, we configure the domain and connect it to your website hosting. If you are building a new council website with us, this is included in the project at no additional charge. If you already have a website, we point the domain to your existing hosting and assist with any redirect configuration needed.

Ongoing management. We manage domain renewal on your behalf and alert you in advance of renewal dates. You will never lose your .gov.uk domain through an administration oversight.

Whamos Ltd currently designs, builds, and maintains websites for five parish councils across Cumbria — Whicham, Eskdale, Bootle, Millom Without, and Millom Town. Each operates on a .gov.uk domain with a WCAG 2.2 AA compliant website, a document management system for publishing agendas, minutes and accounts, GDPR-compliant cookie consent, and an accessibility toolbar with high contrast and font size controls.

Our Parish Council Domain Helper service is available standalone — if your council already has a website and just needs the .gov.uk domain, we handle the application and transfer. Most councils take the opportunity to rebuild their website at the same time, as older council sites often have significant accessibility compliance gaps that create legal exposure under the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Initial consultations are free. We assess your current domain and website situation, confirm your eligibility, explain the process and costs clearly, and give you an honest recommendation. There is no obligation and no pressure — just straightforward advice from people who have done this before across five Cumbrian parish councils.