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IANA — RESERVED DOMAINS GUIDE

Reserved Domains:
example

Four second-level names are permanently reserved for documentation. They behave like real domains in syntax, but will never be delegated to a private owner. This page mirrors iana.org/domains/example in a friendlier format.

1 · The four siblings

Rule of thumb: pick the TLD that matches your audience, but never rely on any behavioural difference — all four are interchangeable and safe.

2 · Permitted use

• Tutorials, books, slides, API references and code comments.
• Test fixtures, e.g. user@example.net, https://api.example.net/v1.
• Screenshots and design mockups where a realistic URL is needed.
• Classroom exercises without coordination or permission.

3 · Copy-paste snippet

<!-- Safe placeholder link -->
<a href="https://example.net">Learn more</a>

# Safe placeholder in config
API_BASE_URL=https://api.example.net/v1
TEST_EMAIL=someone@example.net

4 · What not to do

1. Do not use example.net as a real backend, webhook, or redirect target in operations.
2. Do not expect mail to @example.net to arrive — it is intentionally unroutable.
3. Do not add analytics, cookies, or tracking when demonstrating it.

5 · Authority & RFCs

• RFC 2606 §3 — Reserved Top Level DNS Names: reserves .test, .example, .invalid, .localhost plus the four example.* names.
• RFC 6761 — Special-Use Domain Names: processing rules for registrars and resolvers.
• IANA — Reserved Domains registry and example domains page.