gov.uk Domains

We are pleased to confirm that we are part of the central government's Parish Council Domain Helper Service.

This means that we can provide councils with .gov.uk domains and the central government will cover the set-up costs.

Key points to note

This funding is for a limited time. The central government's funding is not exhaustive and so will advise us when the funding 'pot' has run out. It is therefore available on a first-come-first-served basis.
Councils must be approved before they can take part (see Step 1 below)
It is a requirement of possessing a .gov.uk that you MUST have a role-specific email address e.g. clerk@parishcouncil.gov.uk - we can provide this from £35 per annum (see email options HERE)
The domain registration cost includes 2 years of management, after which it will be your responsibility to pay for the renewal (currently £75 a year).

Emails

The gov.uk domain requires you to have a role-specific email address such as clerk@parishcouncil.gov.uk

If you already have your email addresses with Cuttlefish, we will change them to .gov.uk with an empty mailbox for free.

If you need any new email addresses we can arrange these with a new empty mailbox from £35 + VAT per year, depending on which email package you require. Please find our email options here: local-councils/emails

Migrating historical emails

If you want to migrate all your historical emails from your current mailbox to the new .gov.uk mailbox we can arrange this.

If you already have a clerk email address with Cuttlefish, we will migrate your historical emails for free.

If you already have other email accounts with Cuttlefish (i.e. for your councillors), we can swap them to .gov.uk emails for no charge - however they will NOT include any historical emails from your mailboxes. If you would like historical emails migrated over, we would charge for our time to perform this work. Please note the following costs:

Migrate the clerks mailbox: Free

Up to 5 additional mailboxes to be migrated = £50

6 - 10 mailboxes to be migrated = £100

11 - 15 mailboxes to be migrated = £150

What do I need to do?

Step 1

In Step 1 you will be directed away to complete the central government's funding eligibility form, then please come back to our form to complete Steps 2 - 6.

Step 2

Once we hear back from the central government one of our team will contact you with your funding outcome.

If approved, we will then submit your form answers to the Nominet domain registration service. Nominet currently has the government contract to review all applications and approval can take up to 10 days.

Step 3

We will send you an invoice which will include the credited domain (being paid by the cabinet office).

We will also forward you an email from Nominet, (once you are approved) which includes links to further information about your gov.uk domain and requirements.

Step 4

We will set up your website on the new .gov.uk domain.

We can cancel your current domain ( .co.uk / .org etc ) so it will be removed from your next invoice if you wish (but we recommend you keep it for 6 - 12 months for any forwarding.

Step 5

We will set up your new emails and perform data migrations (if required). We will send you an invoice for these services.

Remember to add to your email signature: "Please note that I am contacting you from my new email address, please update your records accordingly"