# Why are some .box domains not available for registration?

A .box domain may be reserved, blocked, or unavailable for online registration for several reasons:

1. **ICANN Mandates**: We are required by ICANN to reserve certain domain names that correspond to specific organizations, such as the International Red Cross. ICANN provides a [list](https://www.icann.org/reserved-names-en) of these reserved terms.
2. **Geographical and Organizational Restrictions**: ICANN also mandates the exclusion of domain names that represent Country Code Top Level Domains or names associated with specific entities like "ICANN" or various countries and territories.
3. **Abuse Mitigation**: To prevent misuse, some domain names may become unavailable as part of our efforts to mitigate abuse.
4. **Registry Needs**: In accordance with our [contract](https://www.icann.org/en/registry-agreements/details/box#name-collision-occurrence-management-documents) with ICANN, we may choose to withhold certain domain names from registration or allocate them for our own use.
5. **Operational and Promotional Use**: We may activate certain domain names that are essential for the operation or promotion of our registry.

#### Interested in securing a reserved .box domain? Please fill out the form below.

{% embed url="<https://bbpoxnvq431.typeform.com/to/FmkqD6X4>" fullWidth="false" %}