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20(a) Provide the name and full description of the community that the applicant is committing to serve

gTLDFull Legal NameE-mail suffixDetail
.LLCDot Registry LLChotmail.comView
DOT Registry plans to serve the Community of Registered Limited Liability Companies. Members of the community are defined as businesses registered as limited liability companies with the United States or its territories. Limited Liability Companies or (LLC’s) as they are commonly abbreviated, represent one of the most popular business entity structures in the US. LLCʹs commonly participate in acts of commerce, public services, and product creation.

Limited Liability Companies (LLC) are a relatively new business structure for the United States, the first LLC was validated in the state of Wyoming in 1977 and in 1996 the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws adopted the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act; providing for both the definition of an LLC and the governmental standards under which an LLC may be formed. It was through the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act that a standard set of policies were created to define, validate, and monitor the operations of LLC’s, thus creating a unique and accountable business community in the United States.

An LLC is defined as a flexible form of enterprise that blends elements of partnership and corporate structures. It is a legal form of company that provides limited liability to its owners in the vast majority of United States jurisdictions. LLC’s are a unique entity type because they are considered a hybrid, having certain characteristics of both a corporation and a partnership or sole proprietorship. LLC’s are closely related to corporations in the sense that they participate in similar activities and provide limited liability to their partners. Additionally, LLC’s share a key characteristic with partnerships through the availability of pass-through income taxation. LLC’s are a more flexibile entity type than a corporation and are often well suited for businesses owned by a single owner.

Common advantages to forming an LLC include:

1) Flexibility in tax reporting, LLC’s may choose if they would like to be taxed as a sole proprietorship, partnership, S Corporation, or C Corporation. This is the only business entity form in the United States that allows for taxation flexibility.
2) LLC’s have much less administrative paperwork and reporting requirements then corporations.
3) Unless the LLC elects to be taxed as a C Corp, LLC’s enjoy pass through taxation.
4) Limited liability, meaning that owners of an LLC, called “members” are protected from some or all liability acts and debts of the LLC.

LLC’s have become increasingly popular in the United States because their formation provides owners with the protection of a corporation and the flexibility of a partnership.

With the number of registered LLC’s in the United States totaling over five million in 2010 (as reported by the International Association of Commercial Administrators) it is hard for the average consumer to not conduct business with an LLC (popular LLC’s in the United States include: AOL and BMW). Through the creation of DOT Registry’s .LLC string, consumers can quickly validate that they are working with a member of the Community of Registered Limited Liability Companies, providing consumers with brand reassurance and peace of mind. DOT Registry believes that it is essential to identify limited liability companies online in order to expand on their creditability and further highlight their privilege to conduct business in the US. Proper representation of this community would allow consumers to make educated choices in choosing businesses to patronize and support.
LLCʹs can be formed through any jurisdiction of the United States. Therefore members of this community exist in all 50 US states and its territories. LLC formation guidelines are dictated by state law and can vary based on each state’s regulations. Persons form an LLC by filing required documents with the appropriate state authority, usually the Secretary of State. Most states require the filing of Articles of Organization. These are considered public documents and are similar to articles of incorporation, which establish a corporation as a legal entity. At minimum, the articles of organization give a brief description of the intended business purposes, the registered agent, and registered business address.
LLC’s are expected to conduct business in conjunction with the policies of the state in which they are formed, and the Secretary of State periodically evaluates a LLC’s level of good standing based on their commercial interactions with both the state and consumers. DOT Registry or its designated agents would verify membership to the Community of Registered Limited Liability Companies by collecting data on each Registrant and cross-referencing the information with their applicable registration state. In order to maintain the reputation of the “.LLC” string and accurately delineate the member to consumers, Registrants would only be awarded a domain that accurately represents their registered legal business name. Additionally, DOT Registry will not allow blind registrations or registration by proxy, therefore DOT Registry’s WHOIS service will tie directly back to each member’s state registration information and will be publicly available in order to provide complete transparency for consumers.
Entities are required to comply with formation practices in order to receive the right to conduct business in the US. Once formed an LLC must be properly maintained. LLC’s are expected to comply with state regulations, submit annual filings, and pay specific taxes and fees. Should an LLC fail to comply with state statutes it could result in involuntary dissolution by the state in addition to imposed penalties, taxes and fees.
While state statutes vary, the majority of states have adopted the following guidelines in regards to the formation of LLC’s:

(1) The name of each limited liability company must contain the words ʺLimited Liability Companyʺ or the abbreviation ʺL.L.C.ʺ or the designation ʺLLCʺ.

(2) In order to form a limited liability company, one or more authorized persons must execute the Articles of Organization. Which shall contain: the name of the limited liability company; the address of the registered office and the name and address of the registered agent for service of process required to be maintained; and any other matters the members determine to include therein.
(3) A Limited Liability Company may be organized to conduct or promote any lawful business or purposes, except as may otherwise be provided by the Constitution or other law of this State.
All entities bearing the abbreviation LLC in their business name create the assumption that they have been awarded the privileges associated to that title such as: the ability to conduct commerce transactions within US borders or territories, the ability to market products, solicit consumers and provide reputable services in exchange for monetary values, and finally to provide jobs or employment incentives to other citizens.
Membership in the Community of Registered Limited Liability Companies is established through your business entity registration. In order to maintain your membership to this community you must remain an “Active” member of the community. Active” in this context can be defined as any LLC registered with a Secretary of State in the United States and its territories, that is determined to be authorized to conduct business within that State at the time of their registration. Registrant’s “Active” status will be verified on an annual basis as described above in question 18 in order to ensure the reputation and validity of the “.LLC” gTLD.
Since LLC’s are not currently delineated on the Internet, the creation of this string would mark a unique advancement in consumer security and confidence in the United States. Essentially, this will create the first ever, clear delineator for the Community of Registered Limited Liability Companies.
gTLDFull Legal NameE-mail suffixDetail
.cpaCPA AUSTRALIA LTDcpaaustralia.com.auView
CPA Australia Ltd (CPA Australia) is dedicated to serving the interests of its community of accountancy, finance and business advisory professionals across the world. CPA Australia, one of the largest, most recognised and respected accounting bodies in the world, currently represents a membership of 139,000 Certified Practicing Accountants (CPAs) spread across 114 countries, with a particularly strong presence in the fast growing Asia-Pacific region including China, Hong Kong and Singapore. The well-defined CPA Australia community consists of CPA Australia members, incorporating full CPA members, Associate members enrolled in a CPA professional program and students registered in the CPA Australia passport program, as well as reciprocal members who have applied, or are eligible to apply, for membership of CPA Australia.

Full CPA members of CPA Australia must:

- hold a degree or postgraduate award recognised by CPA Australia;

- have demonstrated competence in or successful completion of CPA Australia’s foundation level core subjects (usually demonstrated by the completion of an accredited degree);

- have successfully completed the professional level examinations;

- have successfully completed the 36-month supervised, professional work experience requirement;

- undertake continuing professional development (CPD) activities each year; and

- comply with a code of conduct set by CPA Australia and other regulations related to membership.


To be able to offer public accounting services, a CPA must also hold a Public Practice Certificate in accordance with CPA Australiaʹs by-laws.

Associate members of CPA Australia are professionals who have successfully completed the foundation level examinations with CPA Australia or have completed an accredited degree through a higher-education provider. Associate members of CPA Australia enjoy all the benefits of membership and access to CPA Australia’s services and programs. CPA Australia Passport members are students and young professionals who have registered with CPA Australia’s professional networking program to gain access to job opportunities and resources to kick-start their careers.

The CPA Australia community also includes reciprocal members either practising as accountants or studying equivalent education courses at leading accounting bodies around the world with which CPA Australia has Mutual Recognition Agreements, comprising the following:

- Certified General Accountants and Certified Management Accountants in Canada

- Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in Europe

- Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland

- Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants

- Institute of Chartered Accountants in India

- Malaysian Institute of Accountants

- Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Singapore


Members of these affiliated accounting bodies become part of the CPA community by applying for reciprocal membership of CPA Australia to gain access to a range of CPA Australia’s resources, benefits and possible exemption from the CPA program. Reciprocal members also become bound by all CPA Australia by-laws and regulations. All Mutual Recognition Agreements entered into by CPA Australia are required to be lodged with Australia’s competition, fair trading and consumer protection regulator, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). This ensures that CPA Australia and all members of its community are subject to regulatory oversight to promote competition and fair trading in the market place to benefit consumers, businesses and the general public. CPA Australia may enter into further Mutual Recognition Agreements with other leading accounting bodies around the world in the future. At some point in the future, the CPA Australia community may review and consider expanding the community to include practicing accountants and other members of various CPA organisations around the world which also use a similar CPA designation.

The CPA Australia community was born in 1886 when the founding fathers, all practising public accountants, met to discuss the future of the accounting profession in Australia and formed the first incorporated accounting body, The Incorporated Institute of Accountants, Victoria (IIAV). Over the next 100 years a number of accounting associations and bodies merged with the IIAV, forming The Australian Society of Accountants in 1952, changing its name to the Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants in 1990 and evolving to become CPA Australia in 2000. The original predecessor to CPA Australia began with 160 members, steadily growing to 24,000 members in 1958 and 50,000 members by 1981. Since then, CPA Australia has experienced exponential growth in membership reaching 100,000 members in 2009 and 139,000 members across 114 countries in 2012.

CPA Australia and its predecessors have pursued a long-term international growth strategy, with the first official overseas representatives appointed in London and Singapore in 1954, further representatives were appointed in Hong Kong in 1955 and Kuala Lumpur in 1956, branches in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong were opened in 1988, CPA Australia opened offices in Beijing and Shanghai in 2002 and 2006 respectively and Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City offices were opened in 2008. This international expansion has contributed to the strong growth in the CPA Australia community, particularly in Asia, where, for example, Hong Kong became the largest membership group outside of three Australian States. The highly valuable and respected CPA Program and global CPA designation were launched in 1986 and have experienced significant global growth in enrolments and graduating CPAs. The CPA designation has continued to grow in stature and has become a highly recognised and valued professional accountancy designation for accounting, finance and business leaders around the world. The exceptionally high standards and quality of the CPA Program have been recognised by an ISO 9001 certification for quality management systems.
CPA Australia demonstrated its commitment to innovate member services by launching CPA Online in 1995, its leading edge website providing knowledge, training and information to members and the general public, experienced enormous subscription growth and quickly became one of the top 50 most popular Australian sites. While CPA Australia celebrates its 125 year history, CPA Australia’s commitment to technical rigour, integrity, innovation and strategic business thinking remains together with its absolute commitment to serving the growing CPA Australia community. This commitment means that CPA Australia will strengthen its position as a dynamic leading global accounting body and CPAs will remain at the forefront of business for generations to come. Members of the CPA Australia community are proud to be part of a highly professional, organised, vibrant and innovative global accountant community and place a high value on the globally-recognised and respected CPA designation and CPA Australia’s professional education and training programs.