There is no specific legislation although some regulations on the organization and management of country code top-level domain names do exist.

Country code top-level domain name: .uk (Note: beginning on September 1, 2014, Nominet released the .cymru and .wales top-level domain names, intended for use by businesses or individuals based in or connected with Wales. These domain names initially gave priority to businesses or individuals based in Wales or who could prove use of a trademark in Wales containing the equivalent word, but as of March 2015, such domains have been available for anyone without the need to prove a connection with Wales. Galw Gwynedd administers the domain names for Nominet and provides Welsh-language support. The .scot domain became available on July 15, 2014 through Dot Scot Registry, a not-for-profit company created to apply for and operate a .scot domain as an online identity for Scots worldwide and backed by the Scottish Government. It is available to individuals or legal entities anywhere in the world which "identify as Scottish or have an affinity for Scotland").  

Sub-domains: .co.uk; .plc.uk; .me.uk; .ltd.uk; .gov.uk; .sch.uk; .net.uk; .org.uk; .ac.uk; .nhs.uk; .police.uk; .mod.uk; .mil.uk; .parliament.uk. As from June 10, 2014, it has also been possible to register shorter, simpler sub-domain names which enables entities with existing .co.uk, .org.uk, .me.uk, .net.uk, .plc.uk or .ltd.uk domain names to register their domain names without the first part of the sub-domain, as a “personal” sub-domain (e.g. xyzcompany.uk). These individualized sub-domains – known as “direct.uk” by Nominet – complement, and do not replace, the existing sub-domains. Any unique "direct.uk" domain names (i.e. which did not already have an equivalent name already registered as a .co.uk or .org.uk) were made available on a first-come, first-served basis from June 10, 2014. Existing owners of .uk domain names were offered the shorter equivalent of their current address, was reserved for them for free until June 10, 2019, so long as their existing sub-domain remained registered. In cases where more than one entity owned similar domains (e.g. xyzcompany.org.uk and xyzcompany.co.uk), the shorter domain was offered to the .co.uk registrant. Existing domains will continue in force. 

Applicant: individuals and legal entities (.co.uk for commercial entities, .me.uk for personal (individuals) domains, .org.uk for non-commercial organizations, .ltd.uk and .plc.uk for registered U.K. company names only (see below), .net.uk for internet service providers, .sch.uk for schools, primary and secondary education and community education.

Restriction as to nationality: yes, registrants in .ltd.uk and .plc.uk must be registered under the Companies Act 1985. Registrants for .ac.uk. and .gov.uk must be academic/government organizations based in the U.K.; .nhs.uk is only available for U.K. establishments in the National Health Service; .police.uk is only available for police services of the U.K.; .mod.uk and .mil.uk are only available for the armed forces of the U.K.; .parliament.uk is only available for the U.K. and Scottish parliaments; .scot is only available to businesses or entities connected with the worldwide Scottish community.

Local presence: required only for restricted domains (see above restrictions as to nationality).

Domestic trademark right: not required for obtaining domain name registration.

Domain name can be registered as a trademark: yes. Since December 1, 2010, it has been possible to register “short” domain names of one or two characters only.

Duration: two years.

Renewal/maintenance: two years, renewable.

Dispute about ownership: can be brought before the court.

Uniform dispute resolution procedure: available (variation of UDRP) before Nominet. Disputes regarding .scot domains are handled by ICANN UDRP and URS; specific Eligibility Requirements Dispute Resolution Policy (ERDRP) (in addition to URDP) and Sunrise Dispute Resolution Policy (SDRP) both handled by Dot Scot Registry.

Authority name: Nominet except .ac.uk (administered by Jisc – www.jisc.ac.uk), .gov.uk (administered by Government Digital Service, part of the Cabinet Office),  .nhs.uk (administered by NHS CFH – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.),  .police.uk (administered by National Policing Authority – NPIA), .mod.uk and .mil.uk (administered by DINSA – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), .parliament.uk (administered by the Parliamentary Digital Service) and .scot (administered by Dot Scot Registry).

Internet address: www.nominet.uk  (for .scot see https://dot.scothttps://dot.scot).