Ask for an exemption from GOV.UK
You need to get approval from the Government Digital Service (GDS) before you create any new government website or public-facing domain.
This approval is known as getting an ‘exemption’ and applies to domains ending in gov.uk and non-government domains (like org.uk, co.uk or .com).
Getting an exemption from GDS is not the only approval you’ll need. You must also make sure you have the correct spend approval before you create your website.
There’s separate guidance on how to get:
- a campaign site
- a blog site
- a service domain
- a gov.uk domain for your email addresses
Asking for an exemption
Apply for an exemption from GOV.UK.
You need to:
- explain why your users’ needs cannot be met on GOV.UK, providing supporting evidence
- confirm what domain name you plan to use
- confirm that your department’s technology and digital leader has given their approval
Do not begin procurement of an external website until your exemption is confirmed and you have spend approval.
If you get an exemption
You’ll need spend approval even if you get an exemption.
Your website must also:
- not duplicate or compete with existing content on either GOV.UK or other exempt government websites or services
- have appropriate journeys to and from GOV.UK for relevant content
- limit its scope to what was agreed for the exemption
You must also make sure your website meets:
- any conditions of spend approval - for example, being assessed against the Service Standard
- the Cyber Security Standard
- accessibility requirements for public sector websites
- privacy and data protection legislation requirements, if you’re collecting personal information from users
- cookie compliance requirements
- The National Archives’ rules for publishing official documents
If you’re creating a website with a gov.uk domain, read the guidance on applying for a gov.uk domain.
GDS will carry out a full review of your website 6 months after you get your exemption to make sure it still meets the conditions agreed. If you do not meet the conditions, GDS has the right to close the website.
If you do not get an exemption
You cannot create your website if you do not get an exemption.
If you already created a website before you applied and you are not granted an exemption, you’ll need to work with GDS to shut it down and migrate appropriate content to GOV.UK.
Exemptions can be revoked. If this happens, you may have to work with GDS to migrate content to GOV.UK.
Migrating content and closing your website
If your request for an exemption is refused or your exemption is revoked, you’ll need to close your website.
The steps to closing your website are:
- Do a proposition audit – work with the GOV.UK Policy and Strategy team to identify whether any of the content from your website should be on GOV.UK.
- Do a content audit – work with the GOV.UK content design team at GDS to understand where content should go on GOV.UK, and whether it duplicates existing content on the website.
- Agree a date for website closure with GDS, based on the outputs from the 2 audits.
- Migrate content to GOV.UK – work with the GDS content design team to migrate relevant content to GOV.UK, and ensure that website redirects to GOV.UK are set up for the day of website closure.
You must make sure the National Archives holds a copy of the website before it closes.
Read the guidance on how to move content to GOV.UK before you start.