Why New York Is Moving Municipal Websites to .gov and How It Compares to Other States

New York has enacted a statewide push to put municipal websites on the .gov domain as part of a broader transparency and cybersecurity effort. The change comes from Chapter 609 of the Laws of 2024, later refined by a chapter amendment (Chapter 97 of 2025) that clarified who must comply and when. In plain terms, cities, towns, villages, and counties meeting the population threshold must run their official websites on a .gov address and keep them current with specified public information. The New York State Committee on Open Government summarizes the law and the amendment: it requires an official municipal webpage on a .gov domain, and it details what must be posted to that site. Importantly, the 2025 amendment narrows mandatory compliance to municipal corporations with populations of at least 1,500 and gives smaller communities an “as practicable” standard. It also allows a municipality to satisfy the domain requirement by hosting its official site as a page or subpage under another municipality’s .gov site. The effective date set by the amendment is one year after it was signed on February 28, 2025, which means the mandate becomes operative on February 28, 2026.

New York didn’t invent .gov, but the state is leaning into it for the same reason the federal government has made it the norm: trust and security. The .gov top-level domain is administered by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and is only available to verified U.S. government entities. That exclusivity helps residents instantly recognize official information and reduces the risk of spoofed government sites or phishing emails that mimic public agencies. CISA now provides .gov domains at no cost to eligible governments, and new registrations are preloaded for HTTPS, reinforcing secure connections by default. These features are part of why governments at all levels are being encouraged to standardize on .gov. (Get.gov)

Although the .gov rule in New York is triggered by transparency needs in state law, it also fits the state’s long-running standardization of web identities. For example, at the state-agency level, New York’s Office of Information Technology Services already requires use of the ny.gov domain for official state agency sites and communications, signaling a preference for consistent, government-specific domains. Extending that logic down to local governments via .gov makes residents’ online experience more predictable and safer. (OITS)

For municipal clerks, managers, and highway or public works departments, the practical effect is twofold: adopt the correct domain and publish the right content. The statute, as summarized by the Committee on Open Government, requires posting notices of municipal elections, hearings, and meetings; agendas if they exist and minutes or equivalent recordings/transcripts within the required timeframes; current codes, local laws, and resolutions; and key fiscal documents such as the current year budget, the latest annual financial reports, the most recent independent audit, and any fiscal performance or multi-year financial plans that are not otherwise exempt from disclosure. These content requirements link the domain change to the state’s transparency framework rather than treating .gov as a branding exercise.

New York’s timetable and scope matter for planning. Because the 2025 chapter amendment added the population threshold and moved the operative date to February 28, 2026, larger municipalities have a defined runway to complete domain acquisition, DNS changes, redirects, email alignment, public-facing signage and stationery updates, and accessibility and records-posting workflows. Smaller municipalities under 1,500 population should still move toward compliance, but the “to the extent practicable” language acknowledges capacity constraints; many such communities may meet the rule by hosting their official presence as a page under a county or partner municipality’s .gov site.

Other states are traveling a similar road, sometimes with different scopes or deadlines. California’s AB 1637 requires all cities and counties to migrate their public websites and employee email addresses to .gov or .ca.gov domains by January 1, 2029, with redirection required if a site remains noncompliant at that date. California’s rationale explicitly ties the change to cybersecurity and public clarity, and the law recognizes that these domains are available at no cost to eligible agencies. (California JPIA)

Minnesota has adopted a targeted mandate centered on election integrity. By June 1, 2026, every county and any municipality that administers absentee voting must use a .gov domain for its official website, with additional time allowed through 2028 if an entity has applied but not fully transitioned by the first deadline. The policy is framed as a way to help voters distinguish official election information from look-alike sites and to unlock funding support for the transition. (MN Revisor's Office, League of Minnesota Cities)

Utah took a broader approach to domain safety by requiring every governmental entity, beginning July 1, 2025, to use an “authorized top-level domain” for both websites and email. The law defines authorized TLDs as .gov, .edu, or .mil, and the state’s cyber center encourages local entities to adopt .gov or a standardized .utah.gov subdomain, offering guidance and, for smaller communities, some service options. While not exclusively a .gov requirement, it clearly nudges the entire public sector toward government-verified domains. (Utah Legislature, Cyber Center)

If you’re preparing to comply in New York, the operational steps are straightforward but interdependent. Start by securing the domain through CISA’s Get.gov process with an authorized official from your jurisdiction, then plan a staged migration that updates DNS, implements permanent redirects from your old address, aligns staff email addresses and mail routing where appropriate, and refreshes all public references to the site—from letterhead and forms to vehicle livery and signage. Build or adjust your posting workflows so meeting materials, minutes or recordings, codes, and fiscal documents appear on the site reliably and on time. The domain itself is free, but you should account for internal or vendor time related to content migration, accessibility checks, and change management. CISA’s program pages outline eligibility, benefits, and basic security expectations that are helpful checklists as you proceed. (Get.gov)

The big picture is that .gov is becoming a baseline for trustworthy government communication online. New York’s law connects that baseline to concrete transparency deliverables; California’s timeline emphasizes universal adoption by local general-purpose governments; Minnesota’s focus on election jurisdictions aims to harden a critical function; and Utah’s rule broadens the concept to all government web and email identities. Together, these approaches reflect a national trend, reinforced by the federal DOTGOV Online Trust in Government Act and related guidance, to make government easy to recognize and harder to impersonate. (Digital.gov)