Go Daddy and the Public Interest Registry (PIR), the non-profit organization that operates the .org domain registry, have jointly announced a special auction of one and two letter / character .org domain names. This is the first time that single character .org domain names are available for sale.

In total, 42 domain names will be auctioned on a special page at Go Daddy Auctions (see list below). In order to participate in the auctions, interested companies and individuals must be pre-approved. According to the press release, “there will be some requirements for the winners of a single- or two-character .ORG domain name, although re-branding is not mandatory.” This is similar to other registries that have auctioned single letter domain names, although I am not sure what the requirements are.

I would imagine the single letter .org domain names are going to see bids into the six figures, although it might be a challenge for a non-profit organization to spend that kind of money on domain names (imagine a cancer organization explaining a $500k domain purchase to donors). PIR is planning to “forward its share of the proceeds to programs that enhance open development and Internet security.”

The auctions will last ten days each, and although the exact date has not been set, the auctions are expected to begin in the coming months.

.Org domain names at auction: