What Are the Differences Between Public and Private Domain Names?

The most notable difference between public and private domain names is that public domain names are used and must be unique on the Internet, while private domain names are used in VPCs.

To enable a public domain name to be resolved, you need to perform the following steps:

1. Purchase the domain name from a domain name registrar.
2. Create a zone and add record sets. For details, see Routing Internet Traffic to a Website.

For details about how a public domain name is resolved, see Public DNS Resolution.

Private domain names do not need to be registered and are accessible only in VPCs.

For details about how a private domain name is resolved, see Configuring a Private Zone.