# Create and attach a static IP to your Lightsail instance
Create a static IP address

The default dynamic public IP address attached to your Amazon Lightsail instance changes every time you stop and restart the instance. Create a static IP address and attach it to your instance to keep the public IP address from changing. Later, when you point a registered domain name to your instance, you don’t have to update your domain’s DNS records every time you stop and restart your instance. You can attach one static IP to an instance. For more information, see [Static IP addresses](understanding-static-ip-addresses-in-amazon-lightsail.md).

## Prerequisites


You need at least one dual-stack instance running in Lightsail. To create one, see [Create an instance](getting-started-with-amazon-lightsail.md).

## Create and assign a Static IP address to an instance


Follow these steps to create a new static IP address and attach it to an instance in Lightsail.

1. Sign in to the Lightsail console at [https://lightsail.aws.amazon.com/](https://lightsail.aws.amazon.com/).

1. In the left navigation pane, choose **Networking**.

1. Choose **Create static IP**.

1. Select the AWS Region where you want to create your static IP.
**Note**  
Static IP addresses can only be attached to instances in the same Region.

1. Choose the Lightsail resource to which you want to attach the static IP.

1. Enter a name for your static IP.

   Resource names:
   + Must be unique within each AWS Region in your Lightsail account.
   + Must contain 2 to 255 characters.
   + Must start and end with an alphanumeric character or number.
   + Can include alphanumeric characters, numbers, periods, dashes, and underscores.

1. Choose **Create**.

   Now when you go to the home page, you see a static IP address that you can manage.  
![\[Static IP address attached to an instance\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/lightsail/latest/userguide/images/amazon-lightsail-static-ip-attached-to-an-instance.png)

   Also, on the **Networking** tab of your instance's management page, you will see a blue pushpin next to your public IP address. This indicates that the IP address is now static.  
![\[The Networking tab of the manage instance page\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/lightsail/latest/userguide/images/amazon-lightsail-static-ip-pushpin.png)

For more information, see [Public and private IP addresses](understanding-public-ip-and-private-ip-addresses-in-amazon-lightsail.md).