DOMAIN REGISTRANT CHANGE POLICY AND FAQ
Starting December 1, 2016, ICANN's new transfer policy
modifies the way registrant information can be changed for gTLD
domain names. The new policy affects resellers, registrars, and
service providers who sell gTLD domain names, as well as all
domain name owners (registrants). This page provides
details of the policy change.
What is the New Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy (IRTP)?
The Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy (IRTP) governs domain name
transfers between ICANN registrars. The new provisions in the IRTP
now specifically include changes to domain ownership (changes to
the registrant). This means that any time a material change to a
domain name's registrant first name, last name, or email address
occurs, a sequence of confirmations emails are now required for
the registrant information to be modified. Please keep in mind
that now even small changes to a domain name's registrant first
name, last name, organization, and email address may trigger the
validation process. This new ICANN policy takes effect on December
1, 2016.
How does the New IRTP Work?
Whenever
there is a material change to a domain name's registrant first
name, last name, or email address, confirmation must be provided
by both the old registrant entity and the new registrant. Failure
to provide confirmation from either party will cancel the change
of registrant and all registrant information will remain that of
the prior registrant.
Old or new registrants have the
opportunity to confirm through an email within fourteen (14) days
that is sent by us.
How does this Policy affect me?
Starting December 1, 2016, it will no longer be possible to change
the registrant of a domain name with a simple domain modification
request. When making a
material change to the registrant of a domain name, the following
will occur:
An email will be sent to the current
registrants email address for approval of the change of
registrant. If the registrant email address has also been modified
then an email will also be sent to the new registrant email
address for approval of the change of registrant. All parties have
to approve the change before the registrant details will be
updated. If any party denies the change then the requested change
of registrant will be cancelled. If after 14 days approval has not
been received then the change will expire and be cancelled.
As part of the ICANN policy when a change of registrant is
authorised a 60 days transfer lock will be enforced. This means
the domain cannot be transferred to another registrar during this
lock period. However the current registrant has the option to
opt-out of this 60 day lock when approving the change.
Frequently Asked Questions - General
Q. What is a "Material Change of Registrant" and will even
a small change, like correcting a typo, trigger the confirmation
process?
A. The new ICANN transfer policy requires confirmation
if there are any changes to the registrant:
· first name
·
last name
· organization name
· email address
Any change,
even small changes, may require the confirmation process to take
effect.
Q. Who can confirm a change of registrant?
A. Both the
old and if applicable the new registrant must confirm.
Q. What if I am both the old and the new registrant?
A.
Both the old and new registrant must confirm, therefore, the one
registrant can confirm for both. Opting-out of the post sixty (60)
day transfer lock at submission is recommended for this scenario,
which will trigger an email to the old registrant email.
Q.What happens if either the old or new registrant denies
confirmation?
A. If the old registrant does not confirm the
change of registrant within fourteen (14) days, the domain name
registrant information (whois data) will remain the same.
Q. What if the email address of the Old Registrant is
invalid or not working any more? I.e., the email sent to Old
Registrant can not be approved.
A. In case of an invalid
Old Registrant mail address a manual process will be available.
The Old Registrant needs to explicitly confirm in a written form
they approve of the change of registrant. Since postal mail would
hold things up, we will accept scans. Contact our support team in
the normal manner if this is the case.
Q. What do the
authorisation emails looks like
A. Below show the example of
the authorisation email
Subject:
Change of Registrant for [domainname]
We have received a
request on yyyy-mm-dd to update the registrant information for the
domain [domainname] as follows:
Registrant Name:
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Registrant Organisation: xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Registrant Street: xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Registrant Street:
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Registrant City: xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Registrant
State: xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Registrant Zip Code: xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Registrant Country: xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Registrant Phone:
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Registrant Fax: xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Registrant
Email: xxxxxxxxxxxxx
You have received this message because
you were listed as the PRIOR Registered Name Holder for this
domain name in the WHOIS database. Please Read the following
important information about changing the registrant information
for your domain name:
If you AGREE with this change of
registrant request, then within fourteen (14) days of this
confirmation notice please click on this link [LINK]
If you DO NOT AGREE with the details of this change of
registrant request the either simply ignore this email and all
unconfirmed request automatically expire and are cancelled after
fourteen (14) days. You can also click this link to cancel the
change [LINK]
Regards
Q.What happens when a second
change of registrant request is made before a prior one is yet to
be completed?
A. The first request is cancelled.
Q.
What happens if the new registrant does not have access to their
email address?
A.If the new registrant has a problem with their
email, then simply resubmit using a new email address for the new
registrant.
Q. After a change of registrant is completed,
what happens?
A. Both the old and new registrant are notified
by email that the change of the registrant has completed. A sixty
(60) day transfer lock is applied unless this is opted-out by the
old registrant.
Q. Does this new transfer policy apply to
country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs)?
A. No, it only applies
to generic top-level domains (gTLDs) governed by ICANN, such as
.com / .net /.org / .info etc..
Q. How does this new policy
affect domain names using privacy service?
A. Any domain using
the privacy service will only be affected if the underlying
registrant data has a material change. Turning on or off privacy
services does not change the registrant and therefore does not
constitute a material change.