New Rules for Domain Owner Information Updates Start Today

Starting today, December 1st, new ICANN rules are in effect that change the way some domain contact information changes are done. The change affects all generic top level domains, such as .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info, etc., (including all of the new domain extensions, like .blog, .photo, etc.). Country code domains (.uk, .TV, .co, etc.) are not affected.

When you change the first name, last name, email address or organization for the registrant (i.e., the domain name owner) you have to acknowledge the change in two separate emails. This applies to changes made to the registrant’s contact information. Changes to the admin, billing and technical contacts are not affected.

Changes to the registrant’s name, organization or email information are now treated the same way a “registrant change” was treated in the past. But in the past the registrant change was assumed to be a change of ownership from one person to another, so emailing both parties was necessary.

Now those emails are triggered any time you update your name or email address, and two emails will go to the same person. You need to approve the change by clicking the link in both emails, or the change will fail.

To avoid problems or delays

• Take a few minutes to make sure your registrant information is up to date, especially the email address.
• When you change the first name, last name, email address or organization for the registrant, but are not transferring ownership to another person, make sure you approve the change by clicking the link in both emails that you receive.
• You can avoid dealing with the multiple emails by granting our domain registrar OpenSRS “Designated Agent” status, which will give OpenSRS the right to automatically approve these updates for you. This option is available on the confirmation page that is linked to in the change approval emails.

If you want to learn more about the new policy, check out this Knowledge Base article.