Using ICANN accredited registrars can help you secure your domain investments thanks to financial and technical requirements laid out by ICANN on registrars selling gTLDs. However, many independent ccTLD registrars are not required to have ICANN accreditation. So, is it safe to use these registrars for investments? In this post I’ll walk you through this confusing subject so that you can understand how to help keep your investments secure.
Many investors in China have recently started bulk registering domain names, turning away from pricey acquisitions such as two-letter .COMs and three-number .COMs. Buying bargain domains in bulk is becoming increasingly popular in the Western world too, with investors worldwide contributing to niche buyouts of viable, often short, domain names with extensions such as
For bulk purchases, smaller registrars with cheap pricing and alluring coupons may seem attractive. But are these investments at smaller registrars safe?
ICANN’s accreditation process ensures that anyone selling gTLDs such as
Once ICANN approves a registrar, they continue to check that the registrar upholds ICANN standards. Jacqueline Daly, the marketing manager at Dynadot told us that "ICANN accreditation requires that registrars like Dynadot maintain a high level of technical, financial and operational proficiency. To become accredited, a registrar has to pass a detailed application process. In addition, ICANN continues to hold registrars accountable with periodic audits. ICANN accreditation adds an extra layer of oversight on a Registrar to help ensure that the customer is doing business with a reliable and secure registrar.” ICANN accreditation provides assurance that a registrar is stable and reasonably safe, and the Data Escrow service provides security for domain investors even if the registrar fails.
Your ccTLD domain investments will not be subject to the same Data Escrow requirements as gTLDs, which means that ccTLD data is not always stored at a third-party escrow provider. Even at an ICANN-accredited domain registrar, your ccTLD investments could be considered less safe than a gTLD investment.
ICANN considers country-code operators to be independent of their jurisdiction and able to make their own rules and regulations. As such, some registrars may be able to sell domains with country code extensions without proper security and/or infrastructure.
Rebecca Junck, the marketing manager for Uniregistry told us: "Country code operators (such as the operators of
Instead, there are other accreditation processes that country code registrars can employ. Here are a few examples of some of the most popular ccTLDs, and their accreditation processes.
Verisign, who runs the
Nominet runs the .UK registry. David Thornton (@davidthornton), a .UK registrar owner, told us that "Nominet have their own standard to become a registrar for .UK and one needs to pass a small number of tests to become one. The tests and requirements to become a Nominet registrar for .UK domain names are nowhere near as vast, expensive or complex as those to become ICANN accredited. Nominet are still pretty thorough with respect to the compliance of T&Cs by their registrars.” So, while the accreditation measures in place to become a .UK registrar are not as thorough as ICANN accreditation, their registrars are still held to a high standard.
Based on these examples, we can see that while the majority of ccTLD registries carry out their own checks on registrars, many are not as rigorous as ICANN. There is a chance that having your domains at registrars that do not have ICANN accreditation may not be as safe as if they were at an accredited registrar.
Since ccTLD registrars are not required to submit data to a neutral third-party for protection and most ccTLD registries do not require registrars to have ICANN accreditation to operate, although they could, domain investments at those registrars may carry additional risk.
It’s also worth noting that whilst some ccTLD registries operate their own WHOIS verification programs, ICANN’s WHOIS Accuracy Program does not apply to ccTLDs, such as
There is evidence that Data Escrow is also used for some ccTLDs, such as
There are also ccTLD registrars that have ICANN accreditation, even though it is not a requirement. You may want to opt for a registrar that has been put through ICANN's thorough testing and ongoing compliance standards before trusting them with your valuable ccTLD assets. Reputable registrars such as GoDaddy, Uniregistry, and Dynadot have ICANN accreditation, which means that they safely copy their gTLD registration data to a neutral third party, and they are subject to regular financial and technical inspections from ICANN that help ensure their stability. While these practices aren’t mandatory for ccTLDs, your ccTLD investments may be safer at a registrar that undergoes regular inspections from ICANN to ensure that they maintain safety standards.
To see a list of ICANN accredited domain name registrars, you can visit the ICANN website.
Many investors in China have recently started bulk registering domain names, turning away from pricey acquisitions such as two-letter .COMs and three-number .COMs. Buying bargain domains in bulk is becoming increasingly popular in the Western world too, with investors worldwide contributing to niche buyouts of viable, often short, domain names with extensions such as
.CO and .CC. The belief behind this investment strategy is that buying cheaper domains in bulk yields a quicker and higher return on investment than purchasing high-value .COMs.For bulk purchases, smaller registrars with cheap pricing and alluring coupons may seem attractive. But are these investments at smaller registrars safe?
ICANN’s accreditation process ensures that anyone selling gTLDs such as
.COM, .NET, .ORG and other new gTLDs meet specific standards. You could think of ICANN accredited registrars like FDIC-insured banks; you wouldn't want to use a registrar that wasn't ICANN accredited because if anything goes wrong, your gTLD assets wouldn't be protected. Fortunately, ICANN accreditation is a requirement for gTLDs. If an ICANN accredited registrar goes out of business, or its accreditation is terminated, then under the terms of ICANN’s registrar agreement, your gTLD domain names will be safe thanks to Data Escrow. Data Escrow sends weekly copies of gTLD ownership information and contact details to a third-party escrow company to ensure that the data associated with registered domains is never lost or inaccessible. The Data Escrow agreement also ensures that if your current ICANN accredited registrar goes out of business, your gTLD domain names can be transferred by ICANN to another accredited registrar.Once ICANN approves a registrar, they continue to check that the registrar upholds ICANN standards. Jacqueline Daly, the marketing manager at Dynadot told us that "ICANN accreditation requires that registrars like Dynadot maintain a high level of technical, financial and operational proficiency. To become accredited, a registrar has to pass a detailed application process. In addition, ICANN continues to hold registrars accountable with periodic audits. ICANN accreditation adds an extra layer of oversight on a Registrar to help ensure that the customer is doing business with a reliable and secure registrar.” ICANN accreditation provides assurance that a registrar is stable and reasonably safe, and the Data Escrow service provides security for domain investors even if the registrar fails.
Your ccTLD domain investments will not be subject to the same Data Escrow requirements as gTLDs, which means that ccTLD data is not always stored at a third-party escrow provider. Even at an ICANN-accredited domain registrar, your ccTLD investments could be considered less safe than a gTLD investment.
ICANN considers country-code operators to be independent of their jurisdiction and able to make their own rules and regulations. As such, some registrars may be able to sell domains with country code extensions without proper security and/or infrastructure.
Rebecca Junck, the marketing manager for Uniregistry told us: "Country code operators (such as the operators of
.CC, .CO and .IO) can operate to different standards, and as such, registrars that offer these products don’t necessarily have to be ICANN accredited.” So, some ccTLDs do not require registrars to have ICANN accreditation.Instead, there are other accreditation processes that country code registrars can employ. Here are a few examples of some of the most popular ccTLDs, and their accreditation processes.
Verisign, who runs the
.CC registry, states on their website that ICANN accreditation isn’t required to sell .CC domains. Instead, each business must be authenticated by Verisign before establishing an account, according to Verisign’s website. Verisign also requires potential registrars to pass technical and financial readiness tests before becoming a .CC registrar.Nominet runs the .UK registry. David Thornton (@davidthornton), a .UK registrar owner, told us that "Nominet have their own standard to become a registrar for .UK and one needs to pass a small number of tests to become one. The tests and requirements to become a Nominet registrar for .UK domain names are nowhere near as vast, expensive or complex as those to become ICANN accredited. Nominet are still pretty thorough with respect to the compliance of T&Cs by their registrars.” So, while the accreditation measures in place to become a .UK registrar are not as thorough as ICANN accreditation, their registrars are still held to a high standard.
Based on these examples, we can see that while the majority of ccTLD registries carry out their own checks on registrars, many are not as rigorous as ICANN. There is a chance that having your domains at registrars that do not have ICANN accreditation may not be as safe as if they were at an accredited registrar.
Since ccTLD registrars are not required to submit data to a neutral third-party for protection and most ccTLD registries do not require registrars to have ICANN accreditation to operate, although they could, domain investments at those registrars may carry additional risk.
It’s also worth noting that whilst some ccTLD registries operate their own WHOIS verification programs, ICANN’s WHOIS Accuracy Program does not apply to ccTLDs, such as
.CA, .CC, and .TV, meaning that WHOIS data for domain names on those extensions could be inaccurate, which is important to consider when attempting to acquire a ccTLD domain name.There is evidence that Data Escrow is also used for some ccTLDs, such as
.JP and .AU, but I could not find any evidence to support that it is a widespread practice amongst those ccTLD registrars. IronMountain, a Data Escrow company says, "ccTLD Registry Operators optionally adopt the best practice of escrowing their data both to protect the interests of their registrants as well as to comply with their local governments, governing bodies, etc. who may insist on implementing safeguards to ensure the security and stability of the DNS.” So, there are ccTLD registrars available that work to help secure your investments with a Data Escrow service.There are also ccTLD registrars that have ICANN accreditation, even though it is not a requirement. You may want to opt for a registrar that has been put through ICANN's thorough testing and ongoing compliance standards before trusting them with your valuable ccTLD assets. Reputable registrars such as GoDaddy, Uniregistry, and Dynadot have ICANN accreditation, which means that they safely copy their gTLD registration data to a neutral third party, and they are subject to regular financial and technical inspections from ICANN that help ensure their stability. While these practices aren’t mandatory for ccTLDs, your ccTLD investments may be safer at a registrar that undergoes regular inspections from ICANN to ensure that they maintain safety standards.
To see a list of ICANN accredited domain name registrars, you can visit the ICANN website.
