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Transferring domains gets more complex this week

Kevin Murphy, November 28, 2016, 16:29:12 (UTC), Domain Registrars

A new anti-hijacking domain name transfer policy comes into effect this week at all ICANN-accredited registrars, potentially complicating the process of not only selling domains but also updating your own Whois records.
But many registrars have already rewritten their terms of service to make the new rules as hassle-free as possible (and essentially pointless).
From December 1, the old ICANN Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy starts governing inter-registrant transfers too, becoming simply the Transfer Policy.
Now, when you make updates to your Whois records that appear to suggest new ownership, you’ll have to respond to one or two confirmation emails, text messages or phone calls.
The policy change is the latest output of the interminable IRTP work within ICANN’s GNSO, and is designed to help prevent domain hijacking.
But because the changes are likely to be poorly understood by registrants at the outset, it’s possible some friction could be added to domain transfers.
Under the new Transfer Policy, you will have to respond to confirmation emails if you make any of the following:

  • A change to the Registered Name Holder’s name or organization that does not appear to be merely a typographical correction;
  • Any change to the Registered Name Holder’s name or organization that is accompanied by a change of address or phone number;
  • Any change to the Registered Name Holder’s email address.

While registrars have some leeway to define “typographical correction” in their implementation, the notes to the policy seem to envisage single-character transposition and omission errors.
Registrants changing their last names due to marriage or divorce would apparently trigger the confirmation emails, as would transfers between parent and subsidiary companies.
The policy requires both the gaining and losing registrant to verify the “transfer”, so if the registrant hasn’t actually changed they’ll have to respond to two emails to confirm the desired changes.
Making any of the three changes listed above will also cause the unpopular 60-day transfer lock mechanism — which stops people changing registrars — to trigger, unless the registrant has previously opted out.
Registrars are obliged to advise customers that if the change of registrant is a prelude to an inter-registrar transfer, they’d be better off transferring to the new registrar first.
The new policy is not universally popular even among registrars, where complexity can lead to mistakes and therefore support costs.
Fortunately for them, the Transfer Policy introduces the concept of “Designated Agents” — basically middlemen that can approve registrant changes on your behalf.
Some registrars are taking advantage of this exception to basically make the confirmation aspects of the new policy moot.
Calling the confirmation emails an “unnecessary burden”, EuroDNS said last week that it has unilaterally made itself every customer’s Designated Agent by modifying its terms of service.
Many other registrars, including Tucows/OpenSRS, NameCheap and Name.com appear to be doing exactly the same thing.
In other words, many registrants will not see any changes as a result of the new Transfer Policy.
The truism that there’s no domain name policy that cannot be circumvented with a middleman appears to be holding.

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Comments (3)

  1. Julio Maysonet says:
    November 29, 2016 at 8:55 am

    So, What’s going to happen when you sell your name at a market place. Then you transfer the domain over to them so, they can release the money to you?
    How’s that going to work now? Do the seller transfer the name directly to the buyer then the market place releases the money to the server?

    Reply
    • Volker Greimann says:
      November 30, 2016 at 9:24 am

      You leave the whois unchanged, transfer the domain, and then the new owner can update the whois at his registrar.
      If no registrar-transfer is involved (for example if the domain is only pushed between accounts at one registrar) nothing changes.

      Reply
      • Acro says:
        November 30, 2016 at 2:27 pm

        A domain push involves WHOIS changes, as the domain acquires the WHOIS info of the destination account (although some registrars permit for the target account to retain the old WHOIS info.)

        Reply

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