As per ICANN's guidelines See details, every Registrar is required to maintain complete details of Transfer Authorization for every domain name being Transferred In.
The system maintains detailed records of authorization information of each successful Transfer In, under your account. This information would be particularly necessary in case of Transfer disputes, where the Losing Registrar would require these details to confirm that as the Gaining Registrar you received the domain name Owner's express authorisation to transfer his domain name.
To obtain the Details of any domain name that has been Transferred to your Registrar
In the Menu, point to Products -> Domain Registration and click Transferred Domain Details.
Specify the domain name in the textbox besides Domain Name and click Submit.
Information about the Transferred In domain name would be displayed under the following heads:
Whois Details:
Registrar: This is the name of the Losing Registrar for the domain name, from whom the domain name was Transferred to you.
Whois Dump: This is the complete Whois details as retrieved from the Losing Registrar's Whois server.
Automatic:
T: True indicates that our Whois server automatically parsed the Whois details (mentioned above) by querying the Whois server of the Losing Registrar.
F: False indicates that our Whois server did not automatically obtain the Whois details (mentioned above) by querying the Whois server of the Losing Registrar, but instead these details were manually fed in the system by your Support Team.
Participant E-mail Id: This is the email address of the Administrative Contact listed in the domain name at the time the Whois details were parsed from the Losing Registrar's Whois server.
HTTP Headers: This represents the information retrieved from the Administrative Contact's web browser. Of special importance are:
Referer: This represents the hyperlink that the Administrative Contact clicked to approve the Transfer request.
Client IP Address: This is the IP Address of the Administrative Contact when the Transfer was approved.
Note
The HTTP Headers field will display Transfer processed via Fax if the domain name Owner approves the Transfer by sending a Transfer Fax Form to you, instead of using the authorization link contained in the e-mail.
Transfers approved via the Transfer Fax Form prior to 27th March 2008, will display RFA confirmed by Fax approval in the HTTP Headers field.
If the Losing Registrar requests the FOA Details related to a Transfer approved by a Transfer FAX Form, you should inform the Losing Registrar that the Transfer was approved after receiving an offline authorization in the form of a fax from the domain name Owner.
Time (GMT/UTC): This is the timestamp in GMT/UTC when the Administrative Contact approved the Transfer to your Registrar.
The transfer of a domain name from one Registrar to another is authorized by the Registrant/Admin Contact associated with the domain name through an approval link listed in the email sent by the
Gaining Registrar to the Registrant/Admin Contact email address. The approval may also be provided through offline methods such as fax, etc.
An unauthorized transfer can occur under the following circumstances:
It is possible that at the Losing Registrar, the domain management account of the domain name owner or email address of the Registrant/Admin Contact got compromised, whereby the alleged hacker was able to login to the account, modify the Registrant and/or Admin Contact details prior to transfer and approve the transfer using the transfer approval mail sent to the Registrant/Admin Contact.
It may also happen that the hacker got control of the domain name at Registrar A, initially transferred it to Registrar B and then under your Registrar account. Such cases might involve multiple intermediate Registrars.
In order to handle disputes arising out of such Inter-Registrar transfers, ICANN has formulated the Transfer Dispute Resolution Policy (TDRP). Under this Policy, the Losing Registrar may file a TDRP case with a Dispute Resolution Provider designated by ICANN. However, Registrars are advised to resort to a TDRP case only under extreme circumstances, when all attempts to have the dispute resolved amicably between the Registrars involved fail. This is because -
ICANN encourages Registrars to first try and resolve the dispute among the Registrars involved.
a TDRP case involves substantial fees.
it is a time-consuming process involving administrative proceedings.
Based on our experience regarding disputed transfers, we have developed a Transfer Undo process which is simple and easily adoptable by the Registrars and the Losing Registrant involved.
When the Losing Registrar contacts you regarding the transfer of a domain name from their Registrar account to you, then as per the ICANN's Transfer Policy, you need to provide the Losing Registrar details about the Form Of Authorization (FOA) that you had obtained from the Registrant/Admin Contact of the domain name related to the transfer of the domain name under your Registrar Account. See details
Note
In case the transfer was approved by the Registrant/Admin Contact via fax or any other offline method, you need store a copy of such approval and present it to the Losing Registrar, if requested.
It is advised that at this stage, you lock the domain name and disable privacy protection (if enabled) with an appropriate reason.
The Losing Registrar may claim that the Registrant/Admin Contact's email (account) address and /or their customer's domain management account was hacked and that might have led to the transfer of the domain name under your Registrar account. It is important to note that even in such cases, the transfer happened as per the ICANN's Transfer Policy since the Registrant/Admin Contact clicked on the transfer approval link contained in the email sent by you (the Gaining Registrar) to the Registrant/Admin Contact email address as obtained from the Losing Registrar's Whois Server. Hence, in order to return the domain name back to the Losing Registrar with their customer (the Losing Registrant) as the Registrant, it is advised that you obtain an assurance from both Losing Registrar as well as the Losing Registrant about the order of events that took place leading to the transfer away of the said domain name to you. Our Transfer Undo process which may be adopted in such cases is described below.
Transfer Undo Process
Provide the Losing Registrar with 2 forms - (Losing) Registrar Transfer Undo Request Form as well as (Losing) Registrant Transfer Undo Request Form.
The (Losing) Registrant Transfer Undo Request Form requires the Registrant to submit a Notarized Affidavit in a certain format to the Losing Registrant, confirming that he was the Owner of the domain name prior to its transfer to you (the Gaining Registrar) and he did not wish to have the domain name Transferred from the Losing Registrar to you (the Gaining Registrar). The Affidavit needs to be Notarized from a Notary office of the local Court of Law.
The Losing Registrant sends these documents (Notarized Affidavit & Identification Proof) to the Losing Registrar for verification.
The Losing Registrar in turn completes the (Losing) Registrar Transfer Undo Request Form and forwards the following to you (the Gaining Registrar):
Losing Registrant's Notarized Affidavit
Losing Registrant's Identification Proof
completed (Losing) Registrar Transfer Undo Request Form
Once you verify all of the above documents, you would unlock the domain name, move it under your Compliance account and facilitate the transfer away of this name to the Losing Registrant under the Losing Registrar Account.
If there is a Transfer Secret/Authorization Code associated the domain name, you may modify the same and provide the new Transfer Secret/Authorization Code to the Losing Registrar for initiating the transfer to them. This is from a security perspective. See details
In case the Losing Registrar is not willing to follow the above Transfer Undo process, you may update them to advise their customer to reclaim the domain name via any of the below mentioned means:
If the Losing Registrar's customer has a Service Mark like a Trademark registered for the domain name, then their customer may file a Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) case for the same with an ICANN-approved
UDRP Service Provider.
In the absence of a Service Mark, the Losing Registrar's customer can complain to their City/State's Police Cyber Crime Department and provide them the required details, so that they initiate their investigations. The Police would then assist the customer in filing a case and bringing the matter for hearing in the Local Judicial Court. Once a judgment is delivered, the Losing Registrar's customer need to provide you a copy of the same so that you can abide by it.
The Transfer Undo Request Form Documents can also be used to re-gain domain names that have been transferred away from your Registrar Account, if the Gaining Registrar is willing to adopt the above Transfer undo process.
The process of transferring a .UK domain name from another Registrar is slightly different compared to the process for domain names under other extensions. In case of a .UK domain name, the Transfer In needs to be initiated at the Current Registrar's end.
As per the Transfer process, a mail is sent by the system to the Registrant Contact email address once the Transfer has been processed successfully by the .UK Registry. This email will be sent with your Registrar Branding details.
In case the Registrant does not receive this email or has misplaced it, it can be resent from within your Registrar/Reseller Control Panel, by following the below mentioned process:
There are occasions, when the Admin Contact for a Domain Name does not receive a Form of Authorization (FOA) email from the system, to confirm their domain name Transfer.
Note
Reasons for non-receipt of Form of Authorization email could be due to network/routing issues arising from E-mail block filters, accidental E-mail deletion, etc.
The Form of Authorization (FOA) email is also referred as Request for Approval (RFA) email, or more commonly as a Transfer Authorization email.
In cases where your Customer does not receive a Transfer In authorization email at the Administrative Contact's email address, he/she can still confirm their domain name Transfer, by eitherResending the Transfer Authorization email or by using the Transfer FAX Form. See details
Upon receipt of such a FAX, the Transfer request would need to be manually processed by your Support Team.
In the Menu, point to Products -> Domain Registration -> Pending Transfers and click Manual Approval.
To Approve a Transfer In:
Select Transfer In as the RFA Type.
Note
You may search for the domain name, by mentioning the domain name in the Description textbox, toggling the list of TLDs in the Service dropdown and clicking the Search button.
Select the check box besides the Order Id that you want to approve and click the Confirm button on the top of the page.
Note
Ensure that the RFA that you are going to confirm, has the Action Status as RFASent. This Action Status indicates that the system has already fetched the Contact details of the domain name from the Current Registrar's Whois server and has emailed the FOA to the current Administrative Contact.
It is imperitive that you use this method to approve a Transfer In, only in the case when you have received express authorization from the domain name(s) Owner in the form of the Transfer FAX Form
You can approve multiple Transfers by selecting the check box besides the relevant Order Ids and clicking the Confirm button. You can also approve Transfer of all the domain names listed on this page by selecting the check box besides the Order Id column heading and clicking the Confirm button.
To Approve a Transfer Away:
Select Transfer Away from us as the RFA Type.
Note
You may search for the domain name, by mentioning the domain name in the Description textbox, toggling the list of TLDs in the Service dropdown and clicking the Search button.
Select the check box besides the Order Id that you want to approve and click the Confirm button on the top of the page.
Note
Ensure that the RFA that you are going to confirm, has the Action Status as RFASent.
It is recommended that you approve a Transfer Away in this fashion, only when you have ascertained that the domain name Owner has authorised the Transfer Away to the Gaining Registrar.
You can approve multiple Transfers by selecting the check box besides the relevant Order Ids and clicking the Confirm button. You can also approve Transfer of all the domain names listed on this page by selecting the check box besides the Order Id column heading and clicking the Confirm button.
In the Menu, point to Products -> Domain Registration -> Pending Transfers and click Manual Approval.
To Disapprove a Transfer In:
Select Transfer In as the RFA Type.
Note
You may search for the domain name, by mentioning the domain name in the Description textbox, toggling the list of TLDs in the Service dropdown and clicking the Search button.
Select the check box besides the Order Id that you want to disapprove and click the Cancel button on the top of the page.
You can disapprove multiple Transfers by selecting the check box besides the relevant Order Ids and clicking the Cancel button. You can also disapprove Transfer of all the domain names listed on this page by selecting the check box besides the Order Id column heading and clicking the Cancel button.
To Disapprove a Transfer Away:
Select Transfer Away from us as the RFA Type.
Note
You may search for the domain name, by mentioning the domain name in the Description textbox, toggling the list of TLDs in the Service dropdown and clicking the Search button.
Select the check box besides the Order Id that you want to disapprove and click the Cancel button on the top of the page.
You can disapprove multiple Transfers by selecting the check box besides the relevant Order Ids and clicking the Cancel button. You can also disapprove Transfer of all the domain names listed on this page by selecting the check box besides the Order Id column heading and clicking the Cancel button.
Note
A Transfer Away should be cancelled only under certain extinuating circumstances specified by ICANN..
Once a transfer request is placed, the Administrative Contact email address for the domain name is automatically retrieved by the system, by querying:
Port 43 of the Current/Sponsoring Registrar's Whois server for .COM, .NET and .WS domain names
Port 43 of the concerned TLD Registry's Whois server for other TLDs.
In some cases, our Whois parser may not be able to query the Sponsoring Registrar's Whois server:
The Sponsoring Registrar may allow the Whois display of .COM, .NET and .WS domain names to be customized by their customers. This could confuse our system's Whois parser as the Administrative Contact email address may not be listed under a recognizable heading.
The Sponsoring Registrar's Whois server may be unresponsive or not serving queries at the moment.
Note
In such cases, the status of the domain name in the Order Details view of the Control Panel displays Trying to fetch Admin Contact Email AddressSee details.
Our system automatically attempts to fetch the contact details of the domain name from the Whois server of the Current/Sponsoring Registrar every hour for upto 24 hours, after the Transfer has been initiated. However, you may wish to hasten the transfer by manually retrieving the Whois details and submitting them in the system.
Note
If the Admin Contact E-mail Address is not retrieved within 15 days, the Transfer request would be cancelled.
In the interest of your Customer's experience with your company, it is recommended that your Client Support Team, follow the below mentioned process before the end of the day, to process all stuck transfers.
To Process Domain Name Transfers where the Admin Contact Email Address cannot be retrieved
from within your Registrar/Reseller Control Panel, from Products -> Domain Registration -> Whois Lookup, or
a reliable third party Whois provider that does not cache (previously queried) Whois results like https://www.drwhois.com/.
Note
In times when the Current Registrar's Whois server does not respond or gives a partial response, visit the website of the Current Registrar and perform a Whois lookup.
From the Whois lookup results, fill the following fields:
Admin Email Address: Fill the Administrative Contact's email address here.
Registrar: Mention the complete name of the Current Registrar as displayed in the Whois lookup results.
Whois Dump: Mention the entire Whois lookup results information in this field along with any legal disclaimer.
Select the checkbox besides the Order Id that you processed in the above step and click the Send Transfer Mail button.
Note
You may choose to individually process all such stuck Transfers or fill the relevant fields for each and process them all together by selecting the checkbox on the top of the table.
If several days have passed and you are still not able to retrieve the Whois lookup results of a particular domain name, then you should instead click the Cancel Transfer and Notify Customer button. This would cancel the Transfer, send an email from the system to both the Customer and his any immediate Sub-Reseller that we are at the moment not able to query the Current Registrar's Whois server. The Customer is advised to make the domain name's Whois visible at his Current Registrar's end and place the domain name Transfer request then.
As per an ICANN advisory relating to Whois Accuracy RequirementsSee details, Registrars are required to ensure that Registrants correct their domain name's Contact Details, within 15 days of receiving a complaint from the Sponsoring Registrar. Failure to comply with this requisite, empowers (but not necessarily requires) the Registrar to cancel/delete the domain name registration.
Sample Whois Data Problem Report mailed by ICANN to the Registrar's WDRP Email Address
Subject: domainname.com -- Whois Data Problem Report
Please note that you are not obligated to reply directly to ICANN or to the person who submitted this report, but ICANN does monitor registrar handling of these reports to ensure compliance.
Thank you for your attention, and for your anticipated cooperation.
Please contact ICANN's Registrar Liaison Department if you have any questions.
>>> Last update of whois database: Tue, 9 Jan 2007 16:16:24 EST <<<
NOTICE: The expiration date displayed in this record is the date the
registrar's sponsorship of the domain name registration in the registry is
currently set to expire. This date does not necessarily reflect the
expiration date of the domain name registrant's agreement with the
sponsoring registrar. Users may consult the sponsoring registrar's Whois
database to view the registrar's reported date of expiration for this
registration.
TERMS OF USE: You are not authorized to access or query our Whois database
through the use of electronic processes that are high-volume and automated
except as reasonably necessary to register domain names or modify existing
registrations; the Data in VeriSign Global Registry Services' ("VeriSign")
Whois database is provided by VeriSign for information purposes only, and
to assist persons in obtaining information about or related to a domain
name registration record. VeriSign does not guarantee its accuracy. By
submitting a Whois query, you agree to abide by the following terms of use:
You agree that you may use this Data only for lawful purposes and that
under no circumstances will you use this Data to: (1) allow, enable, or
otherwise support the transmission of mass unsolicited, commercial
advertising or solicitations via e-mail, telephone, or facsimile; or (2)
enable high volume, automated, electronic processes that apply to VeriSign
(or its computer systems). The compilation, repackaging, dissemination or
other use of this Data is expressly prohibited without the prior written
consent of VeriSign. You agree not to use electronic processes that are
automated and high-volume to access or query the Whois database except as
reasonably necessary to register domain names or modify existing
registrations. VeriSign reserves the right to restrict your access to the
Whois database in its sole discretion to ensure operational stability.
VeriSign may restrict or terminate your access to the Whois database for
failure to abide by these terms of use. VeriSign reserves the right to
modify these terms at any time.
The Registry database contains ONLY .COM, .NET, .EDU domains and
Registrars.
Registrar: Registrar Name
Whois Server: whois.registrarname.com
Process to be followed by the Registrar upon receiving a Whois Data Problem Report from ICANN
Upon reviewing the complaint, try to identify the nature of the issue reported by the complainant. Typically, the following 2 types of complaints are seen more often:
Complainant has indicated that the Contact Details are Inaccurate: Considering that as a Registrar, there are no means available with yourself to verify each address, it is recommended to simply admit the complaint and initiate due diligence to get the Registrant to validate their address.
Complainant has indicated that the Contact Details are Inaccurate and the domain name is involved in some form of Abuse: Apart from processing the domain name for Whois Inaccuracy, you would need to take additional steps to end any abuse emanating from the domain name(s).
Search for the domain name and click on the domain name to reach the Order Details view See details.
Under Order Information, check if Privacy Protection displays Enabled or Disabled.
If Privacy Protection is enabled, disableSee details it and in the reason specify the ICANN Whois Inaccuracy Complaint number.
Respond to the Complainant and ICANN that Privacy Protection for the domain name(s) has been disabled. Also indicate that the Complainant in the future may use either the Contact Domain Owner or the Report Abuse form at https://privacyprotect.org/ if the domain name indicates PrivacyProtect.org as the Company Name.
If Privacy Protection is disabled, send a Warning email to your Customer (and mark a copy to your Sub-Reseller, if any). This mail should contain the following information:
The domain name(s) for which a complaint has been received.
The current Whois output of the domain name(s) as displayed on your Registrar Whois Server.
The content of the received complaint without mentioning the Complainant's and ICANN/InterNIC's details.
The specific Contact Details that you want the Customer to correct.
The Knowledgebase link See details that the Customer can refer to, to modify his Contact Details.
Specify that if the concerned Contact Details are not modified within 15 days, the said domain name(s) would be Suspended.
Provide your FAX Number/Email Address where the Customer can send you a signed letter on the Letterhead of that Contact confirming that the concerned Contact Details are accurate. This letter should be accompanied with the accurate Contact's Proof documents, like Driving License, Passport, Military ID, etc..
Remind the Customer that as per the Registrar Registrant Agreement for Domain Names 2. (1), the Customer needs to always maintain updated Contact Details for all domain names registered through Registrar <your Registrar Name>.
Let the Customer know that he can obtain a copy of this Agreement within their Control Panel from Help -> Legal Agreements.
Respond to the Complainant and ICANN that a Whois Inaccuracy complaint has been processed for the domain name(s) and you have requested the Customer to correct the inaccuracy within 15 days or else the domain name(s) would be Suspended.
If the Customer does not modify the concerned Contact Details within 15 Days, then the Registrar shouldSuspend the domain name.
Note
The Reason that you mention in your Reseller Control Panel while Suspending the domain name should ideally indicate:
Why this domain name has been Suspended? Preferably mention the ICANN Complaint number for ease of relating.
When and/or how you contacted the Customer before to correct the inaccuracy?
Where they may contact you to get assistance regarding this issue?
While ICANN allows the Registrar to cancel/delete the domain name registration in such cases, it is recommended to only Suspend such domain names, as it allows Customers a chance to get back their domain name by ensuring that they provide you accurate details along with sufficient verifiable proof.
Upon Suspending the domain name(s), update the previous email thread while updating both the Customer as well as the Sub-Reseller (if any), that the domain name(s) is/are being Suspended after 15 days since sending the Warning to correct the Whois Inaccuracy.
Note
Ensure that you again provide your FAX Number/Email Address where the Customer can send you a signed letter on the Letterhead of that Contact, confirming that the concerned Contact Details are accurate. This letter should be accompanied with the accurate Contact's Proof documents, like Driving License, Passport, Military ID, etc..
Respond to the Complainant and ICANN that since the Customer did not pay heed to your request to have the Whois inaccuracy corrected within 15 days of the complaint, the domain name(s) have been Suspended.
To Process a Abuse as well as Whois Inaccuracy Complaint
Apart from following the above process, you should perform the below mentioned steps depending upon the type of abuse being perpetrated from a domain name:
Spam: Use the Spam Processing Tool See details to process a spam complaint.
While the system would email, the Complainant about the action you have taken for the spam complaint, you would need to respond to the email sent by ICANN indicating the action taken on the spam complaint.
Phishing, Child Sexual Abuse Material, Virus/Malware, Money Laundering Scam: In all such cases, it is recommended to Suspend a domain name, only after collecting evidence of such abuse.
Since you would be Suspending the domain name itself, there is no need to follow-through the entire Whois inaccuracy process. Your response to ICANN and the Complainant should indicate that you are Suspending the domain name after confirming that such abuse does exist.
Note
The reason for Suspending the domain name should indicate the ICANN complaint number and the type of abuse the domain name was involved in.
Since 15th March, 2009, ICANN requires gTLD Registrars to follow the Inter-Registrar Transfer PolicySee details while processing Inter-Registrar Transfers. It is recommended that you go through the same, to acquaint yourself with its requirements.
There are instances where the transfer of a domain name might get stuck, and the Registrar has to perform certain steps to push it through. The possible problems and their solutions are mentioned underneath.
