Registrar

A registrar has direct relationships with domain name registries and is authorized to sell domain names. In order to become a registrar, one has to be accredited via an ICANN process, in which they must meet certain business and technical requirements. See our list of registrars.

Related Terms

• Accredited Registrar: A Registrar that has been certified as meeting certain minimal criteria to act as a Registrar for a specific TLD. This term is almost solely used when referring to Registrars that have been certified by ICANN. ccTLD Registries also accredit registrars, and though they may use differing terms, the concepts are largely the same.

• Sponsoring Registrar: The Registrar responsible for the submission of the domain name to the Registry.

• Registrar Operator: A term used to denote the entity providing the technical services to a Registrar in support of their registration services. Also referred to as a "Registrar Outsourcer" or "Registrar Provider"

Background

NSI Cooperative Agreement & the SRS

From 1993 to 1998 Network Solutions was the only Registrar and Registry Operator for .com, .net and .org top level domain names (TLDs) based on a Cooperative Agreement between the company and National Science Foundation (NSF). The Department of Commerce (DOC) extended and amended the Cooperative Agreement with NSI when the contract expired in 1998. Under the new Cooperative Agreement, NSI will continue to serve as a Registry Operator and to implement a Shared Registry System (SRS) by June 1, 1999, which will be accessible for multiple registrars to be accredited by the non-profit organization that will takeover the technical management of the DNS. Five registrars will be chosen by the new corporation to test bed the SRS. The Agreement was modified twice to adjust the date of the deployment of the SRS from June 1 to June 25, 1999 and the inclusion of a registration fee for new domain names; $9 for one year and $18 for two years and the Registrar License Agreement.

ICANN's Registrar Accreditation Policy

On November 1998, the DOC officially recognized ICANN as the new private, non-profit organization responsible in administering the technical management of DNS. Part of its responsibility is to supervise the deployment and transition to SRS, to develop and implement procedures for registrar accreditation to ensure competitive registration system and to maintain the stability and security of the internet.

On March 4, 1999, the ICANN Board adopted the Statement of Registrar Accreditation Policy for .com, .net and .org TLDs. Under the policy, registrars seeking to participate in the SRS Testbed Program are required to pay $2,500 while all other registrar applicants will pay $1,000. Applicants that were not selected for the test bed were considered for regular accreditation.

Participants for the SRS Testbed Program

ICANN accepted applicants for the SRS Testbed Program from March 11 to April 8, 1999. On April 21, 1999, ICANN announced the five registrars selected to participate in the testbed including:

1. America Online (AOL)
2. CORE (Internet Council of Registrars)
3. France Telecom/Oléane
4. Melbourne IT
5. Register.com

In addition, ICANN also announced the names of 29 companies that will receive accreditation after the completion of the SRS Testbed Program. The testbed ended on November 30, 1999. The List of Businesses to be Accredited as Post-Testbed Registrars is available here

ICANN Accredited Registrars

ICANN continued to accept applications for registrar accreditation until today. Here is a complete list of existing ICANN Accredited Registrars]

The Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA)

ICANN implemented a new version of Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) on March 17, 2001 effective until March 21, 2009. A new revision was again introduced on March 21, 2009 with 17 amendments. Some of the revisions include:

• improved enforcement tools to ensure full compliance with the ICANN contract and policies
• expansion of requirements for reseller agreements
• additional requirements for audit and data escrow
• additional requirements to ensure precise contact information
• new notice requirements
• provisions for termination

Read the 2009 RAA

Registry and Registrar

Vertical Separation

Take note that Network Solution's was the only registrar and registry operator available from 1993 to 1998. When the DOC amended the NSI's cooperative agreement, SRS and registrar competition was implemented. Under the amended agreement, the DOC also put a condition regarding the renewal of the contract. NSI will be able to automatically renew its contract for another four years if it will separate its registry and registrar business will be separated to promote competition.

In 2000, Verisign purchased Network Solutions for $16 billion. Verisign decided to sell its' registrar business to Pivotal Private for $100 million to concentrate on its registry business. This move enabled Verisign to re-negotiate it's registry agreement with ICANN. On April 16, 2001, a Revised Registry Agreement for .com, .net and .org was adopted. Number 23 (C) Fair Treatment of ICANN-Accredited Registrars on the revised agreement stipulated, "Registry Operator shall not act as a registrar with respect to the Registry TLD. This shall not preclude Registry Operator from registering names within the domain of the Registry TLD in compliance with Section 24. This also shall not preclude an affiliate (including wholly-owned subsidiaries) of Registry Operator from acting as a registrar with respect to the Registry TLD, provided that Registry Operator complies with the provisions of Subsection 23(E)."

Sub-section E states that Registry Operators must ensure that its assets and revenues will not be utilized to advance the interests of their affiliate registrars against other accredited competitor registrars.

The separation of ownership or vertical separation was also implemented to all un-sponsored TLD registry operators to maintain registrar competition.

ICANN's Policy Change on Vertical Separation

On November 5, 2010, the ICANN Board passed a resolution allowing the removal of registry-registrar cross-ownership restriction for existing and new gTLDs. Further explanation on this issue is available here

External Links

GNSO Registrars' Constituency Mailing List

Top-Level Domain