What is Registrar?
A domain registrar is an ICANN-accredited company that sells domain name registrations to individuals and organizations, managing the reservation of domain names within the DNS.
A domain registrar is an organization accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to sell domain name registrations to end users. Registrars act as intermediaries between domain buyers and the central registries that operate top-level domains (TLDs). They maintain contractual agreements with ICANN and adhere to policies governing domain registrations, including the Transfer Policy and WHOIS requirements.
When a user registers a domain, the registrar checks availability, collects registration fees, and submits the request to the appropriate TLD registry using the Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP). The registrar then manages the domain's lifecycle: renewals, transfers, updates to contact information, and DNS delegation. Many registrars offer additional services like web hosting, email, and privacy protection to differentiate themselves.
In the DNS hierarchy, registrars sit between the registrant (the domain owner) and the registry operator. They handle customer-facing operations such as billing and support, while the registry maintains the authoritative database for the TLD. ICANN oversees registrars through periodic audits and requires them to be impartial, enabling competition and consumer choice in the domain market.
Key facts
- Registrars must be accredited by ICANN and sign a Registrar Accreditation Agreement.
- They use the Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP) to communicate with registries.
- Registrars manage domain renewals, transfers, and WHOIS data updates.
- A registrant can choose any ICANN-accredited registrar to register a domain.
- Registrars often bundle services like DNS hosting and email forwarding.
How it works in practice
Related terms
References
More in Domains
Auth Code
A unique, per-domain secret code that the losing (current) registrar must provide so the gaining (new) registrar can authorize a domain transfer.
ccTLD
A ccTLD is a two-letter top-level domain assigned to a country or territory based on the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code, such as .us for the United States or .jp for Japan.
Domain Lock
A registrar-level status that prevents unauthorized domain transfers, modifications, or deletions until the registrant explicitly removes the lock.
Domain Privacy
An optional service that replaces the domain registrant's personal contact information in WHOIS records with the registrar's proxy details to shield the owner from spam and unwanted disclosure.
EPP
EPP (Extensible Provisioning Protocol) is an XML-based application protocol used by domain name registries and registrars to provision domain names, manage contacts, and transfer registrations.
Grace Period
The grace period is a window after a domain expires during which the registrant can renew at the standard renewal fee, without incurring additional redemption costs.
IDN
An Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) is a domain name that includes characters outside the ASCII set, encoded as Punycode for compatibility with the DNS.
Punycode
Punycode is a method defined in RFC 3492 for converting Unicode strings into ASCII labels, enabling Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) to be used in the DNS.
RDAP
RDAP (Registration Data Access Protocol) is a modern RESTful protocol for querying domain name and IP address registration data, replacing the older WHOIS protocol with structured JSON responses and role-based access controls.
Registrant
The registrant is the legal holder of a domain name, listed as the owner in the registry database and responsible for the domain's renewal and administration.